Chris Queen, a small animal vet in Wokingham, is taking fundraising for WVS to a new level. He will be competing in 3 triathlons over 3 months and is looking to raise £3,000 for WVS. This is a great challenge and we urge everyone to fully support him. Visit his Just Giving web page and make a donation to help him reach his target.

Each triathlon consists of:

750m swim

20km cycle

5km run

Chris says, “I originally signed up to do the first with a friend as neither of us had ever done a triathlon and we thought it sounded like a fun challenge. As I started training I realised that it would be a great way of raising money for a worthwhile cause and thought of WVS. I like what they do in terms of supporting communities in developing countries by teaching them how to care for their animals, whom they often rely on for their very survival. As is my usual style once I’d decided to run for charity I set about making things complicated! As triathlon incorporates three individual sports in one event I thought why not run three triathlons over three months and raise £3k. Simple. Or so I thought!”

You can support Chris by cheering him on at:

Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire – 6th June (Completed)

Scott Makani Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire – 4th July (Completed)

South Coast Triathlon, Seaford, East Sussex – 14th August

“I recently took delivery of my first ever tri-suit, which is effectively a tight all-in one suit. Not very fetching but essential wear for the events. They do make you run faster though – probably mainly because you want to just get past people as quickly as possible to avoid hearing their comments!” – Chris Queen

Help WVS by sponsoring Chris at his Just Giving webpage

2 Triathlons completed, 1 to go !!

WVS Members special offer – Any 10 cards for £12 (inc. P & P in UK)

100% of all profits from the sale of these greeting cards goes to WVS.  Quality A5 gloss finished greeting cards are supplied with an envelope and cellophane sleeve.

Please send your order details with cheque or cash to WVS, 14 Wimborne Street, Cranborne, Dorset, BH21 5PP. Please make cheques payable to WVS.

‘Turn the other cheek’ – Cheetah, Zambia

‘Don’t get in a flap’ – Parrot, Costa Rica

‘The Guardian’ – Elephant, Thailand

‘Looking at you’ – Mountain Gorilla, Uganda

‘Sunset silhouette’ – South Africa

‘Mood of the Amazon’ – Peru

‘The three amigos’ – Himalayas, Nepal

‘Rhino in the mist’ – Lake Nakuru, Kenya

‘Teddy sees some butterflies’ – Costa Rica

‘Teddy meets the leafcutter ants’ – Costa Rica

‘Teddy and the sunset’ – Costa Rica

‘Teddy rides again’ – Zambia

Before:                                After:

Every week, veterinary parcels are leaving the WVS office and heading off all over the world. From tick and flea treatment, to wound dressings and antibiotics, these supplies are vitally important for our associated charities to continue their life saving work.

Before:                                 After:

A one off donation of just £15 will enable us to send a veterinary aid parcel to a WVS associated charity.

For every donation, you will receive details on which charity your money has helped.

The 2009 parcel appeal enabled us to send veterinary supplies to the value of £382,637.34. We are aiming to beat this amount for 2010 and get over the £400,000 mark. With your help, we can do it.

Help us reach our target. Donate here.

Dog pictures courtesy of Animal SOS Sri Lanka. All dogs treated with WVS veterinary supplies.

AHSFA is coordinated by Rosemary Gordon, the South African/Peruvian ex model who, since moving to Colan, has become a pivotal part of the local community. Run from her home near the beach, this charity is powered by her enthusiasm and passion. Always the voice of reason and common sense, Rosemary cares greatly not only for the animals but also its people, for example, managing to obtain foreign financial aid for some of the town’s poorer inhabitants.

We arrived in Colan on the Saturday, having managed to avoid being conned by the Peruvian taxi drivers! Months of travelling on this continent had taught us not to play timid gringos when faced with the persuasive taxi driver! It was reassuring to meet some friendly, chatty people during the journey. The charity is located a street back from the beach. Not too far to go for an after work beer at sunset!

At first we were introduced to the wooden cabin that was to be our home for the next two weeks. This opens up into an impressive compound, perfectly set up to accommodate several adopted dogs and cats, four tortoises and a cockerel (one that was very unpopular at 4am every morning!). There is a single well-kitted-out operating room able to accommodate up to 3 vets working at once.

The charity’s aim is to promote and attend to the health and welfare of the canines, felines, and equids (mostly donkeys) of Colan and the surrounding area. Work mainly involves spaying and neutering, parasite control and education. Parasite control sometimes takes the form of a ‘day out’ into other villages where a table is set and the villagers bring their pets for their worming and defleaing treatment. This unfortunately is often provided at the charity’s expense.

Ignorance and poor education is rife in this part and is essentially the root of all the problems. Educating is therefore vital, especially educating the youngsters. Led by Noe, the super-sized, friendly educational officer, the educational campaign has continued to grow and is now included in the school curriculum. Even during field days, educating is important. Noe lures aside the swarms of children that make nuisances of themselves when you are trying to work, and sits them down for a lesson of animal care and welfare.

Spaying and neutering takes up most of the vet’s time here. During our stay, the majority of the animals commuted by taxi from the nearby larger town of Paita. Most animals there had owners of some description and persuading them to get their pet sterilized proved quite a battle, even when it was free. This task fell onto Marina, another of the charity’s stars, and normally involved painstakingly knocking on doors until managing to convince someone that it’s a worthwhile thing to have done. It’s this kind of passion and determination from individuals to improve animal welfare that has made the charity a success.

“A dog is not just for Christmas” is appropriate here. Street dogs all too often appear when the once cute puppy has now become a burden for the owner. This often sees the animal turfed out onto the streets and expected to fend for itself. This is probably how Yacilla came to live on the streets. Yacilla was found rearing 4 chubby little pups in one of the villages we held a spay clinic, (in the doctors surgery of all places!!). Herself only skin and bones by then, the puppies drawing on all her energy reserves. We felt an overwhelming sympathy towards her, she was kind and deserved a good home. We had to take her back to the clinic. The taxi ride home was now even more crammed, with the addition of 5 flea and tick infested new friends. These pups would be rehomed after being spayed and neutered.

However, it wasn’t all work; there was plenty of time to enjoy the area, to soak up the sun while sipping one of Mario’s wonderful Pisco Sours at the resort, and to chill in one of the hammocks at the compound. The beach was a stone throw away, so a great place to enjoy sunset with an ice cold Cusqueňa.

The fortnight flew by, always a good sign. Thank you to Rosemary, Ingrid, Amy, Noe, Marina and Sr More for ensuring we had an unforgettable experience and an all round taste of life in Colan. We saw and learned so much about the people, the animals, the environment, the culture and the food in that part of Peru.

If you fancy doing something different, Colan is a must. Go to work with great people and great animals. Go for a taste of life in this part of Peru that you would never get from travelling around on some tour bus. The charity is a success but relies on continued support from its volunteers, donors and suppliers.

Immediately upon our arrival (in fact within 45 minutes of landing!), we were presented with a room full of cats, with more on the way. These included a mixture of feral cats that had been trapped by the trappers, and groups of cats that had been brought in by local people who feed them, and had heard that we were coming.

We got to work straight away and cats were transferred into crush cages to facilitate handling. Initially the nurses were transferring which meant that the vets were injecting, clipping and preparing cats for surgery. Within a day or two it was decided that the operation would be smoother if the trappers were to transfer cats. This allowed the nurses to nurse and the vets to vet.

We used a combination of medetomidine, butorphanol and ketamine, to induce and maintain anaesthesia. Cats were transferred into crush cages to facilitate injecting them and the IM route was used. A luggage scale was used to estimate each cat’s weight, and although crude, this helped to minimise any risk of over or under dosage. Some cats did require additional increments of anaesthetic during the procedure. These cats were given a small amount of butorphanol and ketamine. Initially the IV route was used to attain this but in fact by the time the vein was prepared, the IM route was just as quick. The triceps muscle was used for “top ups”.

Both males and females were neutered by the vets themselves. All cats were spayed midline apart from those who were feeding kittens or were very tiny. This was because there had been a recent incident whereby cats with visible flank incisions were apparently being stoned to death and it was agreed by all that the midline approach allowed for more subtlety.

Non sterile surgical gloves were worn at all times. We changed gloves and scrubbed between patients, using various combinations of iodine, surgical spirit and hand gel. This largely depended on preference.

All cats received viscotears eye ointment prior to surgery, and injections of a long acting Amoxycillin,Meloxicam or Carprofen, Praziquantel, Noromectin and vitamins. They were then returned to their basket and logged on a record sheet. A total of 331 cats were seen. 117 were males and were castrated. 171 were female and were spayed. Two females were heavily pregnant. One male cat had an extremely large umbilical hernia and a retained testicle.

Cat gut was used for ligatures and vicryl to close the body wall, and skin. All cats were glued as well, as a further safety measure. Hydrogen peroxide was used to clean any blood off the animal, to reduce the risk of fly strike. Once neutered the cats were ear tipped unless we were specifically requested not to.

A further 32 cats were deemed unfit for anaesthesia / surgery. This was due to either being too small, in which case they were wormed and de fleaed and released; or because they were sick. Where possible they were treated. Unfortunately 19 of these cats were so ill and also so feral that euthanasia was elected. Sadly one cat died under anaesthesia.

There had also been news, prior to the trip, that a local dog charity was in desperate need of help. It was agreed that we would try to do as many dogs as possible, but that the cats would have to take priority. As soon as the cat numbers were under control, we started neutering dogs. The dogs were pre-medicated with a combination of medetomidine and butorphanol. An IV catheter was placed and anaesthesia was induced with ketamine. Anaesthesia was maintained with propofol. Intravenous diazepam would have been really helpful to counteract some of the effects of the ketamine and aid muscle relaxation, but the only available diazepam was rectal tubes – so we used these! Indeed they seemed to allow a pretty steady recovery. Each dog was clipped and scrubbed, and the vet also scrubbed, wore sterile surgical gloves and used sterile drapes for each dog. Each dog was injected with meloxicam and long acting amoxicillin. It was agreed that the rescuers could flea and worm them themselves, allowing us to reserve the injectable drugs for the cats.

With the dogs it was necessary for a nurse to monitor anaesthesia throughout the procedure. During the trip 26 dogs were neutered, of which 10 were female and 16 were male. One of the males had an inguinally retained testicle.

Initially the accommodation and the food supplies were pretty disappointing (in fact non existent!) but this was soon rectified. We ended up staying in a nice apartment quite nearby. The days were very long – the longest being from 07:30 to 23:30, with minimal break time. However, the work really wrapped itself up by the last day and we were able to have a few hours to ourselves just prior to leaving Tenerife.

I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to WVS and to Valerie Sinclair for organising this trip. Thanks also to the veterinary team, the trappers and all the local volunteers, without whom this trip would not have been possible.

Thank you also to Tracey Rose at Fort Dodge Animal Health for supplying us with some anaesthetic drugs.

Tanya Crawley MRCVS

December 2009

“I’m sorry,  I accidentally cleaned my teeth with sun cream this morning, so my mouth feels a bit… funny”

Having met up with a couple more volunteers, we set off to the clinic in Calle Pevas in Iquitos’ universal mode of transport – the mototaxi. A sort of Ben Hur with motorbikes instead of horses, with a free foot massage thrown in.

At the clinic we met with the local Amazon CARES team. They were extremely welcoming and throughout our stay were invariably helpful and cheerful. They never appeared hurried or flustered, but the jobs just got done with speed and efficiency. Behtjane did have, occassionally, to give one or other of us ‘the sack’ as we struggled to cut and fold gauze correctly for swabs or shave an opsite with the razor.

On Sunday, we went with the addition of two more volunteers who had just arrived, to Pilpintuwasi, a butterfly farm and animal orphanage. This involved a boat ride across the Nanay river and then, as the rivers were so low at the moment, a long, rather hot, walk. There were many species of butterfly, some very spectacular, and it was interesting to see their caterpillars and chrysalis as well. We were also introduced, among other things to several species of monkey, a tapir, a giant anteater that came and drank a bowl of milk, and a jaguar. However, I think the most endearing were the two baby sloths in the arms of one of the volunteers at the centre.

Whilst in Iquitos accommodation was provided at Cabo Lopez. This jungle shelter soon felt like home for us, and despite the constant cacophany of cicadas, frogs, early morning warbling of wild birds, crowing of cockerels, barking of dogs and occasional screams as Molly chanced upon an insect, had a very peaceful atmosphere. Mention also has to be made of the 8 3/4 if not 7/8 pregnant Marlene – not only did she have delicious meals waiting for us when we cam back in the evening, she was responsible for coaxing our appetites back after our stomach troubles in Cabolla Cocha.

Staying there also meant a daily boat trip into Iquitos. Not for us the daily grind of red traffic lights and shcool-run-mums clogging the roads, but a wonderful whizz along the Amazon. Canones and debris were expertly negotiated by our driver Vladi, or not so expertly, as we all had a go at piloting the boat.

The first week we concentrated our efforts above the meat market of Belen. The whole market was an experience in itself; ramshackle stalls lined both sides of the road selling a vast array of ‘things’, including clothes, shoes, fruit, fish and meat – I think  I caught sight of alligator legs complete with feet still attached. On the first morning we were dismayed at the large queue of people, dogs and cats all the way up the stairs and spilling well into the area we were setting up in. Our initial dismay at the numbers, thinking they were all for operations, was allayed as we divided them into those for neutering and those just for parasite treatment. Annie (WVS and Amazon CARES veteran vet) and I weighed in on the ‘parasitos’ – an injection, dose depending on condition and age, of ivomec, and an oral wormer (parentel), whilst the rest of the team started neutering.

Dogs were sedated with xylazine and atropine, which rendered them pliable enough to give i/v propofol and then intubate. Cats were given a triple sedation which meant they were unconscious long enough for neutering. Gaseous anaesthetic was then given using a system similar to that used in UK, except for one imporant point – up to four animals could be run off the one machine. So all four got the same concentration of isoflo, and the % given was generally dictated by the lightest animal. Those that were too deep were just taken off anaesthetic for a short while. All were given antibiotics, painrelief and antiparasite treatment. Timing for administration of the oral wormer had to be judged very carefully so the dog was able to swallow, but not so awake it would bite you. All this was accompanied by the clumping and rattling of vultures on the tin roof above, hoping for scraps from the meat market below, and occasional forays, to see what was going on, by the pigs housed in the room behind us. I was amazed at the interest in what we were going shown by the locals, both here and in the other areas we operated. Owners stayed to watch their animals being neutered and even took pictures of this event.

Oh, I nearly forgot! On the second day we were joined by Luke and the film crew and introductions were made. The next day we redid the introductions to camera, pretending, of course that we had not just said ‘hello’ already. They then went out to catch dogs which Luke then treated to camera.

A very early start and a boring seven hour boat trip found us in the town of Caballo Cocha (minus Annie who had been pursuaded to stay behind with Luke and the film crew). We had clinics in two areas here. The first four days were spent doing clinics in the science lab of a local college, where operating conditions were good, apart from the number of locals watching and getting in the way, and the groups of small children being escorted round. The second area was not really suitable for surgery – a shed with cracked earth flooring, and inadequate lighting provided by two anaemic light bulbs. The highlight of the day was watching a small child trying to get a recalcitrant pig out of its mud wallow. Our numbers were slightly diminished on some days as one by one we went down with diarrhoea and some vomiting as well.

On Sunday we elected for a day off and took a couple of boats and a guide to find river dolphins, and we weren’t disappointed. Pods of up to eleven performed wonderfully, cavorting about and leaping clear of the water, accompanied by much ‘oohing’ and ‘aahhing’ from us. We then had a very interesting, although extremely hot, walk through the jungle. The whole of a small village turned out to witness the bizarre spectacle of a bunch of gringos lounging about in their local river. The wildlife was fairly elusive, but we did see some colourful birds including  a couple of scarley macaws and many butterflies. I was fascinated by a large and bright red beetle, but could not study it as I was negotiating a precarious log bridge across a very muddy stream.

As well as the sterilisation and parasite programme carried out by the vets, Bruno was also busy in the schools giving educational talks. This culminated in a large parade of children with plackards exhorting people to be kind to animals, and to leave the wildlife in the wild. Some of the children even dressed as animals.

At the end of our stay we attended a prize- giving ceremony (it was in Spanish, so I don’t know what the prizes were for!) Esther gave a report of what we had achieved and the mayor thanked us for what we had done.

For the third week we were back in Iquitos. A pleasant two days were spend operating outside in the shade beside the house of an Amazon CARES client. Then as our numbers began to dwindle as people set off home or for further travel, we spent our last working day catching and treating cats and dogs for parasites in Bella Vista market. Unfortunately the most timid/wily dogs were those in worst condition. Perhaps there is a correlation. Having treated them we tied a ribbon around their necks so that next week, hopefully, Amazon CARES staff could see which ones had been treated.

By Friday, only three vet nurses remained, so we opted for a day off and in the morning went off to Monkey Island. We discovered, as we sat hot and cramped, that, in true Peruvian style, the boats do not run to any timetable – they go only when they are stuffed full to the gunnels with people and packages. Monkey Island, a rescue centre for orphaned primates, was delightful and we all enjoyed being used as climbing frames by several inquisitive young monkeys. In the afternoon, having waved goodbye to another team member, the two of us remaining set off for a rescue centre for manatees out beyond the airport. This was an amazing experience. First, to get to touch and feed the baby manatees with bottles of milk, and then to don wetsuits and wade about with them.

This was, for me a very worthwhile trip. Although our campaigns of neutering was only a drop in the ocean, it was part of an on-going project that has already made a big difference, not only for the animals, but in educating the Peruvian people. However, the work was, only part of the experience and it was great to work as part of such a wonderful team. There was plenty of team spirit and laughs along the way, even when half the team had to keep rushing to the toilet. Praise must also go to the Amazon CARES staff. A lot could be learnt from them by English practices; they were an amazing and professional team.

In October of 2009, having sold a practice and being in a position to ‘put something back’ I travelled through Athens and on into the Greek Islands with a view to neutering some of Greece’s large feral cat population. The trip was organised through The Worldwide Veterinary Service and The Greek Cat Welfare Society in the UK and Nine Lives in Athens.

Since traditionally in Greece there is no great love of the cat the old approach to population control amongst Greece’s burgeoning feral cat population, I was told, involved poisoning, shooting or even dynamite! The expatriate community prefers to organise mass neuterings as a more humane approach to population control, funding the expenses of visiting British, German and doubtless other national vets to achieve this. You fly in, are welcomed and provided with most of the necessary equipment and then leap onto a (or several) boat(s) or plane(s) to visit the islands where there is not the veterinary expertise to achieve safe volume neutering. You are welcomed, housed and cared for by your cat loving hosts and in return you neuter stray cats for release. You are assisted by various members of the local expat. community, in whatever space is available using injectable anaesthesia given to an irate cat in a crush cage, then ear tip them to ensure that they never have to go through the same process again.

Having read some of the previous WVS trip reports (as you have no doubt already done yourself) the one thing I was certain of before I set off was that I would not keep score of the number of cats I neutered during my trip. What mattered was that I made the trip and applied myself to the best of my abilities whilst there. I could not neuter every stray cat in Greece in two weeks so why count – surely it could only seem like a drop in a bucket? Then I learnt that I was required to keep score for accounting purposes and once I started…… well, here are some trip stats.

In the course of a 13 day trip I spent 7 and one half days operating during which time we neutered 126 cats (63% female). I worked with 16 different people in 4 different locations and met a further 20 of whom only 4 were not British. I slept in 5 different beds, made 6 plane flights and more than 30 passenger car journeys.

Most cats neutered in one day – 23.

Most females neutered in one day – 18.

Most memorable operating theatre – the part finished hotel outbuilding with neither windows nor doors.

Hottest operating theatre – Joy’s kitchen with 8 of us, the pressure cooker (for instrument sterilisation) and 23 cats in it.

Most memorable field challenge – the 53 steps (51 if you ducked under the rubber plant branch in your way) between scrub sink (ok, kitchen sink) and operating table in that hotel outbuilding.

Most stressful moment – finding (eventually) that the last spay of the series of 18 was the only one of all those spayed on this trip (in late November) that was pregnant assisted by my host shining a table lamp over my shoulder (it had grown dark) powered by a mains lead into the Greek mains. If you have not experienced the Greek approach to wiring this will mean less to you. For example, I particularly liked the bare wires (wired into a pull switch) in one shower cubicle that I came across. I squeamishly bent the wires back out of the way of the water jet – but I still showered after that!

Most enervating moment – any cat in the series of 18 past about number 5 that was found to be AGAIN female – the occasional male would have helped move us along!

Most satisfying piece of work – the isolated hotel where we were able to neuter nearly the entire colony thus ensuring that these largely wild individuals might expect a full and pleasant life in a supportive and safe environment – the owner had previously demanded that they be removed and threatened to poison them if they were not.

Most unnerving moment – spending the night alone (but for the manager at the other end of the complex) in that isolated and wholly empty hotel complex in the Cretan Hills. Try as I might I could not get Kubrick’s ‘The Shining’ out of my mind!

Most interesting accommodation – the Athenian hotel where I met couples on their way out as I made my way to my room after midnight fresh from the late flight from the UK. The music in the corridors was loud enough to disturb you in your room (where there was no music) but it all began to make sense when I found out that one could book rooms by the hour!

Most irritating piece of kit – the wheels on the bag of crush cage, surgical kits, drapes, drugs, swabs, scrubs etc etc etc that travelled with me that appeared to be designed specifically to tip the thing over when pulled. (I got better at distributing the weight inside it, and developed my skills but to the last it would still bite my ankles when I least expected it.)

Most impressive piece of kit – David’s bespoke wooden kitchen worktop raiser (with wipe clean top and fitted suture spool holder) which he fashioned from a few pieces of wood on my arrival. My back is forever in his debt.

Most worrying bit of kit – the additional 4 breeze blocks that I needed under the legs of the dominos table/operating table to lift it even higher than the previous vet needed which gave the operating surface an unnerving shimmy if you were unwise enough to lean against it.

Best story – being met late at night off the plane at Athens Airport by an attractive blue-eyed blonde whom I had never met before, giving her cash (which I was carrying out on behalf of the UK parent organisation to avoid bank transfer fees) and receiving in return a bag of sharp instruments and drugs in the car park of an Athenian McDonalds. I felt like an international drug baron!

Best surgical moment (possibly) – spaying a cat as the hot sun streamed through the open French Window behind me whilst my host regaled me with tales of his life and times with the Kray Twins.

Most surreal moment – being transferred plus 2 bags (one containing drugs and sharp instruments) from one car driven by a man I had only known for 3 days to one driven by 2 women I had never met before in the hot sun on a Sunday afternoon in a Cretan LIDL car park whilst a Greek man drove round us on a scooter (not at all sure why – I guessed he was learning to ride the thing).

Most important skills to thrive on these trips – the ability to work effectively and enjoy spending time with people you have not met before and to enjoy your own company as well. It helps if you can spay cats quickly too and are comfortable with injectable anaesthesia.

Final Comment – Would I do this again? – for sure, other commitments allowing. This is no holiday but an interesting and worthwhile experience with much to enjoy and a wealth of tales to come home with.

David Wormald

Our destination, ‘Care for Dogs’, was set up in 2003 by Karin Hawelka and Amandine Lecesne next door to Karin’s family home, and currently houses and cares for around 140 dogs, about 50% of whom have medical problems needing attention and/or daily medication.

Unlike animal shelters in the UK, the dogs are housed in large social groups (which from time to time are a bit less sociable), and it is fascinating to observe the dynamics of the groups and their daily routine. Thatched shelters with wooden platforms allow escape from the intense heat and to allow individuals some personal space away from the pack. This mode of housing seems to work well. Karin is ably assisted by her Centre Manager, Ally, and two local Thai helpers plus a Burmese guy. In addition, there is a loose network of volunteers who come in and help to walk, bath, feed and muck out, as well as assisting with various fund-raising activities.

The objectives of the charity are to provide a place of safety for homeless and abandoned dogs especially those threatened with being killed, to educate people, and to reduce the unwanted dog population through sterilisation.

Our mission was to get the new operating facility up and running. We had been permitted by Thai Airways to bring an extra 20kg of luggage – a hard suitcase crammed with drugs, iv catheters, dressings and surgical instruments. I am still astonished at how easy it was to walk through the Customs Hall at Chiang Mai airport, with only a cursory examination of (fortunately) another bag of personal stuff. Presumably the x-ray cameras and sniffer dogs had already passed our suitcase packed with veterinary equipment as ‘uninteresting’.

Twenty four hours after leaving Heathrow, via Bangkok,, we were warmly welcomed at Chiang Mai airport by Karin, who took us to our simple but comfortable hotel a mile or so from the shelter. Our fellow hotel guests were mostly students enrolled on a month’s course to qualify as teachers of ‘English as a foreign language’. I was hoping that the lake around which the accommodation is built would be suitable for a refreshing swim, but discovered the next morning that the loud splash I heard was not a human diver, but a shoal of carnivorous catfish leaping for food!

Next morning, Ally gave us a guided tour of the shelter and briefed us about some of the medical and surgical patients that were awaiting treatment. A local Thai vet, Dr Than, had arrived with her nursing assistant to administer i/v Vincristine to a number of resident dogs suffering from Transmissible Venereal Tumour – a common occurrence in that part of the world. The tumours did indeed appear to regress completely after several weekly injections, after which the affected dog would be neutered. The Thai employees at the shelter were clearly very competent at catching and holding dogs, if necessary using a blow-dart loaded with Zolatil!

We next discussed how best to use the newly-built extension, and agreed that the central room between some holding kennels and the new operating room would serve as an ideal prep room and examination area, and keep the patient flow away from the office and reception area. Ally asked us what basic furniture would be required in the operating room, and we set off to Chiang Mai to search for a couple of dressing trolleys and a drip-stand or equivalent. In the event we found a hat-stand in a furniture warehouse, which actually proved more versatile that a surgical steel drip stand! Extra blankets were also needed for our post-op patients, and we found those in a covered market next to a stall selling a mountain of dried fish and buckets of live eels. By the end of the day we felt that we had a functional operating facility, had reviewed the medical management of several cases and had our ops list ready to go the next morning. We added to our list a kitten (‘rescued’ by a local volunteer) with severe skin deficit wounds on her back and a de-gloving injury to her tail.

We had been warned about the likelihood of intra-operative haemorrhage, and indeed it proved to be the case. Most of the dogs have a low-grade Erlichia infection transmitted by ticks, and concomitant platelet destruction via an auto-immune mechanism. We saw it in its most acute form in a little old collapsed Poodle which bled profusely from a subcutaneous injection site, and sadly did not respond to treatment.

Our surgical patients were pre-medicated with Domitor/Torbugesic, and once sedated, had an i/v line inserted for fluid administration and to top up anaesthesia with Ketamine/Diazepam in equal volumes. Every case had Metacam on board for analgesia, and pre-operative antibiotic, as, although we maintained as aseptic technique as possible, we had to rely on chemical sterilization of instruments. Having said that, we did not encounter any post-operative infection of our cases during the two weeks we were working there.

Typically our surgical case load was a mix of dog castrations and bitch spays, some in oestrus, and some with large cystic ovaries and endometriosis, probably as a result of multiple heat-suppressing injections, that dog owners buy over-the-counter!

One of our patients, Sing-Too, the subject of physical abuse resulting in a depressed fracture of his skull and recent eye enucleation, subsequently needed a scrotal ablation as a result of what looked like infected bite wounds. Poor old Sing-Too also suffered three days post-op from a right-sided neurological deficit of his fore and hind limbs and also his tongue, making ambulation and prehension of food difficult. However, he seemed to respond well to Prednisolone and Baytril, and we are hopeful he will make a full recovery.

Some of our days were constantly interrupted by what seemed like an intensive-care facility in the prep room, with several dogs in cages needing iv fluids, vetergesic and regular monitoring. It meant disruption to the flow of routine ops and curtailed the potential volume of surgical work. Fortunately WVS had sent two vets (Caroline Humphrys and Liz Philo), and we could take turns to be surgeon and surgical nurse when required. It was also helpful to be able to confer on non-elective cases and agree the prognosis and best line of treatment.

Pet ownership is very different in Thailand, where most dogs appear to live on the street or around temples, and have a loose relationship with the people who feed them. Providing that veterinary care is available and sought when necessary (sadly not always the case), one could imagine that the situation is in some ways more ‘natural’ for a social animal than for some of our pets who are confined alone in a tenth floor city apartment whilst the owner is out working.

We were extremely well looked after by our hosts, who made sure that we saw something of the local area and were able to sample some local delicacies. Meals in local restaurants were a welcome change from our hotel, where the set dinner menu was a bit variable to say the least! Chiang Mai is a vibrant and colourful city, most especially the ‘Sunday Walking Street’ (night market) where we bartered for most of our Christmas shopping (Caroline by this stage had a whole empty suitcase!).

A very special highlight of our trip, also organised by WVS and Care for Dogs, was a two-day visit to the Elephant Nature Park, which rescues working (and often abused) elephants. Since logging was banned in 1989, out-of-work elephants have been used by their mahouts for street begging and various tourist attractions. An inspirational Thai woman, Lek, works tirelessly to raise political awareness of the problem and to provide sanctuary for these rescued elephants in a semi-wild 150 acre park (purchased by a Texan millionaire for the purpose). Lek’s aim is to eventually return these elephants to the jungle, where, over the last decade, Asian elephant numbers have declined from 100,000 to an estimated 3,000. We had the opportunity to meet with Lek and see first-hand the amazing bond she develops with these gentle giants. We were also able to deliver some drugs donated by WVS. It was fascinating to see how a very professionally run eco-tourism enterprise can generate serious funding for such a worthwhile project, and a waiting list of volunteers willing to undertake the hard physical work required to care for the elephants.

After our two day ‘holiday’ with the elephants it was good to get back early next morning to the shelter at Care for Dogs and to pick up on our cases and start operating again.

The time went all too quickly – such a fantastic opportunity to experience a radically different culture, learn about a range of diseases hitherto unknown, take up the challenge of setting up and running a functional veterinary surgical unit, and the satisfaction of passing on some of the experience and expertise gained through practising as a vet in the UK.

A big thank you to WVS and Care for Dogs.

Liz Philo November 2009

I flew to Faro airport, Portugal on the 29th October and was picked up by Lourdes who runs and owns the sanctuary. I wasn’t sure where I would be staying for the two weeks so had brought a sleeping bag. As it turns out Lourdes has some very kind friends, some of whom run a hotel in the local town Loule. They were kind enough to let me stay there for the two weeks and with lovely rooms, breakfasts and swimming pool so I wasn’t complaining!

I was very impressed generally with the facilities, housing and welfare standards at the sanctuary. Over the next week myself with Lourdes standing in as an amazing impromptu vet nurse started to spay and neuter the dogs and cats at the sanctuary. Lourdes some years ago had a surgery built with money from donations. This had fitted kitchen units,sink and recovery room. Most of the drugs and autoclave and equipment were donated by veterinary surgeries and other animal charities including WVS. I was impressed with the operating room, the only item we were missing was an anaesthetic machine although I believe negotiations may be under-way to receive one. This meant all dogs and cats were anaethetised using xylazine and ketamine. Metacam or Rimadyl used as analgesic and Clamoxyl La for antibiotic.

Leishmaniasis is a major problem in dogs in Portugal, especially wild dogs with no access to flea and fly repellants to discouage sandflies from biting them. The main clinical signs caused by leishmaniasis are due to the animal’s immune response to it often resulting in renal failure, skin and ocular lesions. We assessed each dog by clinically examining it looking for any indication of heart failure suggesting a severe Dirofilaria immitis infection, and performed a leishmaniasis antibody test using a blood sample. Most of the dogs were so well-behaved they gave me their paw and allowed me to take a blood sample without restraint.

The vet nurse arrived at the start of the second week but unfortunately she was only able to come to the sanctuary for two days due to circumstances beyond her control. We operated on a lot of animals over the two days and I really appreciated her help! It’s amazing how much it speeds the process up when there’s someone clipping and drawing up injections while I was operating! Over the two weeks we spayed 27 bitches, castrated 21 dogs, 21 cat spays and 16 cat castrates. Out of all the dogs we blood sampled ,5 unfortunately were leishmaniasis antibody positive and some had early clinical signs, scabs on head, ocular lesions. When dogs are privately owned often an attempt would be made to treat leishmaniasis in dogs. The dogs we were testing had been housed at Quintinha for at least a week and if no owner has come forward they are tested for leishman’s. All the dogs at Quintinha appear healthy and well and unfortunately to allow this to continue both financially and practically, those dogs with leishmaniasis antibody’s and often start of clinical signs are euthanised.

Lourdes receives lots of unwanted puppies and kittens as well as adult dogs and cats. Often the puppies have diarrhoea and are full of worms. Quintinha worms and carefully feeds these young animals until they are well enough to be neutered and re-homed. Each new batch of puppies is quarantined until well. Some of the more interesting surgical cases were a tail amputation due to an old injury of a wild cat captured to be castrated. A young female wild cat who’s breathing deteriorated after anaesthesia and on internal exam through the spay wound was found to have almost no diaphragm. We took the decision to euthanise the cat as from internal exam even if we’d had gaseous anaesthesia I did not think it suitable for repair. Post mortem afterwards confirmed this- there was almost no diaphragm at all, no sign of a tear and as the cat was very small presumed it was congenital.

Although it would have been great to spay or neuter larger numbers of animals what we achieved helps reduce the numbers of dogs on the streets. There are such a large number of homeless dogs and cats- some left behind after tourists leave after living in the Algarve for months or years, others thrown out for growing too big. The dogs and cats at Quintinha are so well-behaved and friendly I will miss them and the people there a lot and I thank Lourdes and all who help there for a lovely time!