Advertisement

Calgary-area vet curbs dog overpopulation on reserves

 CALGARY- A Bragg Creek vet has come up with a humane solution to deal with dog overpopulation on First Nations reserves.

Through the ‘Dogs With No Names’ project, Dr. Judith Samson-French implants female canines that are wild or unwanted with birth control, which prevents pregnancy for a year and a half.

It only takes a minute, costs a third of the price of spaying and is less invasive.

Samson-French said that in just three years, the project has saved millions of dollars in treatment, rescue and other costs on the reserve.

“[The dogs] will pack, and some of the First Nation residents complain they’re taking down their calfs or horses, so it’s a big problem,” she said. “They’re trying to resolve it and they just don’t have the resources or the knowledge to approach it.”
Story continues below advertisement

The county of Rockyview applauds the program for being a good neighbour.

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“We interact on a daily basis and this is just a way of building community relations in a really positive fashion,” said councillor Liz Breaky.

Samson-French regularly re-checks the implanted dogs, tracking the results for research that she plans to publish. She hopes to implant 200 dogs in the coming months.

A fundraiser is being held this Saturday in Bragg Creek, where people will also have the chance to adopt some of the reserve dogs.

For more information, click here.
 

Sponsored content

AdChoices