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Mosquito Grizzly Bear’s Head Lean Man First Nation is replacing an enforcement-based approach to roaming dogs with a new animal wellness initiative centred on education, veterinary care and Indigenous teachings, backed by a $150,000 investment from council.
The long-term initiative is designed to reduce roaming dog issues by helping residents care for their animals before problems arise.
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It includes a dedicated animal wellness worker, free veterinary services, future spay and neuter clinics and community education focused on responsible pet ownership and public safety.
“For a long time, animal management in many communities focused strictly on enforcement or penalties,” said Tazmen Armstrong, the First Nation’s animal wellness worker.
“We are shifting that entirely towards care, empowerment, and education.”
Armstrong said the goal is to give families the resources they need before animal issues become larger community problems.
“Our pets rely on us to advocate for them and reclaiming our role as our pets’ voices means giving our families the resources they need, like free vet access, proper containment tools, and safety training so that keeping our animals healthy keeps our nation safe.”
A key part of that approach, he said, is recognizing that many roaming dogs are not abandoned.
“We want to keep our dogs on the reserve because most of the dogs have owners and sometimes they could get assumed to be a stray and taken into town when a dog actually belongs to somebody.”
Coun. Celest Sanders said council had spent years discussing how to better address the community’s growing dog population, where many animals were roaming, going hungry and creating safety concerns.
“It’s been so long that we’re just watching our populations of dogs grow and it gets dangerous at times,” Sanders said.
“They pack up and some of them are hungry and we’ve tried to just buy dog food and distribute it to people, but it seems like it’s never enough.”
She said the issue has had serious consequences in the past.
“There was a death a long time ago in the Nation from a dog attack and having a program like this maybe would have prevented that because the education and the food that we’re going to be able to provide the animal, the spaying and neutering.”
“We know that at springtime, it gets really, really crazy because all the animals go into heat, all the female dogs go into heat and the male dogs, they’re relentless.”
Those concerns ultimately led council to fund the initiative after unsuccessful attempts to secure outside support.
She said the funding supports the animal wellness worker position, future spay and neuter clinics, emergency veterinary care, dog registration and other long-term animal wellness initiatives.
“And that was just to attack the high number of dogs.”
As part of that long-term strategy, the First Nation plans to create a community database to identify owned dogs, track veterinary care and better distinguish pets from true strays.
Armstrong said the work extends well beyond the upcoming community event. The First Nation has already been connecting residents with veterinary services and is preparing to launch a veterinary request system that will provide free spays, neuters, vaccinations and emergency care, with additional animal wellness programming planned.
Those services will be showcased during Stronger Together: Reclaiming Our Role as Our Pets’ Voices, a free community event scheduled for Aug. 7.
The event will introduce residents to the new veterinary request system while also featuring traditional teachings on the historical relationship between Indigenous peoples and dogs, youth safety workshops and practical demonstrations for pet owners.
“We are honoured to have a special guest joining us, sharing traditional teachings on our historical, respectful relationships with animals in the past.”
“We are going to be introducing our upcoming vet [Purchase Order] request system, which provides free spays, neuters, vaccinations, and emergency care for community pets.”
Children will take part in an interactive Be Dog Smart workshop on reading dog body language and staying safe around dogs. Participating households will receive safe yard kits containing dog food, collars and tie-outs, while three heavy-duty dog kennels will be awarded as door prizes.
Sanders said reconnecting with traditional Indigenous teachings is another key objective of the initiative.
“Our nations always walk side by side with dogs, right?” she said, describing them as protectors, hunting companions and an important part of the nation’s heritage.
Armstrong said he hopes those teachings will help foster a stronger sense of responsibility toward animals across the community.
“Teaching them basic respect and care for animals, reconnecting them with the past relationships that we used to have with our animals,” he said.
The free event will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Aug. 7 at the Mosquito community hall after being rescheduled to avoid conflicting with the Tony Cote Summer Games.
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