The Fan Hitch Volume 13, Number 1, December 2010

Journal of the Inuit Sled Dog
In This Issue....

From the Editor: Living in the Moment

Breed, Landrace and  Purity:
what do they mean?


In the News


QTC Update: final report

Veterinary Service Plans for the Eastern Canadian Arctic

Piksuk Media Projects

CAAT Welcomed Back to Baker Lake

Join the Primitive Aboriginal Dog Society International

Media Review: People of the Seal, Part 2

IMHO: Relationships and Inclusion


Navigating This Site

Index of articles by subject

Index of back issues by volume number

Search The Fan Hitch


Articles to download and print

Ordering Ken MacRury's Thesis

Our comprehensive list of resources

Talk to The Fan Hitch

The Fan Hitch home page

ISDI home page


Editor's/Publisher's Statement
Editor: Sue Hamilton
Webmaster: Mark Hamilton
The Fan Hitch, Journal of the Inuit Sled Dog, is published four times a year. It is available at no cost online at: https://thefanhitch.org.

The Fan Hitch
welcomes your letters, stories, comments and suggestions. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit submissions used for publication.


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This site is dedicated to the Inuit Dog as well as related Inuit culture and traditions. It is also home to
The Fan Hitch, Journal of the Inuit Sled Dog.

Hopefully in the near future Inuit Dogs in the Canadian North will
have access to the same veterinary medical services as this ISD pup
being examined by a Connecticut veterinarian.     Photo: Hamilton

Veterinary Service Plans for the Eastern Canadian Arctic


Nunavik
Plans continue to develop for veterinary service in Nunavik. Cécile Aenishaenslin, DVM, reports that her group, the Animal Health Network, is currently working on a study of the epidemiology of rabies in Nunavik (suspected and confirmed cases, sample analysis, animal vaccination, human exposures) as compared to other regions of the Arctic and Quebec. "The main objective for this year is to analyse this information, present it to the community (May-June 2011) and publish the report. We are also planning to conduct a survey on how residents of Nunavik would perceive veterinary services as well as canine sterilisation next summer." Dr. Aenishaenslin is a faculty member and coordinator of the Nunavik Veterinary Public Health and Animal Health Support Project at the University of Montreal's Veterinary School. 

The Network is also evaluating the long distance veterinary consultation service (currently Nunavimiut - residents of Nunavik - who have questions or concerns about animal health can call the University of Montreal’s veterinary college for free advice) and seeking ways to improve that service. The group is also working on a rabies awareness manual for Nunavimiut.

Plans for 2011 include:
  • development of a basic first aid kit for companion animals in Nunavik and a training plan for its use.
  • distribution of educational materials.
  • a detailed questionnaire to the people of Nunavik to assess their feelings on veterinary care in general as well as spaying and castration of their dogs and cats.
  • developing a supply list and budget for an ambulatory clinic in Nunavik.
A pilot ambulatory clinic is on the schedule for the middle of 2010.

Nunavut
It appears that a veterinary clinic is expected to open its doors in Nunavut's capital. Iqaluit City Council members enthusiastically approved the application, first presented in August, 2010. However, the parents of the veterinary student who is completing her fourth and final year of school in Saskatchewan, have had to assuage the concerns of their neighbors regarding traffic and other perceived issues. The NunaVet Animal Hospital plans to open up in the parents' private residence, even though the practice initially expects to be primarily house calls with a surgical venue elsewhere in the city. 

The clinic was expected to become operational in July 2011, but it now appears it will not open until December 2011 or perhaps sometime in 2012. 

Neither the parents of the soon-to-be veterinarian nor the future veterinarian herself have responded to calls from The Fan Hitch for further details.
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