On October
19th Melissa and Natalie headed up to Sudbury to attend the first
Northern Animal Summit hosted by the OSPCA.
It was a 2 day event with lots of speakers discussing the issues that
are currently affecting the overpopulation of dogs mainly in the indigenous communities
in northern Ontario.
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| Northern Summit Panel |
The summit
kicked off with a smudging ceremony, which was a first for Melissa and Natalie
and they were very excited to join. The smudging
ceremony is a custom of Native American and other indigenous
cultures. For centuries many cultures have used smudging as a way to create a cleansing smoke bath that is
used to purify the body, aura, energy, ceremonial/ritual space or any other
space and personal articles.
The
speakers were great! One speaker talked
about the mobile spay/neuter campaigns that are happening in northern
Ontario. To Melissa and Natalie’s
surprised this speaker commented on the great work Allandale/GAAP has done and
they were humbled to see their photos in the presentation along with some of
the other AVH team members.
It was fantastic
to hear what other organizations are doing. One organization strictly transfers
dogs from the north to the south to find them new homes. Another organization ships dog food up to
remote communities, their last shipment weighed in at 1500lbs, that’s a lot of
dog food!
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| Melissa |
However
there are still many obstacles. Some of
these communities don’t have drinking water.
They are so remote that vet care is not possible, internet is
non-existent and costs of dog food is $40 a small bag and a delissio pizza is
$15. There are not many veterinarians
that hold a special license to travel and do mobile clinics and if they do, the
cost to run a spay/neuter clinic up north can cost between 10, 000 to 20, 000
for a 3 day clinic in one community.
Melissa and
Natalie left feeling optimistic and excited.
They had seen some old friends and made some new, and with all the work
these charities are accomplishing, hopefully we can see a brighter future for
the northern dogs.
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