City Wolves

City Wolves is lively, insightful historical fiction about Canada’s first female veterinarian, Meg Wilkinson.

Born in 1870 on a farm near Halifax, Meg resolves from childhood experiences with wolves to become a veterinarian. Supported in this quest by the seemingly eccentric Randolph Oliphant and inspired by the ancient story of Inuit who first turned wolves into sled dogs, Meg surpasses the “horse doctors” at vet college and becomes Halifax’s notorious “dog doctor” in the 1890s.

After her unusual marriage to Oliphant ends abruptly in Boston, Meg shakes free by travelling to the Yukon in search of the legendary sled dogs. Arriving just as the Klondike gold rush begins, she is soon making her way amidst Mounties, dance hall girls, Klondike Kings, mushers, priests and swindlers – all the mangy and magnificent people, dogs, and spirits populating raucous Dawson City.

Observed in part through the restless spirit of ancient Inuit musher Ike, City Wolves subtly reveals the wolf-like nature of humans and the human nature of wolves. Both earthy and reflective, this compelling story is told with compassion, literary flair, humour, and unflinching realism. In this her fifth novel, Dorris Heffron creates unforgettable characters and achieves a breadth of vision enabling her – and her readers – to explore the deep conflicts and interconnections of social beings in ways uniquely Canadian yet profoundly universal.