It just got a little bit easier to be a pet owner in Nunavut.
Nunavut Animal Rescue, based in Apex, recently purchased $30,000 worth of diagnostic equipment designed to test animal blood.
SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檝e got two different machines. One is the IDEXX Catalyst One and the other is the ProCyte One,SA国际影视传媒� said executive director Samantha Oldham. SA国际影视传媒淭hey are both used for different analysis on blood samples. They can also do some on urine samples, different things like that. TheySA国际影视传媒檙e mostly just to help vets, when they come up, to diagnose illnesses in dogs, or if somethingSA国际影视传媒檚 off with the dogSA国际影视传媒檚 health at all.
SA国际影视传媒淚t can do things like tell us if the dog is suffering from diabetes or has anemia, if thereSA国际影视传媒檚 just anything wrong with the sample. So, if they have high white blood cell count, or a low blood cell count.SA国际影视传媒�
Currently, any blood samples taken have to be sent south with the visiting vets and analyzed once the sample is no longer fresh, which can alter the results.
SA国际影视传媒淭hat blood has to go through travel to get there, and itSA国际影视传媒檚 best if blood can be tested within five hours [of being extracted], and that just isnSA国际影视传媒檛 possible when we donSA国际影视传媒檛 have that equipment here, so this is going to help us a lot," Oldham said.
SA国际影视传媒淩ight now, when we send blood samples down south, it can come back with odd numbers which could just be from the decay in travelling, so having it done here on property is going to help a lot... and just help us with the dogs we have here in Iqaluit, and in Nunavut in general SA国际影视传媒� care for them, manage their symptoms, different things like that.SA国际影视传媒�
Typically, the most common things tested for at the animal clinic are conditions related to aging and general health checks, including liver tests, SA国际影视传媒渢o make sure everythingSA国际影视传媒檚 just looking good, because quite often as dogs and cats get older, they have different health issues that come up... a big [issue] we see here as well thatSA国际影视传媒檚 come up quite a lot in the past few clinics weSA国际影视传媒檝e had is testing for heart disease in dogs,SA国际影视传媒� said Oldham.
Like people, dogs are prone to heart disease as they age, and being able to test the blood on site SA国际影视传媒渢o see what factors are in the blood, can tell the vet a lot about whatSA国际影视传媒檚 going on with the dogSA国际影视传媒檚 health,SA国际影视传媒� according to Oldham.
Blood tests lead to the diagnoses that allow vets to prescribe necessary medications. A vet visit usually resulted in 15-20 blood tests, SA国际影视传媒渂ut that number will most likely go up now that we have it on site, and we can adjust our prices accordingly,SA国际影视传媒� Oldham explained.
In addition to accessibility, having the testing equipment on site will result in cost savings for pet owners since the cost of transportation in shipping and using other vet clinic services will be eliminated.
SA国际影视传媒淣ow we can lower our prices a little bit,SA国际影视传媒� says Oldham, SA国际影视传媒渨hich will make it more accessible to more people SA国际影视传媒� and because itSA国际影视传媒檚 owned and operated by Nunavut Animal Rescue, and we already do a lot of outreach into the communities. So people who canSA国际影视传媒檛 necessarily afford it, we offer discounts and low-income services, so weSA国际影视传媒檒l hopefully be able to reach a number of more people now that we have [the testing equipment] here in Iqaluit and we can operate it for ourselves.SA国际影视传媒�
The funding for the machines came mostly through donations to Nunavut Animal Rescue, as well as the modest profits the organization makes from the Iqaluit Animal Hospital, bought on lease.
