Baker Lake- Day 5
Friday, September 11th, 2009
Friday morning, the team was greeted at the clinic by 5 animals waiting for surgery. Everyone has been very surprised by the sheer numbers of cats in the community- a pre-arrival surgery came up with a count of 17 cats, but there are clearly many, many more than that! The rate at which cats reproduce certainly makes it crucial to have a regular, humane population control system in place in remote communities. Most of the cats are indoor/outdoor, and many of the mature males wear the battle scars of their pugnacious lifestyles. The team has sterilized several large toms with huge facial muscles and incredibly thick skin. One of them, an outdoor cat named “Fatso”, got a bit of a new haircut as well after his surgery! Technician Vanessa shaved and disinfected his many wounds, undoubtedly caused by fighting with other males.
Friday was a tricky day for the team. Several members left for a few hours over the course of the day to teach dog safety in both the high school (in the morning) and the elementary school (in the afternoon). That left only 7 team members in the clinic at any one time, to deal with the many surgery and vaccine patients over the course of the day. However, everyone worked together like a well-oiled machine! The assembly line of husky mixes, spaniels, cats, chihuahuas (!!), and a lovable six-month old Newfoundland puppy named Joshua, were all treated with compassionate and professional care. All in all, 16 animals were sterilized, and team could rest easy knowing that none of those animals would be contributing to the cycle of pet overpopulation here in Baker Lake.
Caitlin and Laura walked down to the Jonah Amitnaaq Secondary school in time to speak to a group of over 200 children from grades 6, 7, and 8 about how to be safe around dogs. Principal Bill Cooper greeted the women and Ron Knowling, a southerner living in Baker Lake and working in library services. Ron graciously brought along his lovely rescue dog Harley, who was adopted from an S.P.C.A. in Gander, Newfoundland. Harley served as the “demo dog”, teaching children how to appropriately approach and pat a friendly dog. When the kids were asked near the beginning of the talk whether any of them had even been bitten by dogs, nearly 200 hands went up. This is a common pattern in many remote communities.