FORT ALBANY - A southern Ontario animal rescue is making a pawsitive impact in the Far North.
A team of volunteers from Precious Paws Rescue recently travelled to Fort Albany First Nation to provide essential veterinary care to dogs and cats.
The four-day February clinic offered wellness exams, vaccinations, parasite prevention, and spay-neuter surgeries to help control the dog population and improve animal health.
Precious Paws Rescue is a non-profit, all-breed dog rescue based in Simcoe County. Founded in 2006 by Cassandra Hauck, the organization is entirely volunteer-run, with no paid staff and no government funding.
“I've been involved in animal rescue since a very young age. I started out working in humane societies and went to school to become a veterinary technician. After graduating, I noticed that Barrie, where I lived at the time, didn’t have an established rescue,” Hauck said.
“So, with the help of some mentors, I started Precious Paws. It was just me at first, but we've grown into a much larger organization with many volunteers, foster homes, and various projects.”
One of those projects includes running veterinary clinics in remote northern communities. The organization first participated in a clinic in 2023 alongside another rescue group, which later closed down.
Since then, Precious Paws has taken over the effort, holding two clinics in 2024, with more planned in 2025.
This year’s team at the clinic in Fort Albany consisted of six volunteers: two veterinarians, two veterinary technicians, and three veterinary assistants.
They treated 121 dogs and cats, providing wellness exams, vaccinations, and parasite prevention. They also performed 59 spay-neuter surgeries.
Access to veterinary care in remote communities like Fort Albany is extremely limited, Hauck said.
The closest veterinary clinics are in Timmins, and even those are overwhelmed with demand, she said. For many residents, accessing care means flying their pets out of the community, arranging transportation to a vet clinic, and covering significant costs, Hauck said.
“If we’re not going into the communities and providing these services, the majority of dogs and cats simply won’t get veterinary care,” she said.
Precious Paws Rescue has developed a close relationship with Fort Albany, returning annually to support the community’s efforts in managing its dog population, Hauck said.
“Fort Albany has done a fantastic job over the years working with different organizations to get their dog population under control,” she said.
“They’re in a maintenance phase now, so our visits ensure that new dogs are spayed and neutered, and that vaccinations and parasite treatments are kept up to date.”
At the latest clinic, the community also welcomed pets from surrounding areas, allowing animals from Kashechewan, Moosonee, Moose Factory, and Attawapiskat to receive care.
“The response has been fantastic. Fort Albany is one of the most welcoming, wonderful communities we go to. They provide accommodations, food, and support while we’re there,” Hauck said.
“The people really want veterinary care for their pets. They love their pets just as much as anybody in southern Ontario, and they want to be able to provide that care for them. So, they make great use of the clinic.”
During the clinic, a dog owner from Moose Factory asked for help rehoming four puppies that they could no longer care for.
“In Moose Factory, because it's an island and because they haven't had access to a clinic for a number of years, the overpopulation is definitely a lot more than what you're going to see in somewhere like Fort Albany that's had regular access,” Hauck said.
“Unfortunately, there are so many puppies that are being born that there's not enough homes for them.”
The remaining puppies were taken into the care of Precious Paws. They received vaccinations and spay-neuter surgeries before being transported to the Alliston and District Humane Society for adoption.
Hauck said the rescue is currently focused on providing clinics in communities along the James Bay Coast.
“We can make the biggest impact when we're focusing on communities where dog populations feed into each other. If we hold a clinic in Fort Albany, they open it to surrounding communities, so one clinic can impact four or five different areas,” she said.
“Over the next few months, we hope to start working more with Moose Factory. We’re planning vaccine clinics and a spay-neuter clinic in the fall.”
Expanding services depends on available resources, Hauck said. Running these clinics is costly, even with volunteer veterinarians donating their time. The organization relies on donations to cover airfare, supplies, and other expenses.
“We're trying to change the kind of root causes of pet homelessness. Rescues and shelters in southern Ontario are full to the brim. We have puppy mills who are producing too many dogs and then surrendering them to rescue. We have dogs that are ending up in shelters,” she said.
“We are just swamped like we've never been swamped before. And so the more that we can provide services that help dogs stay with their families, the more we stop draining those resources and rescues and shelters.”
Hauck said it’s important to understand the challenges northern communities face in accessing veterinary care.
“Northern communities love their dogs just as much as anyone else. Some people might ask, ‘Why don’t they just get their dogs fixed?’ But when you live in a fly-in community, it’s not that simple,” she said.
“Even places like Timmins, Cochrane, and Iroquois Falls struggle to access veterinary care because of a shortage of vets. It’s even harder in remote communities.”