Makeshift clinic brings vet services to northern Sask. community

Over 70 volunteers from across the province have travelled to La Ronge, Sask., in an effort to address the northern population's lack of access to veterinary care.

It's part of a program offered twice per year spearheaded by the University of Saskatchewan's Western College of Veterinary Medicine that started in 2014 with the aim of providingvet services to remote communities.

"This year, we've had the hugest response that we've ever had," Dr. Jordan Woodsworth, clinical associate veterinarian at the college, said.

"I think at the end of it all, we're going to have probably about 85 animals that have been spayed or neutered, and about the same number who have come in for a vet check and vaccines."

For the past three years, the makeshift clinic has been located in the hockey rink area at the Jonas Roberts Memorial Community Centre.

She said a subsidy for treatment is offered to community members through their local partners,the Lac La Ronge Indian Band and Northern Animal Rescue.

Must travel south

"As far as veterinary services go, we do not have a regular vet here," explained Genevieve Candeloria, co-chair of Northern Animal Rescue. "If they need any kind of veterinary services for their animals, they need to go south."

She said the nearest veterinarian is in Prince Albert, which is more than 200kilometres away.

According to Candeloria,the community sees a devastating outbreak every year of distemper and parvovirus, forcing the non-profit organization to put down several animals.

She said visits fromthe mobile vet clinic are helping to control the problem. Not only that, she added,it raises the standard of animal care in the communityin a way that honours the northern culture and style.

The clinic started on Friday and runs until Sunday.