|
|
|
|
|
Vaccination and Spay/Neuter Programs Launched in Thailand
Veterinary nurse Consie von Gontard
inspects Phuket stray
19 January, Phuket, Thailand
As relief efforts become less urgent in the lower regions of Thailand, HSI’s International Disaster Relief Team has begun moving into northern regions, some of which were the hardest hit towns by the tsunami on 26 December. Aggressive vaccination programs are underway along with commencing spay and neuter programs within the refugee camps along the west coast.
Team organizing programs
On the morning of 19 January HSI’s Sherry Grant, met with members of the HSUS/HSI International Disaster Relief Team to launch the spay and neuter programs. The team members include lead surgeon Rai Arniasih and veterinary assistant Nana Prayoga both from Bali Street Dogs Foundation; veterinary nurse Melissa Forberg of DART; and veterinarian Leo Egar and veterinary nurse Consie von Gontard, both from RAV. HSI in addition is working closely with Athena Cant, of Paws and John Dalley of Soi Dogs both local groups who already have been actively involved in the animal relief efforts throughout Thailand.
The face of those that are being helped
The team traveled 120km north of Phuket to a small fishing village in Kao Lak, one of the hardest hit villages from the tsunami. The devastation of the villages has left an abundance of dogs orphaned, wandering through the rubble and scavenging for food. As Grant makes clear, the spay and neutering programs are fundamental “...to managing the current dog populations, and minimizing the problems that come with the over population of dogs. This is especially a problem where there is a reduced source of food and many dogs have been displaced”. The spay and neuter pilot program that ran just a few days ago in the same region, neutered 50 dogs in just two days, a rate that the team hopes to maintain.
The team traveling by two cars filled with medications, instruments and dog food, scouted the no longer standing ocean front villages assessing the number of dogs and their locations. In the early evening they set up a field clinic near a temporary government base, within a temple, eager to start in the morning!
Grant carries dead puppy
While driving out of their new field clinic the teams’ enthusiasm to begin the next day was disrupted with a tragic turn of events. While watching a mother dog play with her 5 puppies, about 4 months old, a puppy darted through the street, abruptly being killed by a speeding vehicle. The mother standing across the street, knowing that her puppy had just been suddenly taken, watched as Grant wrapped the corpse in a red blanket. This became a devastating end to a day that prompted an unanticipated burial.
- Piper Grant
|
|
|
|
|
|
