Free pet care for isolated areas in northern communities

Ann Babey is a retired nurse, who 12 years ago recognized there was an over population of dogs while working in Northern Ontario.

Babey decided to do something about the problem and founded her own non-profit organization.

“Friends of Animush is a group of volunteers made up of lay people, Veterinary Technicians and Veterinarians who go into First Nations communities,” says Babey.

“Our main focus is to help the community with their animal population and to keep that population healthy.”

The organization travels every summer setting up “make-shift” clinics, where veterinarians like Dr. Mark Kinghorn educate the residents about animal health and welfare as well as how to bond with their pets.

“Preventative care is a big thing,” says Dr. Kinghorn.

“So making sure the dogs are properly vaccinated, making sure that we take care of any intestinal parasites that they may have, and also making sure they are spayed or neutered.”

Last year alone, more than 40 volunteers like Vet Technician Sandy Setley travelled on their own time to a whole new part of Ontario that most will never see.

“I see all kinds of advertisements or news reports of people who go to other countries and rescue or help dogs,” says Setley.

“Which is fantastic, but I don’t think people know the problem we have in our own country.”

Babey and her team saw a total of 590 dogs in 2015, and completed more than 386 surgeries across six northern communities.

“All of this has changed my life,” says Babey. “You know people say ‘what do you do you’re retired? ‘ I say yeah, we have a dog project that really keeps us busy.”