Veterinarians Without Borders grants that help northerners learn how to look after animals are returning for a 2nd year.
Applications opened this week for a fund that consists of a $10,000 scholarship for a veterinary school trainee and 5 $5,000 bursaries for trainees pursuing diplomas or certificates.
There are likewise supports for online family pet emergency treatment courses and an online profession fair for high school trainees to promote opportunities in animal health.
Alison Buckland, from Yellowknife, received among the bursaries – called Access to Care awards – in the program’s very first year.
Buckland remains in the veterinary professional program at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops. She has actually already accompanied Veterinarians Without Borders on a number of journeys to run centers in the North – for instance, functioning as a dog fitness instructor on a journey to Gjoa Haven – and has strategies to participate in more.
“The pets that we have, they’re there for a reason and we love them. And if they get sick, they’re just as valuable as humans. That’s what I was thinking of when I enrolled,” she said of her choice to pursue a profession as a veterinary tech.
Buckland said she had a difficult time discovering work after finishing her very first degree however, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, she started operating at the SPCA and satisfied vet Dr Michelle Tuma.
“She introduced the medical side of animals to me,” said Buckland, “and it started becoming, ‘OK, that’s something I could go do. That’s a great career, and then I could come back to the North and easily find a job and have a good, sustainable career here.’ That was part of it.”
But discovering the best assistance, and the money, to study in a veterinary field from a little neighborhood is tough, Buckland said, as is discovering a properly certified coach in the North.
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“I want to come back and mentor, once I have enough experience and knowledge to teach people,” she said, “because maybe that will also draw more people to … continuing to help out in the communities.”
“Access to veterinary services in the North is very limited,” said Veterinarians Without Borders representative Laura Eley, “which poses a threat not only to the health of animals but also to their human companions.”
In 2017, a research study carried out on behalf of Veterinarians Without Borders discovered that 54 separated neighborhoods of 100 or more individuals in Canada’s 3 northern areas had little or no access to veterinary services.
“Although individuals like Alison, who are interested in animal health, must currently travel outside of the NWT to earn their education, having them return to the community is key to ensuring access to animal care can be maintained,” Eley said.
Applications for this year’s Access to Care awards are open up until August 15.
Veterinarians Without Borders said applications will be accepted from any people residing in the areas, with top priority provided to Indigenous candidates.
