create a Mobile Animal Surgical Unit for remote BC coastal communitiesBig Heart Rescue Society

The purpose of our project is to increase the number of animals sterilized at First Nations communities with whom we partner for animal care. Currently, almost all of the sterilizations are done off site because there are no vet clinics in these remote communities. Shipping animals to offsite vet clinics is costly and logistically difficult due to limited cargo space on planes and limited clinic space.

Our project is to acquire a Mobile Animal Surgical Unit. We have volunteer vets and vet techs who would go to the remote communities with this unit and perform the sterilizations onsite. We estimate we could reduce the cost of sterilization by 50%, and be able to sterilize many more animals.

This would greatly reduce the number of animals requiring other services that we provide such as vaccinations, de-worming, minor wound care etc. We could visit more often and extend our services to new areas.  

The remote communities that we serve through partnerships with First Nations are without vet services. Sterilization of a greater percentage of their animals would reduce the packs of roaming dogs that are breeding uncontrolled. Parvo, distemper and other transmittable diseases (that can be transmitted to children) would be reduced because we could visit more often and have fewer animals to treat. Being in a community more often would allow better delivery of humane animal welfare information. Overall, these communities would have fewer unwanted litters and better health for existing animals.