What is the Iqaluit program?
The Iqaluit program is an innovative partnership between the Ottawa Humane Society, Iqaluit Humane Society, Canadian North airlines and many devoted volunteers. Established in 2002, the program provides hope and new homes for hundreds of northern animals. Most weeks, we load a shipment of dogs on a Canadian North plane, which flies the animals for free to Ottawa. Then, a team of local OHS volunteers travel to the Ottawa airport to pick up the animals and transport them back to their shelter. All of the Iqaluit animals go through a standard OHS health and temperament assessment. Many of the dogs who arrive in Ottawa are pregnant; most are undersocialized and others are ill. As a result, many go through the OHS foster program before being placed for adoption.Why do the dogs in Iqaluit need help? With limited resources for animals in Iqaluit and no veterinarians in the entire territory of Nunavut, many dogs are unsterilized, starving and homeless. Countless others are shot in a bid to control overpopulation problems. The sad reality in Canada's northern communities is that there are virtually no resources to address animal welfare and very few good homes. The OHS kindly helps animals in jurisdictions that are facing this reality.
Thanks to the generosity of Canadian North airlines and their volunteers, we are able to send animals to them without diminishing the care and attention we give to their local animals.Our hope is that IHS will continue on its path of becoming a more humane society for all animals, and the OHS will continue to assist us so that the need for this program will be lessened in the future.
Aren't there too many dogs already in Ottawa that need help?
Ottawa's animals always come first in their programs. Because Ottawa's dog owners are, as a whole, generally quite responsible, they do not see the overpopulation problems in dogs that they see in cats. Their capacity to adopt is greater than the number of dogs they have available for adoption, allowing them to assist other communities, such as Iqaluit.
How much does it cost to fly the dogs to Ottawa?
There is no cost to fly the dogs. IHS Volunteers put the dogs onto Canadian North Airlines which flies them to Ottawa for free - unaccompanied. The crates we use are generally donated. The OHS recruits volunteers to pick up the dogs at the airport. No OHS staff have had to travel to the north for this program.
What are the veterinary costs for the Iqaluit animals?
In the early days of the program, the OHS provided some information for the IHS to allow us to do some basic health and temperament assessment before transferring dogs. This means that the vast majority of dogs sent are healthy and do not require any unusual medical intervention. When medical procedures are required, their in-house clinic means they do not have to assume any additional veterinary bills, though, of course there are costs associated with staff time and supplies.
City of Iqaluit generously loaned the Iqaluit Humane Society a rent free, renovated one-bedroom apartment in April 2008. This facility has served as our main base of operations since then. Thanks to donations and fundraisers we're able to provide our intakes with limited medical care, food, water and a safe caring environment. Ideally we'd love to get into a larger, more advanced facility but for now we make due with what we have.
Some of the shelter features include:
- 4 small stainless steel mounted cages
- 3 medium stainless steel mounted cages
- 2 large stainless steel mounted cages
- A dozen small to large travel containers
- An outside fenced in pen with a doghouse
- An indoor play pen for puppies
- Incubation chamber
- Basic laundry facilities
- Refrigeration unit
- Outdoor storage