Author of City Wolves to speak at UPEI November 3

Members of the public are invited to attend a talk called "Creating City Wolves ... From Dogs" by Canadian author Dorris Heffron on Tuesday, November 3, from 12:30-1:20 p.m., in the AVC Lecture Theatre D at UPEI.

Heffron is the author of City Wolves, a novel that imagines the life of Canada's first female veterinarian, the Klondike gold rush, and the evolution of the dogs that would come to be known as Alaskan Malamutes.

A native of Noranda, Quebec, Heffron earned an Honours B.A., M.A. in Literature and Philosophy from Queen's University. While teaching in England from 1968 to 1980, she wrote three novels about teenagers that are considered pioneers in the genre of young adult fiction. The novels were translated and included in high school courses in Europe, Japan and Canada. She taught creative writing at the University of Malaysia, and wrote and taught in Holland, France and Cape Breton Island. She has served on the national council of The Writers' Union, the board of directors of PEN Canada, The Writers Trust of Canada, the Toronto Arts Council and the board of directors of the Native Men's Residence.

Heffron's talk is presented by the Chinook Project which brings essential veterinary care to isolated communities in the Canadian Arctic. The project was created by Jane Magrath, Associate Professor of English at UPEI, and Lisa Miller, Professor of Pathology and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at AVC.

Each summer, four veterinary students in their final year of study and two AVC clinicians, along with essential equipment, go to a community in the Canadian Arctic where they give free veterinary treatment to animals, including spaying/castration, parasite control and vaccinations, and they educate the local population in animal care.

The project visited Kimmirut (Southern Baffin) in 2006 and 2008, Cambridge Bay (Western Arctic) in 2007, and Kugluktuk and Cambridge Bay (Western Arctic) in 2009. In 2010 the project will go to Northern Labrador.