Belden the dog gets a nail trim at a Paws and Claws community clinic. (Photo courtesy of Katherine Selmer-Moseley)

Southeast Alaska towns like Haines and Skagway often attract adventurous people and their adventurous pets. But with the news of a major veterinary clinic in Juneau closing down and border restrictions making travel to Canadian vets more challenging, caring for those pets can be both expensive and time-consuming. KHNS’ Mike Swasey talked with Katherine Selmer-Moseley from Skagway’s Paws and Claws Animal Shelter for a run-down of pet care options in the upper Lynn Canal.

Swasey – Let’s start with the Southeast Alaska Animal Medical Center. They’re closing down. And that’s one less option for pet owners in the upper Lynn Canal. Can you kind of just walk us through what sort of options pet owners here have in Haines and Skagway?

Selmer-Moseley – Currently Southeast Animal Medical Center is not taking on new clients. So if you’re already a client there, I think that they will try to get you in but you know, they are really understaffed with only two vets. And then the other two veterinary clinics Tongass Vets and Juneau Veterinary Hospital are both kind of in a similar boat you know, just the same thing for those vet clinics trying to get an appointment you know, you’re looking at like two months out just for routine spay you know, or vaccine appointment.

Swasey – And you still gotta fly your animal down there. How much does it cost to fly a pet on Seaplanes down to Juneau?

Selmer-Moseley – Well, it is by weight. I want to say just like an average 60-70 pound dog, it’s over $100 one-way.

Swasey – Not quite as much as it would cost to fly a person down there, but still…

Selmer-Moseley – It is pretty darn close if you have a large dog. And I think a cat’s more in the $40-$50 range each way. So you know, just roughly $100 round trip.

Swasey – And then are those vets in Juneau able to do emergency services in case let’s say your dog gets quilled by a porcupine?

Selmer-Moseley – Unfortunately, right now they are not. I know that during their business hours, they will accept emergencies if they can. Historically, Southeast Animal Medical Center has been the only vet clinic in Juneau for many, many years, that has done after-hours care. And they currently are doing very, very limited after-hours care.

Swasey – Really, if your pet gets really sick or has an accident of some sort. Your only option is to go to Canada. Is that right?

Selmer-Moseley – That is correct. And that is, of course, if you can meet the border requirements. And it’s also always at the discretion of the border guard. So you might think, you know, that you have all your ducks in a row and show up and they don’t let you through. That being said I have found most of them to be compassionate and to allow people in. But like it is usually required that your pet have a current rabies vaccine to go through. And sometimes they will allow you to go through if you’re going to the vet because then you can get a rabies vaccine. But recently I know of a local person that actually called the border and tried to arrange to take a dog to Whitehorse to get rabies vaccine clinic and that border guard told them that “No they cannot.”

Swasey – What are the vets that are available in Whitehorse?

Selmer-Moseley – Alpine Veterinary Clinic is the main one and then All Paws I think is another great vet clinic, but last I heard they are not taking new clients. I was just speaking with a friend of mine that lives in Whitehorse and is well known in the animal community and she was just telling me that basically, both the Whitehorse vets are having a hard time attracting veterinarians to come. So yeah, it’s just a really tough situation. And I do feel for the veterinarians because I know that this isn’t something that, you know, they want to have to do either.

Swasey – Katherine, thanks so much for walking us through kind of our options as pet owners up here in the upper Lynn Canal, I appreciate it.

Selmer-Moseley – Okay, thanks for calling.

Paws and Claws in Skagway is a volunteer-run non-profit that helps find homes for pets, provides nail trimming and vaccine clinics, and can help advise care and offer some triage to pets needing emergency services. It also offers end-of-life care like euthanasia and some financial assistance to pet owners facing financial difficulties, but it isn’t a full-service veterinary clinic. H.A.R.K in Haines offers similar services and can help coordinate with regional veterinary resources.