WINNIPEG – The Norway House Animal Rescue plans to implant contraceptive microchips in dogs in the northern Manitoba community.
The Winnipeg-based organization is raising funds to send a veterinarian and a vet technician to the isolated reserve in March.
The $10,000 trip, which will allow 150 dogs to be implanted, was planned after the animal rescue group realized they couldn’t afford to fund a spay and neuter clinic in the community, which has an overpopulation of dogs.
“The costs were so high,” Debra Vandekerkhove, director of the Norway House Animal Rescue, said Wednesday morning. Spaying a dog costs $300, but the implant costs $80 and far less equipment is needed, she said.
In the past, dog shoots have been used to deal with problem strays in isolated northern communities, many of which lack veterinary services and animal shelters.
Vandekerkhove’s organization has been working to help the community deal with its dog problem.
She saw the contraceptive microchips on the Internet and flew to Alberta to learn more about the treatment.
It takes 60 seconds to implant the chip and it lasts 22 to 24 months, Vendekerkhove said, and the dogs will also be vaccinated and dewormed.
More about the program and a fundraising waffle breakfast on Sunday can be found on the animal rescue’s Facebook page.
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