A program at the University of Saskatchewan that provides veterinary care to northern communities has been gifted a $860,000 donation from PetSmart Charities of Canada.

Dr. Jordan Woodsworth is the Director of the Northern Engagement and Community Outreach program. Her team travels to communities in northern Saskatchewan several times a year and provides checkups, spays, neuters, and vaccinations to animals in need.

Woodsworth says the money will be instrumental in allowing her and her team to learn more about the state of veterinary care across Western Canada. She says Saskatchewan is facing a dog overpopulation crisis due to a lack of vet clinics in the north.

“What’s happening in Saskatchewan is going to look very different from for example what’s happening in the Yukon or the Northwest Territories or in Nunavut, or in coastal B.C. I think there are a lot of things that we may have pockets of knowledge about in various areas, but there’s still lots we don’t know, and we haven’t painted a really colourful and detailed picture.”

Over the next four years, Woodsworth aims to create that picture by collecting data on access to animal care in northern communities, investigating potential barriers to veterinary care within provincial policies, and determining what is being taught to future veterinary professionals and how it could be improved.

“We know that while veterinarians and vet techs are never going to be able to be the full solution to solving all of the animal health and welfare issues in every community, what we learn in our education really can make a difference to our willingness and our awareness in how to contribute to change.”