In This Issue....From
the Editor: Good Deeds, Great and Small
Fan Mail |
From the
Editor.... "Nothing great is lightly won, nothing won is lost. Every good deed that's nobly done will always repay the cost." Source unknown Good Deeds, Great and Small
I'd like to take this opportunity to once again put in an encouraging word in favor of retirement homes for older Inuit Dogs. Back in June 2006 I described our experiences and how perhaps some of you might also experience the rewards (and challenges) of offering an older working ISD a less demanding lifestyle. Since the last issue of The Fan Hitch, I have received three requests to find good homes for such dogs. I would dearly love to hear from those of you who feel you could offer that special place for a deserving dog. I also recently received sad news from Frank Hashek, the owner of one of the dogs featured in the article, that Misty, possibly the last of the Antarctic Mawson (Australia) Dogs, had passed at nearly fifteen years of age. What a lucky dog she was to have had Frank take her in. And Frank wrote to say he was enriched by her presence as well. It appears that 2008 will be a busy year for Inuit Dog issues. Thanks to worldwide participation and a real team effort, the British Antarctic Survey Sledge Dog Memorial Fund is growing by leaps and bounds. In the new year the designs, their creators and ultimate locations for the statue and plaque will be determined. January will see the launch of the Qiqiktani Inuit Association’s Truth Commission as the team begins holding "public hearings and to report to the members of QIA and to the public, the truth surrounding the "Dog Slaughter", "Relocations" and other decision-making of the Government up until 1980, and its effect on Inuit culture, economy and way of life." (Readers may find the following book enlightening, Relocating Eden: The Image and Politics of Inuit Exile in the Canadian Arctic by Alan Rudolph Marcus, University of New England Press, 1995, ISBN-10: 0874516595.) The Canadian Animal Assistance Team is gearing up for its 2008 northern projects providing traveling veterinary services to communities. The importance of the work this organization is able to accomplish, thanks to its donors and tireless volunteers, cannot be overstated. The Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre of the Atlantic Veterinary College at the University of Prince Edward Island hopes its Chinook Project will receive grant funding for 2008 that will enable them to continue their visits to Canadian Arctic communities in need of veterinary care. And there is oh so exciting word that the issue of permanent veterinary service in the north is being seriously explored! If any of our readers know of veterinary professionals who may be interested in northern service, please contact me! So here are my thanks to everyone who has contributed, in so many ways, to the benefit of the Inuit Sled Dog. To you and to our journal's readers I wish… Smooth ice and narrow leads for 2008. Sue |