A team of animal health professionals visited Rankin Inlet and Baker Lake earlier this month from the Grant Park Animal Hospital in Winnipeg.

The veterinarian clinics were co-ordinated by Fire Chief Mark Wyatt of the Rankin Inlet Fire Department. It was the first time Wyatt helped coordinate a vet visit to Baker Lake.

Wyatt said the vets spent six days in Rankin Inlet before travelling to Baker Lake for four days.

While in Rankin, the team did 16 canine spays, 14 canine neuters, two feline spays, two feline neuters, 10 groomings and 30 appointments, according to Wyatt.

鈥淲e had a total of 74 different appointments in Rankin, so they were kept pretty busy,鈥� he said.

鈥淲e still have a ways to go. There are still people here who don鈥檛 vaccinate their dogs and that鈥檚 the easiest thing you can do to prevent your dog from getting sick.

鈥淭ake your dog to make sure it鈥檚 properly vaccinated and then bring it back to get it done every two years.

鈥淵ou can do that at the fire hall and it doesn鈥檛 cost any money. We are getting the message out more and more. But, still, I鈥檒l see dogs that get parvovirus or distemper and, when I ask if the dog is vaccinated, I鈥檒l be told no. And that鈥檚 why your dog is sick.鈥�

Wyatt took over the clinic from Page Burt three years ago. Burt had coordinated the visit for a number of years in Rankin.

He said more and more people are asking to get their dog spayed or neutered now and that鈥檚 a huge step in the right direction.

鈥淲e had a few problem dogs in town, in terms of having three or four litters and they鈥檙e only three or four years old. I keep sending litters of puppies down south, or the puppies get scattered to homes all over town. But if we can spay enough of the dogs that are regularly tied up outside and getting pregnant, then we can start to control the dog population.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a never-ending cycle. People get puppies and then tie them up at the end of a chain, or just open the door and let them loose. As they get older, the dogs aren鈥檛 properly trained and they run loose.

鈥淭hat leads to us having problems with loose dogs that we have to deal with. It鈥檚 an ownership problem. It鈥檚 not the dogs fault.

鈥淓verybody then wants these dogs shot and I don鈥檛 blame the public for being frustrated by loose dogs. Some people leave their caribou on their qamutiik this time of year while they鈥檙e out hunting and loose dogs get into the caribou, causing all sorts of problems.鈥�

Wyatt said if all dogs were vaccinated in the community, there would be far fewer sick animals.

And, he said, if dogs were spayed or neutered as soon as they鈥檙e old enough, there wouldn鈥檛 be any loose dogs in the community.

鈥淲e are making progress. We did 30 surgeries with dogs this time and that鈥檚 a lot.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 16 females that won鈥檛 be having any more puppies and 14 [male] dogs that won鈥檛, potentially, be running around making those puppies.

鈥淭hat will make a difference. We鈥檒l be having another clinic from Oct. 3-9. Those who didn鈥檛 make the list this time will be first on the list next time.鈥�