Our top prorities are safety, animal wellfare and authentic nature experiences.
22/04/2025
Hello everyone.
I would like to speak out on this article and this particular video with honesty and openness that I only ask you to read, listen and hopefully see a different side to the context, and try not to attack me personally with threats please.
I currently work at frozen lake kennel as the saariselka/ivalo farm manager. I have worked here since August 2024. Hence I only speak about this video, the other videos, despite what I have been told by the owner of what happened, I did not experience first hand, so can only give a bias opinion on them.
When it comes to the welfare of the dogs, the team that has worked here this year has been outstanding. I cannot thank them enough for the work they have put in to the season and on taking care of the dogs.
The dogs for us, ALWAYS come first. They are ALWAYS cleaned, fed biscuits designed for hard/high intensity working dogs alongside meat designed for sled dogs and have accesss to water regularly through water buckets in cages, morning soup, given snacks and water after each tour, and also with food at dinner time.
Now, concerning this video, the dog in question is named Skunk. Skunk gave birth in September at rovaniemi farm. She came to the saariselka/ivalo farm in October, and began her process back to running in January. At this point, skunk was ready to get back to what she loved doing and showed interest to start running. We do not EVER force a dog to run if they do not want to. Her steady progress back to running was looking good, small runs with plenty of rest days in between. And she always ran in the guide team so we can keep an eye on her.
Unfortunately, with no previous signs of any ailment , she slipped ever so slightly and snapped a ligament. Of course this is a terrible accident to happen, of which was nobody's fault and a freak thing to experience.
Upon the incident happening, a phone call was made very quickly to the owner, Erika, because despite knowing that skunk needs the vet, the owner of the dog must ALWAYS be informed and contacted straight away. The vets are then called and as we are waiting for the phone call back, skunk is placed on the chain, hence where the video comes from. She was here for no more than 10 minutes as the vets called back quickly. Then she was carried to the car and went straight to the vet. So from the accident happening, to the dog being at the vet was no more than 45 mins, and we are a 30 mins drive away. The situation was dealt with professionally and quickly.
Now, without context, of course this video looks horrendous, and rightly so.
But what upsets me, is the posting of such videos with no context at all. There is no video of us calling the vets, there is no video of us carrying the dog to the car. There is no video of us comforting the dog.
To say we dragged the dog by the collar is absolutely not true at all.
I personally am all for the use of social media, and to spread awareness of the wrong doings at kennels, or any animal farm for that matter.
But I also know that posting short clips of videos with no context is extremely dangerous in itself for the mis-spread of information, and actually, almost of malice intent.
I would also like to brush on the subject of responsibility.
In general as far as I see it, for any company, the owner must of course do their due diligence of who they hire and then train and educate the staff on what the roles and responsibilities are of the kennel.
In our case where the farm is at 2 separate locations, the owner leaves the responsibility of caring for the dogs to employed staff, where she regularly checks in. The employed staff also have access to communication with the owner through several means to inform her of what is going on at the farm.
For an example if we stop all form of communication , if we don't tell the owner what's happening, if we didn't feed or water the dogs correctly, of course the dogs will suffer and the owner will be blamed. **(THIS IS AN EXAMPLE)**
So I do believe staff should also be held accountable for their actions. We have a responsibility to care for these animals, and to provide for them, as well as communicate with the owner.
And regarding the few dogs who needed dental work, they have been to the vet and received the necessary treatments required.
So I do encourage, always ask questions, always do research on the company.
I believe it's important to have these discussions.
Thank you for reading
