Cloud Nine Rescue Flights

Several months ago, Cloud Nine was contacted by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW – www.ifaw.org) to discuss the possibility of working together on some projects they had coming up. For those who aren’t familiar with IFAW, they are a worldwide organization that addresses animal welfare issues. In this case, they were working on their Northern Dogs Clinic. For the 8th straight year, Jan Hannah and her team of volunteer veterinarians and techs were preparing to serve the Cree communities in remote northern Quebec that are highly isolated and don’t have access to veterinary services, because veterinarians simply don’t exist there. The focus is on animal health and spaying and neutering.

The clinic is divided into two parts, the first one in May, serving Chibougamau and surrounding areas, and the second one being in June starting at Chisasibi and working down south towards Waskaganish. If you haven’t heard of these places don’t feel badly, because I certainly hadn’t either prior to being contacted about this trip!

This was the first half of the transport, for which I flew into Montreal on Friday the 14th to pick up the veterinarians and technicians, and we flew to Chibougamau to drop them off. On Wednesday the 19th, I returned to pick them up and bring them home. Jan offered to let me stay for the weekend to see what the clinic was like and assist, however I was unable to due to prior commitments. However I wasn’t about to turn down that opportunity for the June clinic! More on that when the time comes.

Canada isn’t a place that I’d had the opportunity to spend much time, but it is a beautiful country with very friendly people. Even Montreal tower welcomed us to Canada upon landing. This trip was very quick and didn’t allow for much in the way of taking in what there was to see, but on the next trip I got to see some more of the towns up north. As a hint, I believe they’re very worth visiting, especially if you like going to places off the beaten path.

I’d also like to extend a special thanks to Jan Hannah and IFAW for allowing Cloud Nine to be part of making the Northern Dog Clinic a success, and to the dedicated team that volunteered their time to help the animals in these northern regions.

Blue Skies,

-Ted