Earlier this month, staff member Cassie travelled to Vancouver Island as a part of our mission to keep animals happy, healthy and united with the people who love them.

Cassie and our partners at Fantastic Beasts Veterinary Services were in Ancla, a remote community on the west coast of the island, where they met with Huu-ay-aht citizens.

Thanks to your help, the team was able to check in with 26 pets and their guardians. We were able to provide vaccinations or boosters for almost all of them (everyone who needed a vaccine or booster received one). The team also sent flea and tick medications home with their humans to ensure they were protected through the hot summer months. 

Along with providing veterinary care, Fantastic Beasts also delivered food donations that helped more than 10 families. 

Access to veterinary care remains the number one welfare issue for companion animals and can be even more challenging for pet families in rural and remote communities. Those living in Ancla, for example, face a two-hour drive to the nearest veterinarian.

It’s a challenge your donations are helping us tackle, as we work towards helping pet families in remote and Indigenous communities. This is the second year we’ve had the chance to visit the Huu-ay-aht First Nation, building relationships that are helping us develop a model of mobile veterinary care. This is thanks to a multi-year grant from PetSmart Charities.

It’s a foundation we hope will allow us, in the coming years, to replicate that model in communities throughout B.C. 

We know that animal welfare is directly linked to the welfare of both families and the communities they make up. That’s why we provide free veterinary clinics in the Lower Mainland, provide crisis foster care, and are advocating for the province to see pets as family members and provide funding to match. 

It’s a big job and one we can’t do alone. Generous donors like you are what keep these programs running, and allow for trips like Cassie’s to Ancla to provide vital checkups and preventive care. 

We are so grateful to Huy-ah-ayt First Nation for welcoming us into their community, and to the the thousands of caring people and partners who believe in our work. We couldn’t do it without you!