PET PLAN CHARITABLE TRUST / WVS TRAINING TRIPS 2006

In conjunction with the Pet Plan Charitable Trust and with the backing and advice of their Chief Executive, David Simpson, and our Veterinary Advisory Committee, we decided to run a series of trial training trips in association with Bristol University new graduates. We proposed trialling the scheme with four teams in order to accommodate 16 new graduates. Each team was designed to comprise 4 new graduates, 2 experienced vets (3 years + experience) and 1-2 experienced and qualified nurses.

The WVS emphasis is on sustainability and education. Under the guidance of the charity’s Specialist Veterinary Advisory Committee and thanks to an initiative proposed and organised by Ian Battersby and Ed Friend; each training team seeks to form links with local vets and Universities in the locations in which they work. A fundamental basis for this relationship with the associated charity is based upon the development of a veterinary library and surgical training programme. The libraries are stocked with veterinary textbooks and journals donated to the charity by UK veterinary colleagues and, thanks to the large collections organised by Ian, we have been able to equip three libraries to date. The libraries are not limited to our training trips and we are endeavouring to build these in conjunction with several of our associated charities in developing countries, particularly in Africa, where they are already proving a very valuable resource to some of our veterinary colleagues. Ed Friend is overseeing the surgical techniques used in our training trip protocols so that we can ensure a standardised technique is used throughout our training programmes.

Whilst promoting the projects it was additionally very important that we objectively assessed their benefit and ensured that they helped the new graduates, the feral animals, as well as the associated charities. To this effect we asked every participant to fill in a feedback form. A summary of each of these trips follows in the enclosed report and we are pleased to say that they were a considerable success. Our goal is now to expand and develop the programme next year, offering placements to all UK vet schools as well as our international members.

Worldwide Veterinary Service would like to thank David Simpson and the Trustees of the Pet Plan Charitable Trust for their considerable help in developing this project, Clarissa Baldwin from the Dogs Trust for her help and support, Bayer for a large amount of drug donations towards each trip and our own Veterinary Advisory Committee and in particular our International Projects Coordinator, Hannah Westen, for her excellent logistical organisation in ensuring the teams ran smoothly and her comprehensive report compiling.

Yours Sincerely,

Luke Gamble
Chief Executive
Worldwide Veterinary Service

A Few Feedback Comments

“It was an excellent trip and definitely worthwhile. I would recommend it to any new grads.” “Really great week and very worthwhile. The charity do a wonderful job and I admire the staff in the shelter for their dedication. I would highly recommend this trip.”
Rachel Whitear, new graduate

“I had a fabulous time, felt that we really prepared new grads for their first job and also felt that we were helping the local animals. Am seriously considering bringing a couple of dogs over for myself. I am hoping to get some more sponsorship for the charity now and would very much like to go back.” [Joanne is going back to Samos with her husband on the 21st of October]
Joanne Douglas MRCVS

“This was an extremely enjoyable week in which the team bonded together and formed an effective force of which I am very proud to have been a part. The work we accomplished was very much appreciated and gave an immense feeling of satisfaction – just the way a vet should feel!”
Chris McIver MRCVS

“From the relaxed atmosphere and excellent teaching, all of us new graduates came away far more confident in our surgical skills. We also helped a large number of animals. Thanks so much.”
Amy Calam, new graduate

“I felt that we were not only helping the situation at the SOS centre but also doing something to address the massive feral cat situation in the area…I couldn’t have asked for a nicer, more hardworking team to be with and I have not only gained huge surgical experience and confidence, but have made new friends too.”
Clare Smith, new graduate

"Another successful trip! 92 cats and 25 dogs operated. The team were great! And I think everyone has enjoyed the experience. We look forward to keeping in close contact and hopefully working again with you in the near future. Take care and best regards"
Kim, SOS Animals (Costa del Sol)

2006 TRAINING TRIPS REPORT

SUMMARY

• Animed Arad, Romania
• SOS Animals, Spain
• Animal Care Samos, Samos

Experienced vets:

• Helen Shreeve
• Charlotte Searle
• Chris McIver
• Sue Harvey
• Joanne Douglas
• Mhairi Fleming
• Markus Froembling

Experienced VN’s:

• Leasa Neame
• Nicky Whitehead
• Philippe Ramboaniaina
• Niky Forrest

New graduates:

• Mandy Ball
• Philippa Skinner
• Jennifer Hamilton-Ible
• Marissa Evans
• Clare Smith
• Katherine Ellis
• Andrew Bitmead
• Rachel Whitear
• Sarah Packman
• Tessa Charnley
• Amy Calam
• Line Holm
• Katerina Phinopoulou
• Keara Brennan

Animals neutered: 343

Expenditure:

Donation from new graduates £4980
Total expenditure £8959.14
WVS contribution £3979.14

INTRODUCTION

Following the success of previous trips initiated by WVS in 1999, the 2006 final year vet students at Bristol University were keen to organise post-graduation neutering trips abroad. Hence, a group of four students- Marissa Evans, Andrew Bitmead, Pippa Skinner and Amy Calam - set about searching for venues and fundraising. By late April 2006, approximately £4,000 had been raised through events, such as quizzes in Langford bar, and from donations courtesy of The Kennel Club, Intervet, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Hill’s Pet Nutrition. However, at this point, the students had found no clinics that could take them! Following an article in the Vet Times requesting assistance, WVS contacted the students offering to help them find placements. Thus, four week-long trips were born - two to Spain, one to Romania and another to Samos in Greece, each taking enthusiastic new graduates and at least one experienced vet and vet nurse.

Trip 1 – July 24th-31st, Animed Arad, Romania

Animed Arad joined forces with SOS Animals and Nature in Pancota City, whose founders, members and volunteers provided working space, accommodation and refreshments, as well as dogs for neutering, for the duration of the trip. WVS provided the funds that enabled Animed Arad to purchase drugs for the trip, whilst SOS Animals and Nature also donated some materials from their two drug stores. The team took with them a box of donated Bayer Advantix flea treatment that was left with the charities in Romania. Animed Arad worked as the link between WVS and SOS Animals and Nature and were responsible for transporting the animals from the clinic and back. This was the first collaboration between the two Romanian charities and both were pleased with the outcome and wish to work together again with WVS as soon as possible.

Over four days the team sterilised a total of 54 animals – 37 female dogs, 12 male dogs, 4 female cats and 1 male cat.

About Animed Arad

The Experienced Vet’s Story

Nearing completion of a 6 month project out on the island of Mauritius, and with the prospect of facing 'normal' work as a vet again, I set about finding another project to delay the inevitable!

So there it was - the opportunity to travel to Romania and be part of a trip designed to benefit the locals and to assist three newly graduated Bristol students on the way to their first job in practice!

Having checked in at Heathrow at 4am and met up with the rest of the team, ensuring we had the two surgical kits and Advantix (courtesy of Bayer) from WVS, we headed to Timisoara airport.

We were met at the airport and taken to a tiny village about thirty minutes from Arad. It became quite apparent that, apart from one of the gentlemen, the ability for us to communicate in English was going to be extremely challenging! But, through forcing out some GCSE French and German, and through some classic sign language, we managed to have a beer and establish a time for starting in the morning!

Due to the language barrier, all week we were slightly confused as to exactly what the trip mission was and which charity we were working on behalf of. However, it was our own personal mission to neuter as many cats and dogs as we could in the four days and at the same time to teach the new graduates.

We were given an unused building with various rooms including one sink, four tables and a single socket. We arranged it into a prep/recovery room and a ‘theatre’. The anaesthetic protocol was going to follow one I had used in the few months previously and consisted of a combination of IV +/- IM ketamine and xylazine. Pain control came in the form of a drug similar to Buscopan. Every animal was to receive Advantix at the time of induction.

We had one new graduate assisting the nurse with anaesthetic protocols, being responsible for weighing the animal, placing an IV catheter (a pure luxury as there were some spare that needed using up), inducing the animal and monitoring the dog’s status once on the table. The other vet, Helen Shreeve, and I then took one new graduate each and started to teach away! It became very clear that we had completely different ways of doing the little things but this gave the new graduates a better insight into the possibilities and taught them that their way is not necessarily the only way to do something.

It was a fantastic opportunity for the new graduates as I felt they all went away being able to at least attempt a bitch spay unsupervised, which in my experience in the first job is fairly unusual. It was also very satisfying for us to see them improve so much over just 4 days.

Neutering abroad can have its advantages and disadvantages. Although you often find the bitches are thinner, and therefore easier to spay as there is less fat in the abdomen, they also tend to bleed more and have larger spleens due to reduced clotting ability, partly due to being so heavily parasitized. We did come across one dog with a swollen scrotum due to the latter problem and, unfortunately, we lost one bitch during the anaesthetic, despite the best efforts of all the team to try and resuscitate her.

In total, we neutered over 50 animals and I hope that our efforts were appreciated in the local area and that we increased overall animal welfare.

Trip 2 – August 14th-21st, SOS Animals, Spain

All members of the team left with great memories of a job well done and friendships made. Nicky plans to go back to SOS Animals and cites it as one of the best things she’s ever done in her life and Chris hopes to adopt one of the dogs. Katy, Marissa and Claire will start new jobs with confidence and enthusiasm.

About SOS Animals

Two hundred plus dogs take a lot of looking after, as well as conventional dog shelters there is an array of makeshift wire cages at the centre. Dogs that roam free during the day get put away at night in anything available from old cars to caravans.

Ectoparasites, such as ticks, fleas and lice, are a big problem; fortunately the team arrived with a large WVS donation of Bayer Advantix treatments (£960 worth). Dogs at the centre are vaccinated, neutered (the team’s job for the next week!), blood tested for tick fever, micro-chipped and re-homed. SOS Animals has very strong ties with Scandinavia; the dogs are looked after by a host of Scandinavian volunteers and the majority of the dogs are re-homed in Sweden and Finland. Incredible organisation goes into preparing the dogs for their new homes. While there is a steady drip of dogs to the airport, there is unfortunately an equal or greater number of new arrivals. There is also a high number of feral cats on the Costa del sol, although hopefully this number has been reduced slightly thanks to the WVS teams!

In Spain it costs around €100 to have an animal neutered, which is excessive for a large number of owners and the reason why so many dogs and cats remain un-neutered. Neutering of the dogs is of utmost importance, it is a credit to the shelter that there were no pregnant bitches during the WVS visit - although puppies had been abandoned at the gate. The vast majority of dogs neutered by the team were pre-puberty and they had the satisfaction of leaving only a handful of un-neutered young dogs. A large number of cats, brought in by a team of trappers, were also neutered. These were mostly large kittens with very few pregnant or lactating queens.

The VN’s Story

I have worked as a nurse in small animal practice since leaving school, last year I qualified and wanted to use my qualification for something worthwhile. On discussion with a fellow colleague, I joined the Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS).

How My Adventure Began
One evening, whilst reading my emails, I stumbled across one from the WVS, ‘Urgent Qualified Small Animal Nurse Required’, I had to read. I was being offered an opportunity of a lifetime; a nurse was needed to complete a team that was being sent to Spain to help neuter stray animals for a charity called ‘SOS Animals’. After a few phone calls, emails and forms I was on the team. I received the details days before my trip, it was all last minute for me as I was replacing a member of the original team who sadly had to drop out due to illness. I didn’t mind at all, it was an adventure to me and I was far too excited.

Members of the team were given each others email addresses and mobile numbers and we made arrangements to meet at Luton airport. I had never been on a trip like this before and had no idea what to take with me (after all, I didn’t want to turn up with the biggest suitcase in the world whilst everyone else had just a back pack). After some thought I decided to travel light to avoid embarrassment from my fellow team members, you all know how it is - we always take far too many clothes abroad with us that we never wear.

To me this was a magical mystery tour, I had no idea who I was going with, where I was staying, or who out of the group knew each other beforehand. This didn’t bother me that much though as I have worked as a locum so meeting new people is not alien to me at all. Well! I wasn’t nervous until the journey to the airport. I hadn’t had much time to think about the trip as I was busy getting stuff ready, arranging meeting times, etc.

My Adventure Begins
My parents were kind enough to take me to the airport, which involved getting out of bed at 3am (I’m normally getting in at that time not getting up). The journey wasn’t that long from where I live so I didn’t feel too bad for my parents, and the traffic was very quiet at that time of day.

Due to the proposed terror attacks non-passengers were not allowed to enter the airport so I had to bid farewell to my parents outside and meet my new pals alone (not a problem but I had no idea what any of them looked like and it was like looking for a needle in a haystack). Once inside I was actually standing next to them (without even knowing it), a few texts later and there I was with my new found friends, nerves gone and ready for the challenge.

I was told by the group that this was a training exercise for three new graduates from Bristol University to develop their surgical skills. We would be neutering stray cats and dogs, and my role was to assist where possible. There were 2 experienced vets to support and guide the new graduates throughout the week.

We arrived at Malaga airport and were greeted by Berry, a volunteer for SOS. I will never forget the first thing Berry said to me, “You’re in for a culture shock”, bemused I looked at Clare and Kate and started laughing, what did she mean ‘culture shock’? From the airport we went to the local supermarket (no culture shock here!), then we went to our home for the next 7 days.

I remember driving along still thinking about Berry’s first words, then suddenly we ventured off the main road and along some dirt track roads, winding around hills. I looked out of the van window and saw mountains and fields and shack-like buildings. Then in the distance Berry pointed out where we were staying. Then I realised exactly what she meant! You see, when you think of Spain (well, when I think of Spain) I think of hotels, beaches, and swimming pools, not being surrounded by hills, no bars or beaches in sight. I went with an open mind so my expectations weren’t destroyed; this was the real Spain I was about to experience.

Our Mission
Just days before the team’s arrival Kim’s husband Stan and his son Lee had been busy preparing an operating theatre and recovery area from what was formerly another holding area for the dogs, prior to which it was a pig shed.

In the operating theatre were two tables, two lights, a sink and a couple of plastic boxes full of equipment. It was clean and tidy and this was our place of work for the next 7 days. Having been in practice for a number of years I have been spoilt with the things we take for granted, such as an anaesthetic machine, autoclave, clippers, pulse oximeter, etc. Well guess what? I had none of that just two tables and some random equipment to play with. Being the only nurse on the team setting up was my area of expertise (or so I was told by one of the other members of the group), I didn’t mind at all, it was a challenge.

First things first, we needed to set up the tables with lights so the vets could see what they were doing, one light was already on a stand so that was fine but the other needed to be put up in some way. Kate, Clare and Marissa came up with the best invention by using a coat hanger and some bandage material; this was attached to one of the rafters and worked very well.

Next were the kits, we found some instruments in a plastic bag and went from there. The new graduates had brought some instruments with them so, with their contribution, we managed to salvage three complete kits out of the lot. These kits comprised of 1 pair of scissors, 4 artery forceps, 1 pair of dressing forceps, 1 pair of rat tooth forceps, 1 towel clip, 1 pair of needle holders (there were only 2 in total, so in one kit we used an extra pair of artery forceps). We had to improvise but it worked really well.

Once the kits were sorted we had to work out how to sterilise them, well I have to say, I came up with a great invention if I do say so myself! I used a plastic box with a lid. I also found a wire cat cage without the lid and used this to place instruments in for sterilising; this enabled the vets to retrieve the kits without breaking sterility. We were provided with some sterilising liquid that a previous vet had left, the problem with this was that the instructions were in Spanish (not a problem, I studied Spanish at school many moons ago and just needed to remember it very quickly). Once I had translated it, with the help of Chris, we worked out that it was 1ml/litre of water - not hard at all. Water was added to the plastic box followed by the sterilising liquid; this was then mixed (wearing a glove of course). The wire basket was immersed in the solution and the kits were placed inside. Two kits could be sterilised in the cage at one time. Initially we left instruments in the solution for 30 minutes as I was unsure of the product. This method was also adapted to a plastic tool box, which was used for extra forceps and bone cutters if needed. It worked really well, the instruments were cleaned after use in detergent and rinsed thoroughly before placing back in the sterilising box. At the end of each day the kits were placed on the side to dry and covered with a towel to prevent dust settling on them. The sterilising fluid was discarded and replenished every morning.

We had no cradles to place the animals in so Sue went off to find some breeze blocks; these were wrapped in towels and were our cradle alternative.

As we had no anaesthetic machine we couldn’t intubate the animals. We used xylazine and ketamine intra muscular, it took a few days to get used to the new protocol but the recovery was better than I had expected. Another drug was donated (Zoletil), which we used for bitch spays. Some animals needed extra top ups but they all recovered well. Katy, Clare and Marissa soon became very adept at administering the injectable anaesthesia of xylazine and ketamine.

The patients were clipped up and the area was cleaned using Betadine and cotton wool, when we ran out of cotton wool I sat and cut swabs up into four. This reduced some of the cost as the swabs were cleaned and reused.

By day two the clippers provided were becoming blunt and unable to cope with the coarse fur of some of the cats, method two was to use scissors and a razor blade. I surrendered my own new razor but this soon became blunt (not designed for cat or dog fur), this was not a problem as supplies were brought in. I have to admit, at first it seemed to take ages to clip the animals but by the end of the day I had it down to a fine art , the vets were even giving it a go, and not doing a bad job. It was a real team effort; the vets were helping clean kits, setting up theatre every morning and, believe it or not, cleaning up after themselves!

We were limited with our suture material, which had also been donated. We had Vicryl and PDS but again this was all in different names to those we were used to. It just goes to show that from whatever you are taught there are ways to adapt to new things - I never thought that I would be sterilising in a plastic box with a cat cage for the instruments to sit in.

We had to adapt to this new way of working very quickly and had to economise on everything. Suture material was not wasted and any left over was placed in surgical spirit and preserved for future use, we also recycled blades as we were running short, these were cleaned and again sterilized and used until blunt.

We kept the theatre as sterile as we could, keeping the doors shut whenever possible. The tables were cleaned before and after each op with a bathroom cleaner and the floor swept every evening. Every morning we cleaned the tables again as there was a big problem with dust. It worked well for us and no animals had any post op complications. Being a nurse I have really bad OCD and cleanliness is paramount in these kinds of situations.

We operated from 8.30am sometimes through until 9pm, when the light was kind to us. We bonded as a team very quickly and provided support to each other when we needed it the most.

Our hazards included the dogs that appeared to possess no clotting ability – bleeding profusely from their injection sites even before an incision was made. Ehrlichia is a problem in this area so the team were obviously very conscious of this and took the utmost care with their ligatures.

We had nice weather with rain on just one day, which provided much amusement. Whilst clipping up an animal I noticed water coming through the ceiling. It was dripping on my op site so we moved the table slightly, then to add to the fun it started to drip on the table where the instruments were to be placed. This was no problem at all we just moved the table further up the operating theatre. The hornets that appeared quite suddenly after we had some rain would enter our operating theatre and caused a certain amount of trepidation. Katy is very allergic to stings and was understandably wary but the other new graduates managed to ignore the intrusions and carried on with the tasks in hand.

The Animals
As this was a training exercise numbers were not the issue, but the team neutered a grand total of 130 animals in 7 days, 58 female cats, some of which were pregnant (some heavily), 31 male cats, 24 male dogs and 17 female dogs. Of these 11 cats and 32 dogs were from the SOS Animals shelter.

Most of the cats we neutered were from neighbouring villages and were caught and brought in to us, these needed to be operated on ASAP as they were to be returned the next day. People were even travelling from further a field once they knew we were visiting.

The cats were neutered midline unless heavily pregnant and the vets opted for midline. All feral cats had the tip of their left ear removed to identify them as having been neutered should they be caught again. Subcutaneous sutures were used as there was no way that you could get near the cats to remove sutures.

The dogs were blood tested for Leishmania, which is a problem in some dogs in Southern Europe. Leishmaniasis is generally believed to be transmitted via the bites of sand flies; this method of transmission has not been confirmed in some countries such as North America but it is suspected that the infection is transmitted from dog to dog in blood and secretions incidental to biting, licking, breeding, blood transfusion etc. The signs of leishmaniasis in dogs are variable and often do not appear until many months after exposure to the infection. Skin lesions are common including hair loss and ulcers. The dog may lose appetite, become lethargic and bleed from the nose. Without treatment most infected dogs will ultimately die. Medical treatments can improve the condition and prolong survival but rarely eradicate the infection. It is also a zoonotic disease affecting both humans and dogs. A lot of the dogs at the SOS Animals shelter are crossbreeds and it is impossible to determine what they have been crossed with. The Spinone Italiano is one of the main breeds to contract this disease. We operated on a few dogs that may have been infected with Leishmania, we found that these dogs tended to bleed more than the others and this made the vets’ jobs even harder. Even giving a simple injection resulted in lots of blood from the injection site.

The animals had their own recovery area next to the theatre, this was quiet and calming for them and Kim watched them closely alerting us to any problems (there were few).

The dogs were really friendly and none were aggressive towards us, there were some who were scared (I would be if someone was coming towards me with an inch and a half needle - the smallest needle we had!). I learnt that some of the animals came from Spanish speaking families and it’s not the language I speak, but to be honest it doesn’t matter what language you speak it’s the tone of your voice that the dog’s understand (something to remember when a client is being difficult saying ‘he doesn’t know your voice’), speak calmly and caringly and even a foreign dog can understand that!

What I achieved
I learnt so much from this experience and made new firm friendships. Most of the female cats were pregnant and I felt that what we did as a team was so worthwhile, we reduced numbers of further stray and unwanted cats by just doing what we normally do at home. It was an unpaid and voluntary effort and one that was so much more rewarding than I had ever anticipated. My qualification has been used for a good and worthy cause and I am proud to call myself a veterinary nurse.

I was placed in an environment completely alien from what I am used to and I coped and adapted well. Autoclave! What’s one of them? Give me a plastic box anytime! We lived worked and socialised as a team and hopefully we will return to SOS Animals in the future.

I would like to thank all at SOS Animals for the fantastic hospitality they showed towards us, and continue the good work! Berry for cooking our meals every evening. The WVS for giving me the opportunity to be part of such a wonderful team. My parents and family for believing in me and supporting me all the way throughout my career. Last but not least my team, thank you for all the support, kindness and professionalism that you showed me. I wish you all the very best in your future careers, you will all be fantastic vets and from personal experience you will be great towards the nurses.

So if I was asked would I do it again?
Most definitely!

Trip 3 – August 16th-23rd, Animal Care Samos

The team on this occasion comprised of 4 new graduates (Andrew Bitmead, Rachel Whitear, Sarah Packman and Tessa Charnley) and two experienced vets (Joanne Douglas and Mhairi Fleming). Staff at Animal Care Samos were able to act as nurses on this occasion so no VN’s were sent out with the team.

The Team’s Story

On arrival at Samos airport we were greeted by Toby and Carolien who swiftly took us to the clinic where we were introduced to Joeri and our first patient – Mina. Mina had been viciously savaged in a dogfight and had suffered penetrating wounds to the midline, two large gashes to her neck and wounds to her stifle area and left flank. The abdomen was lavaged and Mina’s other wounds were flushed and dressed. It was touch and go as Mina was not the ideal surgical candidate – she was severely shocked – and we were using unfamiliar drug protocols for anaesthesia. Despite the odds being stacked against her, Mina pulled through the next few critical days on BID enrofloxocin and clindamycin, and SID meloxicam. It was very touching that, despite her obvious pain at repeated wound lavage and dressing, she forgave us for everything we put her through – what a star!

The next couple of days involved Jo and Mhairi supervising and helping the new graduates master the techniques of spaying and castrating animals. All in all, 42 neutering operations were carried out over the course of the week. The bitch spays were a particular challenge as a lot of the bitches were either pregnant or in season and Ehrlichia was widespread. The neutering successes brought a great sense of achievement to the new graduates but reality hit home when dogs brought in for neutering were showing clinical signs of Leishmania. These dogs had to be euthanased on confirmation of a positive “snap test” result as it is illegal to treat Leishmania in Greece.

As well as the neutering operations, we saw a number of sick animals ranging from ‘Small Hands’, a very weak dehydrated little kitten, which despite all our efforts was euthanased after 4 days of treatment, to ‘Alistair’, a dog showing neurological signs probably relating to severe otitis. Alistair is continuing to improve and has settled into the shelter well, despite a head tilt!

We visited the shelter a number of times and were highly impressed with the standard of animal care and cleanliness. It was clear that Joeri and Carolien cared deeply about these animals and loved each and every one as their own. There was an excellent re-homing project, with many of the dogs travelling via Germany in order to complete their pet passports, or for direct re-homing in Germany. (A number of our party are considering adoption!).

As well as working in the clinic, Carolien and Joeri organised some great social activities for us – one memorable night was a candlelit picnic on the beach, and everyone enjoyed the tour of the island on the final day with a visit to a waterfall and an evening meal afterwards. I don’t think any of us will forget Mhairi and her super size courgette in a hurry!

This was an amazing trip for all involved. The new graduates have gained not only the surgical skills that they were hoping to achieve, but have also been able to see the harsher reality of the exotic diseases in the Mediterranean basin. Jo and Mhairi were great mentors for the new graduates, but they also learnt some of the newer tricks of the trade from the new graduates, and from each other. We would also like to thank our key sponsors; the kennel club, Intervet, Hills pet nutrition and Boehringer Ingelheim for their generous donations. And finally we are hugely indebted to Carolien and Joeri who give up so much time to care for these animals in a society where many do not.

I think that this will not be the last time that we all visit Samos and the clinic.

Trip 4 – September 4th-11th, SOS Animals, Spain

Following feedback from the first training trip to assist the charity, the second team to visit SOS Animals had some idea of what to expect on arrival at the shelter. A £500 cash donation was used towards drugs for both trips and the team took with them another box of Advantix and Metacam, as well as two WVS surgical kits to use.

The New Graduate’s Story

Setting the Scene
I was placed on the September trip to Spain, with little knowledge of the stray population boom that existed there. Having met the rest of my team over a coffee at Gatwick airport, the group quickly gelled and, on arrival in Malaga, we were whisked away into the Spanish hills, excited to begin our adventure together! Having arrived at our destination, the passion for dogs was immediately evident from the spacious, palm tree leaf covered pens holding the groups of dogs! We were to spend the week with SOS Animals and use their home-built clinic as a base for neutering stray dogs and cats, either from SOS Animals, other shelters, or brought to us by members of the public.

Daily Activities
On site, we were provided with crush cages, wooden pens, an animal holding room, two operating tables, electricity, lighting and a basic supply of veterinary equipment. Further equipment and supplies had also been brought by our team. Kim organised the delivery of animals to us, with the result that each day was busy but manageable. By the end of our first day we had formulated a system, whereby the new graduates induced dogs or cats with injectable anaesthesia, and then neutered them. We tried to have as many erations taking place at the same time as we could manage in order to maximise our seload. This often meant sharing tables or working together on the same animal, which lowed us to learn from each other and discuss our actions as we went along. Throughout the trip we were closely supervised by Markus, our experienced vet, and assisted by Niky d Philippe, our experienced vet nurses.

Equipment
We worked with a far more basic system than any of us were used to but we quickly learnt to adapt, be resourceful and improvise. Modern appliances such as clippers and autoclaves became a luxury, in comparison to the razor blades and ammonium solution that we were using! Even water became precious, as our supply was delivered by the tank-load and we often ran low between deliveries. An extra challenge was the flies, which caused us to do a strange dance during surgery every now and then to flick them off us, whilst remaining sterile! Our nurses were kept on their toes by the injectable anaesthesia and they had to multi-task a great deal- preparing animals, monitoring them and sterilising instruments. Through team work, our system worked well and animals coped brilliantly. We were also fortunate to be able to give peri-operative anti-inflammatories and long-acting antibiotic, which was a reassurance!

Teaching
The atmosphere was in general relaxed and sociable, helped by the patience of Markus and the nurses and the steady flow of music, which ranged from Spanish guitar music to Reggae! Our teaching from Markus was excellent and always fun, which resulted in the graduates quickly gaining confidence in their surgical techniques. Having arrived as slow surgeons with little confidence in our surgical abilities, we left much faster and feeling we had surgical skills to offer our employers. We also came away satisfied that we had collectively neutered 92 cats (some of whom were pregnant) and 23 dogs, which would prevent the births of many more offspring into an area where the stray animal populations were already a problem.

Outside of Work
We were accommodated in a basic but comfortable 200-year old house during our stay, complete with views across the mountains and a water tank in the patio, which turned out to be the water supply, rather than a swimming pool as we first thought! Outside of our veterinary work, we had time to enjoy great food every night, visit a local fiesta and relax with our warm and generous hosts and their own adopted dogs.

Recommendation
I would thoroughly recommend a trip like ours to any vet who would like to use their surgical skills for a worthwhile cause and experience another culture at the same time. I would especially recommend post-graduation neutering trips to new graduates, as we felt that both our surgical knowledge and confidence were boosted immensely. It is hoped that in future years, similar trips for new graduates will be planned for both Bristol graduates and graduates from other Universities. Please contact the WVS for more information.

We would like to thank the WVS for their hard work and support in organising the trips, as well as the charities that hosted us. We would also like to thank the Kennel Club, Boehringer Ingelheim, Intervet, Total Hygeine Supplies and Hill’s Pet Nutrition for their generous donations.

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“The trip was fantastic. The set up with the graduates doing most of the surgery and the more experienced vets overlooking worked really well. My confidence grew through the week and our group did get through a lot more operations than we ever imagined we would. There was a mixture of cats and dogs and a predominance of females which was good for the group. We were working on strays from the local area and also animals due to be sent to Sweden for re-homing from the charity itself. We felt that we were really helping. I think initially the charity had some worries about us being inexperienced but this was overcome with time and as they got to know us.”
“Nicky and Chris were brilliant and enabled the group to grow in confidence very quickly. Chris as a teacher was wonderful and Nicky was very relaxed with us. I felt that having a nurse was such a big asset. Many thanks to the WVS for enabling 15 Bristol graduates to go and work in different charities in Europe. The projects have been a huge success and I hope that the link with Bristol graduates can continue in years to come.” Marissa Evans, new graduate

“The three new graduates were a credit to themselves and worked well to support and encourage each other. They were extremely hard working (working from as early as 8.30am to as late as 9pm), enthusiastic, keen to correct errors, cheerful and were a joy to be with. I was extremely impressed by their teamwork and their conscientious efforts. True professionals.”
“It was an absolute privilege to be involved in working with these fine young vets. They grew so much in confidence and technique as the week went on and I am now proud to call them my friends.”
“This was an extremely enjoyable week in which the team bonded together and formed an effective force of which I am very proud to have been a part. The work we accomplished was very much appreciated and gave an immense feeling of satisfaction – just the way a vet should feel!” Chris McIver MRCVS

“I felt that we were not only helping the situation at the SOS centre but also doing something to address the massive feral cat situation in the area…I couldn’t have asked for a nicer, more hardworking team to be with and I have not only gained huge surgical experience and confidence, but have made new friends too.”
“The charity is really worthwhile and everyone involved works hard for the animals, the support of groups like the WVS is invaluable to them and should without a doubt be continued”
“I have grown in confidence immeasurably in this week and it is mainly down to Chris’ support, with the never ending patience and invaluable work of Nicky! Together they picked us up when we had a bad day, kept the mood up when things were going wrong and were always there to help and advise us! We really bonded as a team and had a fantastic time.”
“Overall a fantastic trip – a week I’ll never forget and I hope friends I will not lose contact with.” Clare Smith, new graduate

“I fully enjoyed the whole trip and it was nice to be doing something worthwhile. Not forgetting being appreciated for our work (by fellow colleagues and the charity itself and helpers, something unfortunately some practices lack in the UK).”
“Chris was a rock and very good mediator and mentor to all 3 girls and myself. He was kind and supportive when needed and kept us amused with his dancing, singing and stories. Thank you so much, I learnt lots from Chris.”
“I hope that some of my experience was useful to Clare, Kate and Marissa. They made me welcome from day one and new friendships have been formed, they also made me feel appreciated, something nurses don’t often get (THANK YOU).”
“I learnt so much from this experience and got great job satisfaction (very long overdue). Thank you WVS for giving me this opportunity and hopefully you will let me loose on another project.” Nicky Whitehead VN

“I had a fabulous time, felt that we really prepared new grads for their first job and also felt that we were helping the local animals. Am seriously considering bringing a couple of dogs over for myself. I am hoping to get some more sponsorship for the charity now and would very much like to go back.” [Joanne is going back to Samos with her husband on the 21st of October!] Joanne Douglas MRCVS

“I enjoyed the trip and felt that the new grads gained a lot from it.” Mhairi Fleming MRCVS

“It was an excellent trip and definitely worthwhile. I would recommend it to any new grads.”
“Really great week and very worthwhile. The charity do a wonderful job and I admire the staff in the shelter for their dedication. I would highly recommend this trip.” Rachel Whitear, new graduate

“The trip was fantastic and definitely worthwhile.” Amy Calam, new graduate

“It has been really hard work, nevertheless really enjoyable and rewarding experience.” Philippe Ramboaniaina VN

Acknowledgements

• Pet Plan Charitable Trust
• Bayer
• Boehringer Ingelheim
• Hill’s Pet Nutrition
• Intervet
• The Kennel Club