Northern Pet Care

08/04/2026

A reminder to Thompson and area:

The city is approaching another year without regular veterinary services.

There are only two vets in the province willing to try to assist with this issue. But we have limits to what we are able to do.

Speaking for myself, when I come up to Thompson once a month, it is mainly to assist regular clients who have supported my services throughout my time in Thompson and are respectful and aware of what I am able to do while I am in Thompson. When I have extra openings, I try to catch animals up on their vaccinations and minor emergencies that I can handle solo.

I do not maintain staff in Thompson. There's no way to do that. I do not currently have an RVT as she is on mat leave. And there are no other RVTs able to come assist. This limits what I am able to do.

As well, because I am only up for a few days a month, this limits the cases that I can take on in good faith. I am not able to provide proper care to sick animals when I am not in the community.

I know my clients know this and I'm preaching to the choir. But the situation in Thompson in regards to animal welfare is not good. Many people in the community have animals but do not have the means or ability to travel. This means animals are suffering from lack of care.

I get emails pretty much daily about animals that I can not help. It eats at my soul. But I am not willing to destroy my mental health over a problem that I did not create and is not mine to fix.

If you have an animal, it is your responsibility to seek appropriate care. That currently means you have to travel. It does not mean you should leave your animal to suffer for weeks.

This is a call, yet again, to the City of Thompson to step up. Veterinary services are part of vital services to the community.

10/31/2025

👻🎃 Halloween can be fun for humans — but spooky for our pets!
Keep your furry friends safe and stress-free this Halloween with these safety tips:

🐕 Keep pets away from the front door during trick-or-treating
🐾 Make sure ID tags are up to date
🧡 Choose costumes that are safe and comfortable
🚫 Keep candy out of reach — chocolate and sweeteners can be dangerous

Let’s make sure Halloween stays full of treats (not tricks!) for every member of the family 🐶🐱

10/17/2025

📣 CALLING ALL NORTHERN PET LOVERS‼️
Do you have a furry, feathered, or scaly friend that brightens your northern days? 🌞🐕🐈🐍

Join the challenge and help raise awareness about the need for permanent veterinary care in Northern Manitoba ‼️

📸 Snap. Tag. Post.
Share a photo of your pet, tag us, and use — let’s show the world our amazing northern companions and remind everyone that every community deserves access to quality vet care.

🐾 Together, we can make a difference for pets in the North!

09/12/2025

📢 VET CARE CRISIS IMPACT SURVEY 📢

Thompson and Northern Manitoba are in the middle of a veterinary care crisis—and now we need YOUR voice.

Northern Pet Care Advocates has launched an Impact Survey to collect real stories and data from people across the North. This survey will help us:

⚠️ Show decision-makers the true impact of not having consistent vet care.
⚠️ Push forward funding and policy changes with government and the MVMA.
⚠️ Demonstrate that Northern families and pets cannot wait any longer.

🐾 Whether you’ve struggled to access vet care, faced heartbreaking choices, or spent thousands traveling south—your experience matters.

✅ Filling out this survey is one of the most important ways you can help. The more responses we collect, the stronger our voice will be.

👉 Take the survey today https://forms.gle/yT5eAHy3KcNq7BqVA
👉 Share it with your friends, family, and neighbours.
👉 Let’s stand together to make sure pets and families in the North are not left behind.

09/10/2025

VET CARE CRISIS IN THOMPSON

Right now, Thompson and Northern Manitoba are facing a serious veterinary care crisis. Without urgent action, our community risks being left with no long-term veterinary services.

This summer, Northern Pet Care Advocates met with the Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association (MVMA). Here’s what we learned ⬇️

⚠️ There is a global shortage of veterinarians. Thompson will struggle to recruit without immediate, coordinated effort.
⚠️ We don’t have enough trained veterinary technologists (RVTs). Supporting local people to train is essential.
⚠️ High costs of operating in the North (housing, flights, staffing) are pushing services out of reach.
⚠️ Veterinarians will not stay unless the community supports them and negative behaviours are addressed.

✅ MVMA’s recommendations:
• Hire a veterinarian recruiter (may be our only realistic chance to bring a vet here).
• Invest in distance RVT training so northern students can study and work at the same time.
• Work together on housing and travel costs for veterinary professionals.
• Push forward formal proposals with government NOW, while they are open to working with us.
• Expand programs like the Community Vaccinator Program and explore an Advanced RVT role (report due 2026).

🐾 What this means:
Time is running out. Without urgent action, pets and families in the North will continue to suffer without access to care. We cannot afford to wait.

Northern Pet Care Advocates is fighting for solutions—but we need the community’s support, strong voices, and a united front to bring permanent veterinary care back to Thompson.

👉 Share this post.
👉 Speak up.
👉 Email the Chief Veterinary Office [email protected] and the Registrar of the Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association [email protected] with how lack of consistent veterinary care has affected you and your pets. Check the comments for an email template.
👉 Fill out our impact survey that will be coming soon.
👉 Let’s make sure the North is not left behind.

12/23/2024

Thank you Bark & Meow for coming to help support our vision of vet care to our Northern Animals! Contact [email protected] for booking!

Vaccines, exams, spays, neuters, dental exams, senior animal special....Jan 6-12th!!! Book a spot now!
Email us at [email protected]

12/09/2024

🎄✨ A HUGE THANK YOU to the U15 King Miners for all their hard work helping our board members set up our Winter Wonderland display at McCreedy Park! Your dedication and community spirit are truly inspiring. 🙌

Come see the fantastic job we all did on:

December 12-15, 19-22, 24-25, & 31 from 6:00-8:00pm!

Way to go, boys – your efforts make our community shine brighter this holiday season! 🌟

11/19/2024

Our board meetings are open to those who want to become involved with Northern Pet Care - volunteers, future board members, members of the public who have helpful ideas to help drive our project forward.

If you are unable to attend the meeting but want to become involved, reach out to [email protected].

We look forward to working with the community that this will affect.

-Northern Pet Care Board

11/13/2024

We would like to thank Chelsea Kemp at CBC for the fantastic piece that she put together!

We will be in desperate need of veterinary care come the new year and articles like this bring much needed awareness. If you’d like to help out Northern Pet Care, reach out!

11/13/2024

We would like to thank Chelsea Kemp at CBC for the fantastic piece that she put together!

We will be in desperate need of veterinary care come the new year and articles like this bring much needed awareness. If you’d like to help out Northern Pet Care, reach out!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/thompson-vet-closing-recruitment-1.7381737