Thunder Bay, ON — Matawa Animal Wellness Services and Vets Around the Corner’s The region Veterinarian Program have partnered to expand veterinary care in the Lakehead, Ont., through a new month-long field health centre.
Members of the area Veterinarian Program arrived in the municipality last month to care for animals displaced by wildfires. But in response to the neighborhood vet shortage, they're now extending their stay. Through August, the field health centre will be located at the Matawa Training & Wellness Centre, which invited the Local residents Veterinary Program to use its facility.
Services will be open to Matawa First Nation members, the general public and forest fire evacuees. “This clinic is really unique because the Vets Around the Corner really have pivoted, as most organizations have in northwestern Ontario when we’re doing fire response,” declared Judi Cannon with Matawa Animal Wellness Services. Mobile veterinary clinic set up in Thunder Bay, Ont., for animals affected by wildfires Northern Ontario towns struggling to recruit veterinarians in face of province-wide shortage Matawa Animal Wellness Services had planned to recently undertake three clinics in remote northern Ontario Matawa communities, Cannon shared. However, due to the wildfires, they weren’t able to go, so they shifted focus to supporting regional Matawa members, residents and evacuees.
It’s 11 [a.m.] something, but it’s worth it because you can’t find a vet in town.
Thunder Bay is a "veterinarian desert," she stated, noting that there has also been significant demand for support from the general public. On a first-come basis, the field regional hospital will allow Matawa First Nations members and the public without a primary veterinarian to fall in alongside forest fire evacuees and those fostering displaced pets for wellness exams, minor treatments and basic vaccines. At this time, the veterinary team is unable to perform surgical procedures, diagnostic imaging is limited to a small ultrasound machine (no X-rays) and blood work is also limited. Chantel Parker, a urban centre resident, attended the field regional hospital on Wednesday to vaccinate her dog, Neeko. “There are no vets in Thunder Bay that are accepting new patients and going to Dryden is very expensive,” Parker stated. Parker saidit was helpful to have these services available to her, as well as others in the area and to those from outside the northwestern Ontario hub, who don't have a veterinarian. Sylvia Gomezalso headed to the field health-care facility at 9 a.m. on Wednesday after learning vets were accepting dogs from non-wildfire evacuees. While she waited several hours to receive care, she advised she was “so happy” to have the neighborhood option. “I’m still waiting. It’s 11 [a.m.] something, but it’s worth it because you can’t find a vet in town. You can’t even get a vet in Dryden.” So many people don’t have a vet and don’t know where to take their dogs, Gomez shared. “If something serious happens, what are you going to do? There’s nowhere to go,” Gomezsaid, noting her own misgivings if something happens to her own dog, Bowser. William Woodstock, chief executive officer of Vets Around the Corner,based in Port Perry, Ont., explained that they planned to stay only one to two weeks for forest fire urgent situation response. “When we got up here, we obviously saw that the veterinary care situation in the northern Ontario region [and] Thunder Bay is a big problem. And once we saw it, we had a really hard time just walking away,” Woodstock shared. Woodstock, also the Citizens Veterinarian Program's founder and board chair, indicated he believed the field regional hospital has been seeing anywhere between 15 and 25 pets a day. “In total, since we’ve been in Thunder Bay, I think we’re hitting close to 400 pets that we’ve seen in about two and a half weeks,” Woodstock advised. “When we have the area members that are coming down from these First Nations, communities or just different areas that have been evacuated, there’s a lot of them that were forced to leave pets behind,” Woodstocksaid. However, since the team has been in the community, he confirmed the care that they’ve been able to provide has “definitely been helpful.” “Truthfully, we’re not fully prepared to be doing this. We’re doing the absolute best that we can,” Woodstock stated. Without staff able to answer the phone constantly and take appointments, he asked people to bear with them. To sustain the field regional hospital, the general public will be charged at numbers that compare to ordinary veterinary fees, but Matawa members and fire evacuees will be seen for free. Nicky Shaw is a reporter for CBC the Lakehead. She graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism and a minor in Environmental and Climate Humanities from Carleton University. Aligning with her passion for covering global environmental and humanitarian issues, she has worked to develop in-depth multimedia content that shares the diverse experiences of people in Northwestern Ontario. It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered onCBC Gem..
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📍 Source: CBC News Thunder Bay · By: CBC News Staff · 🗓️ August 08, 2026 · 🏠 ThunderBay.Online
