Chaos as Yellowknife’s Great Slave Animal Hospital suddenly closes

Yellowknife’s Great Slave Animal Hospital closed its doors, apparently for good, at midday on Friday.

At the veterinary clinic, staff members spent the morning frantically handing medication and supplies to pet owners who raced across the city as they heard the news.

As noon arrived, Pat Dartnell – partner of the late Dr Tom Pisz, the veterinarian who founded the clinic, and executor of his estate – was told by exiting staff that the clinic’s closure was putting thousands of animals at risk.

More: Former GSAH vet clinic team launches new Facebook page

Dartnell told Cabin Radio she had not wanted this to happen, at the end of what multiple people said was a months-long deterioration in relations involving Dartnell and clinic staff.

Those staff members have not spoken about the closure over the past 24 hours, in part because of the sheer rush of people trying to receive help before it closed, and in part out of concern about addressing what has happened in public.

Veterinarian Dr Katie Denroche, who worked at the clinic, is understood to be hoping to reopen a practice in another location in the near future, though the details of that have not been confirmed. By mid-afternoon on Friday, a new Facebook page for Dr Denroche and her team had appeared and been verified by Cabin Radio.

“More information about the future of her practice will be available soon,” the animal hospital had initially written in a statement on Thursday that began a day of chaos.

The clinic swiftly deleted that statement from Facebook within an hour of publishing it, then sent a note to media promising an update.

No further information immediately followed but, by Friday morning, the clinic was calling patients to cancel appointments.

Amanda Bradbury had appointments booked for both a dog and cat. When the clinic called on Friday to cancel, that was a concern for Bradbury as she had already started sedating her dog ahead of blood work that was due to be carried out.

“We only have three days left of medication for our dog and his bloodwork was going to confirm the dose going forward,” Bradbury said. “It leaves us in a challenging situation.”

Pet owners turned away

Cabin Radio was in the building as the noon shutdown occurred.

Dartnell, clutching a phone, could be heard trying to make arrangements for the remains of cremated pets to be collected elsewhere. The NWT SPCA, the city’s animal shelter, is understood to be helping with that. More information is expected shortly.

Remaining clinic staff gathered at the front reception area before leaving the premises at 12pm.

As they left, the staff had to turn away one person who came to the door asking to collect the remains of a friend’s cremated cat. They assured the person that arrangements would be made.

Other pet owners could be seen arriving in the parking lot. Staff who appeared close to tears told Dartnell, who seemed uncertain of what to do, that she would need to turn them away with the business now closed.

“I did not want to close this clinic down today,” Dartnell said. “That was the last thing I wanted to do.”

She asked to speak in more detail next week about the sudden collapse of the clinic.

By 12:30pm, residents in need of medication were still turning up to find an orange sign on the door declaring the clinic permanently closed.

“What am I supposed to do?” asked one person who had come to acquire medication.

Denroche and team have urged pet owners to use the new Facebook page to seek help if they need it.

‘A huge loss’

Dartnell said she had no idea what would now happen to the clinic building.

On the phone earlier on Friday, Bradbury felt the staff sounded “just as shocked as I was” about the pace at which the clinic’s closure was arriving.

“It sounded like we were all in a very challenging situation and it didn’t sound like they wanted to be the ones making those phone calls, but they were very professional and answered all the questions I had,” she said.

“It didn’t sound like they had a whole lot of information, either.”

Bradbury said she had managed to move her dog’s appointment to the Yellowknife Veterinary Clinic, the only other such clinic in the city.

“It’s just unfortunate that it impacts clients,” she said.

“This is going to be a huge loss to all of Yellowknife,” said Dr Michelle Tuma, a veterinarian who is based in Yellowknife and works for a veterinary non-profit alongside some part-time work locally.

She said she was examining how she could support pet owners in town, though this is a busy time of year as her own non-profit’s clinics across the territory are coming up.

“Everybody, including the staff and vets at Great Slave, are working hard to make it as smooth as possible however it’s going to look,” Tuma said.

“They are doing everything they can. This comes as a shock to all of us. We’ll figure out something to ensure pet owners can have some support.”

Correction: February 16, 2025 – 12:55 MT. This article initially stated that Great Slave Animal Hospital’s building appeared emptied of much of its equipment at the time a reporter was there. While some supplies had been taken from the premises by the likes of pet owners making last-minute purchases, staff say equipment remained in place.

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