By Samuel Wat
2 dog attacks happened in Nunavik’s smallest village in the same month
After several dog attacks in recent weeks, residents across Nunavut and Nunavik are saying enough is enough.
Two girls in Nunavik’s smallest village, Aupaluk, have been left with scars after being chased by dogs on the loose earlier this month.
One of the girls is Charlie Gordon’s six-year-old daughter. She was walking to Gordon’s work garage one evening to say hello when three dogs pounced on her.
“I got a FaceTime call from her uncle. He’s a first responder,” Gordon said. “That evening was one of my worst fears.”
His daughter was left with multiple dog bites and received multiple injections for rabies. Luckily, she’s a resilient kid.
“She’s scared but she’s still playing outside,” Gordon said.
While attacks aren’t frequent in Aupaluk, Gordon said loose dogs are a regular problem.
He wants people to tie up their dogs, and he’s calling on the municipality to find a dog catcher and build a pound to hold any strays.
“There’s kids always playing outside,” he said.
upaluk’s mayor, Maggie Akpahatak, said there is a bylaw officer position vacant, and she wants people to apply for the job. She adds that she’s been asking people to tie up their dogs, to no avail.
As a resident herself, she’s also scared.
“I have always been scared of dogs, especially when I’m not in my community, because I don’t know how mean or how friendly they may be … I don’t know how they are, even in my own hometown,” she said in Inuktitut.
Loose dogs across the North
Akpahatak said the threats posed by loose dogs are also seen elsewhere in Nunavik.
However, she has noticed some other villages tie their dogs in a location outside the town, which she encourages Aupaluk residents to try.
A 2020 study found roughly one in 400 Nunavimmiut were potentially exposed to rabies each year between 2008 and 2017, with the majority of incidents linked to dogs. Nunavik has a population of just over 14,000 people.
In Nunavut, a dog attack in Iqaluit on Monday was widely shared on social media, prompting calls for greater dog control.
Nunavut RCMP say the dog was tied up outside its home.
“The youth walked onto the property and approached the tethered dog and unfortunately was injured,” the statement reads.
In a news release, the City of Iqaluit said it recognizes the serious concerns raised from that incident, and it “remains committed to supporting community safety through its animal control responsibilities.”
So far this year, the city said it has impounded 73 dogs, investigated 17 reported dog-bite incidents, and made 54 proactive attempts to capture dogs.
The city said it could not immediately provide figures from the two years prior when asked by CBC News.
In June 2025, the city amended a bylaw which allowed officials to kill loose dogs within a shorter timeframe.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Vet clinic under construction in Kuujjuaq will be game changer, says project leader, Eye on the Arctic
Finland: Duo aiming to raise funds for jobless sled dogs in Arctic Finland, Yle News
Norway: Finnmarksløpet: Travelling with dogs is true freedom, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: Siberian huskies, Greenland sled dogs share DNA with today’s canine companions, Radio Sweden
