news - 15/01/2010
HART Nepal's first Newsletter - United Kingdom
|
by Karl Donvil
FROM JULIETTE CUNLIFF in NEPAL
Hi there!
Firstly my apologies for not writing to you personally but I'm anxious to get HART's very first Newsletter out to as many dog-lovers as possible across the globe, to bring awareness to anyone who may be interested in supporting the cause.
Some of you who read the UK dog press may already know about Himalayan Animal Rescue Team (HART), which was set up in March 2009 and of which I am a Co-Founder, along with Barbara Webb and Jim Pearson, whose wonderful support has been instrumental in getting HART off the ground.
But HART still has a long way to go and we need as many people to support our work as we can. I hope you will find a quiet moment to read our very first Newsletter and to take a look at HART's website at www.hartnepal.org which is currently being brought right up-to-date, so you may like to take another peek in about a week's time, maybe sooner.
When I was based in the UK several dog clubs were kind enough to allow me to run raffles and tombolas at their shows in order to raise funds for the dogs here in Nepal, and others, particularly in the UK and in Scandinavia, held fund-raising events themselves. Now that I am based primarily here in the Himalaya I am restricted to appealing to you from afar. But I know there are many of you out there who would still like to help, and there are so many ways in which you can.
Obviously personal donations are always welcome (and we are just setting up a team of 'HARTies' - so do please ask if you are interested in this and Barbara can tell you more about how to become one), but there are many ways of raising funds through your club too. Even just 'spreading the word' is important, for there are so many animals out here that need our help, especially dogs. You may be in a position to put a link to HART's web site, either through your club or on your own site, maybe both?
Sorry to have rambled on a bit, as is my wont, but as you know when I put pen to paper, or have a keyboard at my fingertips, I find it difficult to stop! Let me take no more of your time right now, but should you wish to contact me for any more information about HART, you know I shall be delighted to hear from you.
Warm regards,
Juliette
JULIETTE CUNLIFFE
juliettecunliffe@yahoo.co.uk
www.hartnepal..org
IN THE BEGINNING
HART came about because a handful of animal lovers, several of whom had already been involved with animal charity work in Nepal, realised there was a great need for offering help to animals outside the Kathmandu Valley where the majority of such organisations are currently located.
Pokhara was selected as a base and from there it is planned that HART will spread its wings still further. An old chicken farm lent itself well to conversion into kennel blocks and in the early days HART’s staff turned their hands to many things, the construction of the kennels going on while surveys were being carried out to assess the needs of the area, both urgent and long-term.
Registered as a charity in March 2009, there was a great deal to do before HART could take in its first patients a few weeks later. It took us a while to put together a reliable, competent team of dedicated staff, but we were fortunate to have several knowledgeable people upon whom we could call for advice.
The very first patient had dreadful lacerations on the muzzle and was in a sorry state when found lying in the road, but with patience and care he was nursed back to health.
HART’s very first patient
RABIES
Just before HART opened, 19 animal samples were tested in the Pokhara Valley and all confirmed positive for rabies. There had also been huge protests following the death of a girl at Gandaki Hospital. For World Rabies Day 2009, a rally was organised in Pokhara, the first for the cause in the city. HART took part in this and handed out informative leaflets. It was evident that the rabies situation in the area was much worse than anticipated.
Our first case was very distressing as in Dulegauda seven young children had been bitten by a dog that was rabid, and later died. With HART’s help the children were all given post-exposure treatment and we are still keeping our fingers crossed that none has gone down with this dreaded disease.
Soon after we were alerted to a case in which a teenager had sadly died of rabies in Kathmandu, but he had been bitten in Jampaling Tibetan Refugee Camp, not far from Pokhara and relatively close to the above cases. So a rabies vaccination programme was set up at Jampaling and also at the adjoining village, Dorfirdi. Dani Laigret, MD of the Shechen Medical Clinic, was instrumental in bringing this about, and the local Village Development Committee played their part too, which is a great step in the right direction as HART is anxious to work with the local communities.
It was clearly evident that the control of rabies was one of the most urgent needs on the agenda, so treatment is regularly carried out on the streets during the early mornings and sometimes special camps have been set up in particular areas. To date HART has given rabies vaccines to 858 dogs.
COMMUNITY DAYS
Two particularly rewarding days were when HART visited Tashi Ling and Henja Tibetan Refugee Camps, not only to give rabies vaccinations, but also to check on other ailments and give treatment as necessary. Most of the dogs in these camps have loving owners and the dogs were well cared for by Nepali standards, but veterinary treatment was low on the list of priorities of a struggling community.
Issue 1 December 2009
Reg Charity No 2160
'Improving the lives of animals of Nepal’
IN THE BEGINNING
Our staff were given a very warm welcome and the organisers deeply expressed their gratitude with khatas.
WVS
Our visit to Henja camp was set up to coincide with a visit from Luke Gamble of Worldwide Veterinary Services (WVS), who was in Nepal to make a film here. Luke is a highly skilled, British vet and he carried out some wonderful operations at HART, as well as passing on his skills to our own vet and veterinary technicians.
Luke sharing his expertise at HART
Because the TV programme has not yet been aired, we can’t spoil things by telling you too much about it in
advance, but we feel certain it will make very good viewing and will
bring the plight of animals in Nepal to a very wide audience. Our thanks to film producers, Red Earth Studio for having given us this great opportunity to publicise HART .
You can learn more about the series that is due to go out by visiting http://www.redearthstudio.com/promos/lukegamble/synopsis.html
ABC
The abbreviation ‘ABC’ is given to Animal Birth Control Programme, a proven system of controlling the street dog population, used throughout Asia. HART concentrates on the spaying of bitches rather than on dogs, for if even one un-castrated dog enters an area of un-spayed bitches, numerous puppies can be the result!
We are now getting into our stride with this programme and have spayed 208 bitches and castrated 9 males.
RESCUE & TREATMENT
Of course there are many other animals that need treatment for illness and accident and to date we have treated 37 dogs, 3 goats, 4 horses, 2 buffalo, 1 calf and 1 cat. Of these only two have had to be euthanized.
The young bullock pictured above had been involved in a traffic accident, in which its mother was sadly killed. As you can see the youngster’s wounds were quite horrific but working in conjunction with Pokhara’s Veterinary Hospital, its innards were replaced, the wound sealed and the patient taken back to HART to recuperate. Although he wouldn’t fit in one of the kennels he seemed happy enough in a large exercise area, was soon back on his feet and has now been released.
WSPA
We are also delighted to report that HART has been made a member society of the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and we appreciate their having put their confidence in our still embryonic venture.
VOLUNTEERS
HART has been very fortunate in having had a number of volunteers visiting in the months since it opened. Most have only stayed for a few days but others planned to stay longer. Liv Greve, a vet from Norway, intended to spend most of November and December with us, bringing along a colleague, Bishnu Das, an expert dog catcher and veterinary technician with whom she had worked in Dharamsala in India. It was a great disappointment to all concerned that Liv was taken ill shortly after her arrival and had to spend time in hospital, but nonetheless she did a good deal of PR work for HART while she was here and was able to spend some time in our operating theatre, providing another opportunity for our vet, Dr Hem Awasthi, to pick up on her wider knowledge. Amongst other things, Liv also very kindly donated a surgeon’s chair for the operating theatre. Liv has now returned to Norway where we hope she is back in the best of health once again.
Our grateful thanks to all our supporters in the UK and elsewhere who have done such sterling work, both by raising funds to help HART and raising awareness of the animals’ plight here.
HART can make a difference and will move ahead from strength to strength to improve the lives of the animals of Nepal, as well as to eradicate rabies from the vicinity; all we need is your help and support.
__________
Hopefully this little newsletter has served to give you a brief insight into the work HART has carried out during the nine months of its existence. We also hope that you will take a look at our web site at www.hartnepal.org where you will be able to learn more about our charity.
Season’s Greetings
to all HART’s
well-wishers
and our thanks for your continued support.
-
Please keep in touch via our web site at www.hartnepal.org
or email us at
enquiries@hartnepal.org
|
|
|
|
