Sams Dog Blog

long time no blog

2010-12-15T18:02:00.001Z

As Dogstar gets busier and busier I am not able to regularly blog here any more :(

however you can keep up with all the Dogstar news via our website news section

http://www.dogstarfoundation.com/news/

Dogstar Blog ( with all the news from Sri Lanka and the UK in one place )

http://dogstarfoundation.wordpress.com/

Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/DogstarFoundation

and Twitter

http://twitter.com/dogstar_

Sam x

Ticket to ride x 2

2010-06-24T14:15:00.000+01:00

Am on my way with mark to the airport and this time he is coming with me :)

Our work in the UK and Sri Lanka is increasing daily so this is a great chance for the team to catch up and plan our next 12 months.

We also have some exciting news we hope to share very soon ......

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Dogstars Midge

2010-06-05T16:20:00.001+01:00

On Thursday Mo posted this on our Facebook page

Dr. P, Mo and Sampath went to Beragala Temple this morning and the 6 dogs there were treated with ivermectin for their skin problems, and given ARV. This is a picture of Midge - her treatment cost around 4.50 sterling. This is the same as a good glass of wine in the UK. What's better value.......(no contest......)

Midge as she has been named has now received stage 1 of her treatment for her skin condition , her course of vaccinations have started and we have ( with amazing donor support ) arranged for sacks of dog food to be sent to the Temple for Midge and her fellow Temple dogs.

Midge is no longer alone , she is a Dogstar dog

Updates

2010-05-12T05:02:00.000+01:00

It's day 19 of the Embark / TAPA / field clinic at Moratuwa and Dogstars team have seen 297 dogs ( some more than once ) Mo's blog last week has some excellent photos of the team at work.

Mean while back at base Dr P has performed our 1037th sterilisation and plans are underway for our local clinic on May 22nd

With so much work going on here i better get back on with fundraising........

Leaving on a jet plane

2010-05-04T12:41:00.000+01:00

Am at heathrow Terminal 3 departures ( again ) waiting for my flight to be called

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Embark

2010-04-25T23:39:00.000+01:00

A bit of a first for us tommorow working with Embark and TAPA on a 20 day program in Moratuwa. Our Team lead by Dr Madira will be providing treatment to injured dogs or dogs not fit enough to be sterlised by TAPAs Team

Mo and Dr P will be joining them for a few days early on and I hope flights permitting to get there for a few days at the end.

Will update on the projects progress over the next few weeks

Animal Birth Control Project - Moratuwa

Mon, April 26, 8:00am – Wed, May 12, 2:30pm

Groups that will work with Embark on this project will be:

Tsunami Animal People Alliance ( TAPA )
Dogstar Foundation
Leo Club of Moratuwa Orient
Moratuwa Municipal Council
Ministry of Health – Moratuwa

Happy Birthday Dr P

2010-04-23T21:01:00.000+01:00

Wishing Dogstars Vet Dr Prashashini Eranditha a very Happy Birthday

1031 and counting.....

2010-04-23T08:48:00.003+01:00

Do not let what you do not have , prevent you from using what you do have

Just checking our treatment records and 1031 animals have been sterilised by Dogstar Foundation since 2007. Over 200o animals have been vaccinated against Rabies.

Like all charties big or small we could spend hours talking about what we don't have or what we need but I think its just as important to focus on just what we can do with our resources

Remember Shep ?

2010-04-22T12:17:00.002+01:00

Shep January 2009

Sheps story is now a featured video on youtube

all in a days work

2010-04-20T20:37:00.005+01:00

Dogstar Vet Prashashini Eranditha , Project Manager Mo Rendall and volunteer Liz Askell have seen and treated 22 dogs and cats today on todays rounds.

I know I keep saying we are a small charity but the numbers we are seeing some days are anything but small !

Paws 10k

2010-04-17T20:29:00.005+01:00

Spent the morning at the amazing paws 10k event. Thank you Bryony and everyone involved in organising the event plus the sponsors and amazing runners who have raised over 1000 pounds for Dogstar.

Easter egg hunt results

2010-04-06T10:49:00.000+01:00

the Winner of the Dogstar Easter Egg hunt is Daisy Hanrahan who found 13 out of the 15 eggs hidden on our website. Well done Daisy.

The location of the eggs were …..

Home Page – right hand side
Easter egg hunt page – centre of text
News Page – Article: “fun online Easter egg hunt starts on Friday 2nd April” Left hand side
News Page – Article: “Veterinary Times Article on Dogstar Foundation” below PDF article on Volunteering
Sri Lankan Bumpy –midway down right hand side of text
Virtual Volunteering –right hand side of text
Rabies Page – Bottom left of page underneath poster
Easyfundraising – bottom right hand side
Why we are here – Bottom left hand side
Sirius Dogstar – Bottom centre under 2nd Video
WSPA – top left hand side
History – top right hand side
VetUK – midway down right hand side
Home Page – Behind the photo of Oscar ( click Oscar to find egg )
Dogtails page – Inside embedded video at approx 17 seconds

Thank you everyone who took part , everyone had so much fun we are going to ask the easter bunny to come back and hide some more next year

Dogstar Foundation - A little love in your heart

2010-04-03T16:23:00.001+01:00

Video showing Dogstar Foundations work providing free veterinary care to dogs and cats from low income households , street dogs and temple dogs in rural Sri Lanka is putting a little love in a lot of hearts.

Fun Easter Egg hunt now open

2010-04-02T09:00:00.000+01:00

The Dogstar Foundation are hosting an online Easter egg hunt and everyone is welcome to come and take part

The egg hunt opened today at 09:00hrs and ends 21:00hrs Monday 5th April ( UK time )

The Easter bunny has visited our website and hidden a number of eggs

To take part search the site and find as many as you can, then email us at

egg@dogstarfoundation.com

saying how many eggs you found on the site and where they were, some will be easy to spot but some will be very well hidden and you will have to hunt very hard for them

The winner will be the person who finds the most eggs and in the event of a draw we will pull a name out of a hat. Dogstar Founders Sam and Mark will send the winner a mystery Dogstar prize

Entry is free and open to everyone , children under the age of 16 should check with a parent or guardian first

The Winner will be announced & the location of all the eggs will be revealed here and on our facebook fan page on Tuesday 6th April at 17:00hrs

good luck and happy egg hunting :)

Just one small step

2010-03-30T17:57:00.000+01:00

Today is my birthday ,

I remembered this when I found a card in the kitchen from my husband.

I am 38 years old today , 38 seems a nice number and I think I am going to enjoy this year

Neil Armstrong was 38 when he become the first person to walk on the surface of the moon. I don't think I will be taking any giant leaps for mankind this year but I hope to be taking some more small steps for improved animal and community health in a small area of Sri Lanka which is not a bad plan for the year

Now if I had NASAs budget just think what I could do..........

fun online easter egg hunt starts on Friday 2nd April

2010-03-29T22:59:00.003+01:00

The Easter bunny will be visiting on Good Friday and hiding eggs like this all over the new Dogstar Foundation website

see how many you can find and enter our free competition , details on how to enter will be posted on Friday

Wordle

2010-03-25T08:11:00.003Z

Click on the picture to see the wordcloud full size

Breaking the circle of suffering

2010-03-23T14:43:00.000Z

This morning Dr Prashashini advised that Sukumalee a pup that was left at our Temple last month has just been homed to a local family , I wrote this on facebook as a response

Dogstar also rehomes some of community/temple dogs with local families. So far this year we have rehomed 4 pups ( 2 male 2 female ) and a adult female dog. In the past those dogs stayed on the streets producing unwanted litter after unwanted litter. Now with our support these dogs are being homed , sterilised and vaccinated breaking the circle of suffering and disease.

I don't think I highlight this part of our work nearly enough and its a huge change from the realities 4 years ago. People were justify concerned about just picking up puppies from the street or a temple because of the risk of disease. A large number of those pups had skin problems that scared prospective owners and certainly if they did pick a "healthy" looking puppy they choose a male because they did not want litters of puppies that they could not cope with 6 months down the line. As the female puppies grew they in turn would get pregnant and give birth to more and more unwanted puppies.

To see families coming to our Temples or approaching our resident project manager Mo, our driver Sampath or local Vet Dr Prashashini asking for puppies is a huge improvement but to have people openly asking for females is amazing

The reach and impact of Dogstars work continues to amaze me and I cannot wait to see what we can achieve in our next few years

Easyfundraising ( again )

2010-03-22T21:13:00.000Z

Have you heard about easyfundraising yet? It’s the easiest way to help raise money for Dogstar Foundation. If you already shop online with retailers such as Amazon, Next, Argos, John Lewis, Comet, iTunes, eBay or HMV, then we need you to sign up for free to raise money while you shop!

So how does it work? You shop directly with the retailer as you would normally, but if you sign up to http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/dogstarfoundation for free and use the links on the easyfundraising site to take you to the retailer, then a percentage of whatever you spend comes directly to us at no extra cost to yourself. So if you spend £100 with M&S online, we get £5 cashback from your purchase; £100 spent with Amazon raises £2.50 for us, £100 with WH Smith puts £2.00 in our pocket, and so on. easyfundraising have over 2,000 retailers on their site, and some of the donations can be as much as 15% of your purchase.

This service is FREE to use, and what’s more, joining easyfundraising will give you access to hundreds of exclusive discounts and voucher codes, so not only will you be helping us, you’ll be saving money yourself.

•         FREE TO JOIN & DONATIONS MADE AT NO EXTRA COST TO YOU

•         BUY DIRECT FROM OVER 2,000 BRAND NAME RETAILERS

•         100s OF EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTS AND VOUCHER CODES

We've raised over £1216.39

with easyfundraising so far but we need your help to keep donations coming in. Sign up at http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/dogstarfoundation and start making a difference...simply by shopping.

Thanks

The power of the internet

2010-03-16T18:24:00.000Z

How did a man in Australia , a woman in the UK and man in Sri Lanka work together to save a street dog in Dehiwela ?

Visit our Facebook Fan page to find out

97 reasons to say thank you in 2010

2010-03-10T02:58:00.000Z

yesterday I was looking at our animal treatment records for 2010, already Dogstars have seen 97 animals this year. Many requiring multiple visits to our local Vet, the Uni hospital or long term support or medication. Many of these animals would have died without our help and many more would be suffering with skin conditions , parasites and at risk of disease and unwanted pregnancies. If you have helped us in any way in 2010 then 97 animals owe you their thanks as do we

street dog treated for skin and eye infections

Dogstars Doctor Pete gets published

2010-03-09T14:03:00.000Z

Peter Hiscox BSc, BVSc, MRCVS ( or Dr Pete as we called him ) volunteered with Dogstar last summer for a month. Pete wrote a article about his time with us that has been published in the UK Veterinary Times Click on the page to read it full size

If want more info about volunteering with us please email volunteer@dogstarfoundation.com or visit our website www.dogstarfoundation.com

give me a child untill he is 7 and I will show you the man

2010-02-28T14:47:00.000Z

or the woman

As I finally got the end of sorting out and backing up the thousands of photos I had on my mac I came across these gems from my childhood

I guess working with animals was always on the cards somewhere along the line

Dogstar fundraising is a load of old crap

2010-02-27T18:49:00.000Z

well it is when I am doing it ! , I have registered Dogstar with Missionfish so people can sell items for us via ebay. Thinking I would lead by example ( and check I had managed to do it right ) I have listed our very first charity item today

A writing set made out of elephant poo :)

ebay listing is here

Dogstar number phrase quiz answers

2010-02-23T15:04:00.002Z

All I can say is its just as well I was unable to enter because I doubt I would have got a single one right !

Huge thank you to everyone who took part and congratulations to Nick Lewis who won the £150 Red Letter Day voucher

1= ANOH = atomic number of hydrogen

2= HABTO = heads are better than one

3= LKTLTM = little kittens they lost their mittens

4= ATBBIAP = and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie

5= VITEA = vowels in the English alphabet

6= WOHTE = wives of Henry the eighth

7= CIAR = colours in a rainbow

8= SOASS = sides on a stop sign

10= DS = Downing street

11= PIAFT = players in a football team

12= SOTZ = signs of the zodiac

13= LIABD = loaves in a baker's dozen

15= MOF = minutes of fame

17= SIAH = syllables in a haiku

18= HIAROG = holes in a round of golf

21= DOAD = dots on a die

25= YOMFASA = years of marriage for a silver anniversary

32= DFTFW = degrees Fahrenheit to freeze water

54= CSOARC = coloured squares on a Rubik's cube

57= HV = Heinz varieties

64= SOAC = squares on a chessboard

88= PK = piano keys

90= DIARA = degrees in a right angle

100= DCTBW = degrees Celsius to boil water

366= DIALY = days in a leap year

1000= WTAPIW = words that a picture is worth

1440= MIAD = minutes in a day

1812= OBT = overture by Tchaikovsky

1984= OILA = Olympics in Los Angeles

43560= SFIAA = square feet in an acre

If you want to keep up date with with other Dogstar Competitions you can sign up here for online updates . You choose what you want updates you want to receive and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Why Dogstar is like an Olympic sport

2010-02-20T23:55:00.001Z

Dogstar impacts my life in many unexpected ways, one change is I rarely if ever watch TV nowadays (pretty much a few hours each month) but last night I turned on and caught some coverage of the womens skeleton event at these years Winter Olympics

The whole thing set me thinking

Who came up with the idea of it (mind you I am still getting my head around curling) decided it was a good idea and a sporting one at that?

Why is it called the skeleton when really it appears to my untrained eye to be a series of fearless women literally throwing themselves down a long icy path on a tea tray head first ( I understand there is another version where the competitor go feet first called the luge )

How did the women discover they had a talent for it, what event at sports day could possibly have made them think “I know what I will when I grow up, I will compete at an international level in a sport to hurtle down a icy track at 130 km an hour and maybe even win a medal for it” certainly not the egg and spoon race

Mind you 5 years ago I would never have guessed I would have left a full time (and well paid job) founded an overseas veterinary charity, study and work hands on with elephants. I didn’t think I would be living apart from my husband and daughter for part of each year in foreign country or learning to speak another language.

In fact if you had told me 5 years ago I would have been capable of doing even one of those things I would have laughed at you. Even now I wake up some mornings and still can’t get my head around the scale of the changes in my life since 2005

I never (knowingly) set out to run a charity or work overseas or do any of the things I mentioned, for me a series of seemingly unconnected events lead me to Sri Lanka in 2006 and my first meeting with Wangessa the Monk and Mango the temple dog. I had never really thought about fate before Dogstar but I guess now I believe some things are meant to be

Just think if the universe had a different path for me I could be hurtling down that icy path on my tea tray

Sam

Mango

How buying a book off Amazon can provide food to a street dog

2010-02-18T07:54:00.000Z

Since 2007 Dogstar supporters have raised 1188.55 via easyfundraising. If you use online shops or services you can join up and help Dogstar treat and feed street dogs like Pippa and it won't cost you a single penny !

Sounds too good to be true ? I know it does but its 100 % above board and the easiest and simplest way for you to help us provide food and medication to dogs in need. You do your normal online shopping and easyfundraising and Dogstar will do the rest

Raise Funds for Dogstar Foundation When You Shop Online easyfundraising is a shopping directory listing some of your favourite online stores, including Argos, Next, Amazon, Debenhams, John Lewis, Toys R Us, HMV and over 1000 other top name stores. Whenever you shop with any one of them using the links provided on the easyfundraising site, you'll generate a free donation for us of up to 15% of the purchase price every time! It really is that simple!

It's completely FREE to register and you won't pay a penny more for your shopping when you use the easyfundraising site. In fact you can even SAVE MONEY as many retailers give discounts, special offers and even 'e-vouchers' exclusive to easyfundraising.

You can shop for holidays, flights, electronics, mobile phones, computing equipment, food, wine, pet supplies, finance, insurance and much more - and every purchase you make will raise funds for us at absolutely no cost to you!

All you need to do is register for free at

http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/dogstarfoundation

If you are already supporting us this way I want to say a huge thank you and then be very cheeky and ask if you can ask friends and family to sign up as well

The wonders of the world wide web....

2010-02-15T06:46:00.002Z

Have been back in the UK less than 48 hours and doing my usual battle withJet lagg and the vast amounts of paperwork/emails that need dealing with. Not sure what is winning but its not me !

The last 7 weeks or so have been amazing , I left the UK as the founder of a non profit and returned as the founder of a UK registered Charity and WSPA Member Society. Both huge steps for us and a testament to the hard work and dedication of a small group of supporters and volunteers so well done and Thank you to everyone who has worked on both applications with me

Being a charity means a lot of things , I was often asked before why we were not a charity and the answer was nothing more than I am pretty bad at fundraising and we had never raised the required amount to be registered ( 5k in one year ) I am a little better at fundraising now but still need all the help I can get there ( if any fundraisers out there want to take pity on me please feel free to shout ). It also means we can now claim gift aid on a lot of donations which I am getting onto this week :)

WSPA Member Society membership is equally amazing , where as the Charity Commission look and give guidance at the monetary side of Dogstar , WSPA are able to support us with advice and feedback re our hands on work. One of the amazing things about the network is working with other groups and we have already learnt a huge amount from our new friends at TAPA ( another WSPA member society working along the Tsunami coast line areas of Sri Lanka )

This week due to time constraints I have also had to step down as a volunteer staff member on a UK animal welfare forum called The Refuge . The Refuge and its members have been a huge part of the Dogstar story from the very beginning and in fact it was there I first saw a link to the MEF volunteer program in late 2005 which set me on the path towards Sri Lanka in the first place. Just goes to show what a powerful place the internet can be and how reading one thing can change the course of someones life for good

of course I would not have it any other way , now wheres that gift aid paperwork .............................

Whale Watching Photos

2010-02-13T16:37:00.000Z

as promised some of the photos from last weeks amazing Whale Watching trip.

I have said it before but its worth saying again what an amazing place Sri Lanka is to visit , it really does have something to offer every traveller

I am still in awe of the experience and I will treasure the memories and photos for a long time to come

Leaving on a jet plane

2010-02-12T19:48:00.001Z

Mark and I are at columbo airport now waiting for the first of our 2 planes home

Internet has been very slow/defective so our volunteers blog has not been updated for a few weeks ( other than mark on his phone ) mo and our volunteer vet Kate both have lots of updates they hope to be able to post very soon.

All that's left for this trip for me to say is a huge thank you to every single person who supports us in anyway, you are the real dog stars and you make an amazing differance to the lives of animals and people every day

Sam

- Posted using BlogPress

Internet still a problem for us here

2010-02-09T16:29:00.000Z

Just to add still can't get our laptop online so every thing is being posted via mobile phones. We are aware that a lot of people are awaiting replies to emails and facebook messages at the moment and as soon as we are back in the Uk on Saturday we will start catching up

Sam

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Mary , Mungo and Midge

2010-02-09T16:05:00.001Z

Yesterday temple dogs Mary,Mungo and Midge were sterilised. This morning when we returned for a post op check they were full of the joys of spring. Even after 3 plus years it still amazes me how quickly they recover and still pleases me to think
Of more dogs spared unwanted litters. Rest of our the day was spent at the uni and then taking Kate to visit the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy. Tommorow Kate rounds off her time volunteering here with 2 more spays and a few vaccinations before heading off to the tea country for a well earned few days off. Mark and I are also getting ready to return to the UK so I really must start thinking about some packing.

Mary , Mungo , Midge and their mum Brown ( we did not name her ! ) with the Monk and a bag of donated dog food

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TAPA take 3

2010-02-07T07:19:00.001Z

This morning both mark and the TAPA van were fully functional so Mark and Dr Kate where able to go out with the dog collection team. I stayed at the tent and amused everyone with my feeble attempts at folding drape sets ( I did get a lot better after practise and redeemed myself with swab folding and packing )

As we have our own mini temple clinic in the morning we are heading back to kegalle now on the first of 2 buses ( at least a 4 hour journey )

Thank you TAPA for another fantastic few days and I will keep up with my drape set homework

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Having a whale of a time

2010-02-06T09:55:00.001Z

Having heard the wonderful news yesterday that Dogstar has been accepted as a WSPA member society. Mark,Mo,Dr Kate and I had an amazing morning whale watching on a 5 hour boat trip from Mirissa.

When I can get the laptop online I will add some photos of our amazing day. Now Mark and I are heading back to Induruwa for the night so we can rejoin TAPA in the morning

Sam

- Posted using BlogPress

TAPA take 2

2010-02-05T10:05:00.001Z

This morning Kate ( or Dr Kate as she is now well known locally
) Dr P , Mark and I attended another TAPA field clinic.

Sadly neither the TAPA van or Mark was feeling very well so we could not see the street dog netting in progress. There were however a lot of owners bringing in animals so lots of surgery. We are taking a rare day off tomorrow and will be back to TAPA on Sunday.

Sam

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Be the change you want to see in the world

2010-01-27T07:28:00.015Z

Dogstars Pickle is now the star of our latest campaign poster

its not the first time Pickle has been our poster girl , just last November she looked like this

Pickles amazing recovery cost Dogstar just a few pounds and the time and dedication of our volunteers and vets. She really is the ideal dog for our 2010 pledge a pound appeal

we are asking if supporters can pledge just a pound a month for the year and ask as many friends and family members to join them. Regular funding like pledge a pound can really help us plan our work and help so many more dogs and cats like Pickle in dire need of our help

Pickle 7th November 2009

Pickle 18th January 2010

Pledge a pound is like our work , simple and low cost with the ability to make an amazing difference to the lives of dogs , cats and entire communities

All the posters are available in larger PDF versions and are available on request from info@dogstarfoundation.com

what a week

2010-01-26T10:26:00.000Z

so much has happened in the last week I would need 10 blog entries to cover it all so in brief

Domino and I are both still in good health and both have seen enough needles to last us a lifetime

Our wonderful UK Volunteer Vet Kate has arrived and is already making a huge contribution to the animals we help and our overall work.

Kate and I were joined by 3 other MEF volunteers on Saturday to climb Adams Peak in Dogstar tee shirts to raise funds and awareness for Dogstar. It took us just under 4 hours to climb 5200 steps and reach the amazing height of 7500. Coming down was nearly as hard as going up

and the amazing triangle shadow

I felt every single one of the 5200 steps both going up and coming down and if it were not for the fact I was wearing a Dogstar Tee Shirt and part of a team I would have turned round at about 2000 ft and headed back to the van !

Domino behind bars

2010-01-17T08:51:00.000Z

Domino is now in the Dogstar dog crate so his condition can be assessed and not at all happy about it at all. I would like to tell you how I trapped him using nothing but my wits and ace cat trapping skills but I would be lying !. After an entire evening of me trying to get my hands on the little furry Houdinii and failing spectacularly another MEF volunteer Hayley scooped him up when he walked past her when she was making a phone call. Not sure who was more surprised with the turn of events Domino, Hayley, Mo and I but the main thing is he is now in cat prison doing his time.

Cat attack !

2010-01-15T20:22:00.007Z

It’s nearly 3 years since my last rabies vaccinations and in that time I have handled, held and restrained hundreds and hundreds of unvaccinated animals all without incident

So its more than a bit bizarre that I found myself having to get a rabies post exposure booster this morning due a local cat that literally launched itself at me last night whilst I was having my dinner all teeth and claws and leaving 2 open wounds on my hand

Domino is pretty much a feral cat, over the last 6 months I have been 1 of only 2 people that can pick him up and then only for small periods. Because of this and his ability to hide whenever a vet visits he had not been rabies vaccinated. This coupled with his aggressive behavior meant that I was not taking any chances and went though a full wound wash and clean procedure and then because I did have not access to iodine and to the abject horror of the bar staff I proceed to wash the wound again with neat alcohol

This morning after I had taken Zeeba back to Dr. P for a check up I went to a local hospital for the first of my boosters. I shall be on the look out for Domino this evening with my rabies gloves and a crate as clearly his uncharacteristic aggression could caused by illness or even rabies and he needs to see a vet as soon as possible

Even though we vaccinate 100’s of animals locally each year it never pays to be complacent in a country where over 50 people a year are still dying from this vaccine preventable disease

It costs us a couple of pounds to vaccinate an animal here, less than a price of takeaway coffee to literally save lives

Puts it all in perspective and yet again shows what we are doing here and why

Dogstar visit Tsunami Animal People Alliance

2010-01-14T05:57:00.001Z

On Sunday 3rd January when Dawn and Dana visited Dogstar they invited us to spend a day with the team at TAPA ( Tsunami Animal People Alliance ). As the name suggests TAPA started after the tragedy of the 2004 Tsunami and runs regular sterilisation and vaccinations in a field clinic setting.

On Tuesday 5th January myself , Mo , Sampath , Dr Dangolla and Doctor Prashashini left MEF in a van and 6 long hours later we arrived at Unawatuna near Galle.

As it was nearly midnight when we arrived we had a quick beer and went to bed as TAPA start early in the morning and we did not want to be late on our first day. By 7.30 we were at their clinic site for the day and were overwhelmed by the location and the view.

We were delighted to meet up with our old friend Dr Manjula who used to work with Dogstar as well as meeting the fantastic TAPA team ran by Dr Thusira Soorasena

Sampath , Dr D and I went off with the team collecting the dogs and Mo and Dr P watched them other team set up the surgery area for the day.

TAPA treat both owned and community ( stray ) dogs so a number of the days patients are netted. Its a highly trained job taking months to learn and the staff work in a team of 3 with a system that ensures even the most evasive dogs are quickly caught. Once netted the animal is tagged with a number an exact location recorded so its later returned to the same spot and taken to the field clinic to be weighed.

After the dogs are weighed and sedated they are then cleaned and prepared for surgery , later in the day this become my job under the watchful eye of my trainer. I seemed to spend a lot of time washing and shaving dogs testicles which proves yet again this field clinic stuff is not at all glamourous

The the dog is taken to the operating table , Dr. Manjula shows just how its done ( and look at the view behind her )

Dr. Dangolla sutures a dog the TAPA way with Dr. Thusiras advice whilst our driver Sampath looks on

Dogstars Dr. Prashashini on a male dog

I cannot thank TAPA enough for their hospitality the day and Dogsatr are looking forward to visiting them again next month. I often get emails from holiday makers on the coastline asking if Dogstar can help with dogs they have seen, we have to say that we can't ( being over 6 hours away and on a limited budget ourselves) but if any one reading wants to donate to a organisation that is making a sustainable and long term difference to over population along the Tsunami affected coast line I can highly recommend TAPAs work

http://www.tsunami-animal.org/home.htm

Rain stops play

2010-01-12T01:25:00.001Z

Heavy rain here every evening is stopping me using the office as we have to unplug all the computers during thunderstorms. I will try and get some more blogs done as soon as poss including our trip to TAPA and latest temple dog news.

Sam

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

WSPA come to Visit Dogstar

2010-01-10T09:59:00.000Z

As well as working direct with the local community Dogstar works with other Sri Lankan and international organisations giving us amazing oppurtunies to learn and share our experiences . On Sunday 3rd January we were delighted to welcome back Dawn from WSPA who visited us in 2008 and welcoming for the first time Dr. Subash Danananjaya ( Dana for short ) Both Dawn and Dana have considerable experience in mobile / field clinics from front line experience working with the amazing Tsunami Animal-People Alliance TAPA along the coastal areas devastated by the 2004 Tsunami.

Our clinic for the day was actually at Randeniya Temple were Dogstars first dogs were treated in 2006 , as all the animals attending were temple animals Sampath our driver and I had to play the part of owners at the registration process. Poor Mo and the vet team were faced with me who could not act my way out of a paper bag and Sampath who may just get a Oscar nomination for his role !

As is usual at such clinics the local Monks were in attendance to see what we were doing , this lead to a surreal if not entertaining dicussion between our one of our Vets Dr. Dangolla and the new local monk about the finer and some what graphic details of a dogs sex life and just what level of sexual drive/desire/feelings and emotions they had. I am sure Dawn and Dana were not expecting that when they first arrived but we had to admit topics at Dogstar clinics often range from the sublime to the ridiculous and are certainally never dull

Dawn and Dana were able to give us some excellent advice and feedback based on their vast experiences working in field clinics and invited us to spend a day at TAPA to see the processes in action. I am very glad we had agreed and made the arrangements before it was discovered our sponsor dog Milkshake had been busy eating Dawns shoes on the temples steps !

luckily for us Dawn admitted that she really disliked the shoes anyway ( phew ! ) and was looking for an excuse to buy a new pair.

I told Dawn that our original Monk Wangeesa Terro often told me that Milkshake was the naughtiest dog in Sri Lanka , I think in hindsight he might have been right

A very talented Vet

2010-01-10T09:17:00.000Z

First few days back were very hard for me for a number of reasons and Mo and I where as busy as ever dealing with poorly puppies , a dog with distemper and a stray requiring an emergency amputation. So getting a lovely handmade New Years Card from our local Vet practice really made us both smile

I think if Dr Prashashini ever gives up working with animals she has a future in handmade cards :)

December 31st 2009

2010-01-10T08:30:00.001Z

After losing Maisy , our trip to the coast ( more about that later ) and some bad weather the blogging has got all behind and out of sync

cast your mind back to last year , on December 31st whilst most people were getting ready for new years celebrations Mo and I were out doing house calls and temple visits

First on our list of house calls was Mr Ranasinghe and his adopted Dogstar dog Oscar, regular readers of the Volunteers blog know that Oscar is very special to Mo and it was a close run thing when they were reunited to tell who was the most excited ( Mo however did not feel the need to wee in the garden so we think Oscar pipped her to the post )

Oscar 31/12/09

Mr Ranasinghe was delighted when both Mo and I plus our vet congratulated him on taking such good care of Oscar and watching them together its clear Oscar is a very much loved part of the family

Oscar is another Dogstar success story , nothing fancy just plain and simple care and attention , access to veterinary care , food and vaccinations and of course a wonderful new home have turned this unwanted stray into a loved family pet. Oscar will be sterilised in a few months and will continue to received free vaccinations and veterinary treatment from Dogstar for his lifetime

Next stop was Udakarandupona Temple ( or UKP Temple as we not surprising refer to it in writing ) UKP Temple is where Oscar lived for a while after Mo plucked him out of the road and is home to some more dogs that Dogstar are now providing services for.

Remember Oscars playmates Mary , Mungo and Midge ?

Mary

Mungo

Mungo had deformed legs due to a calcium deficiency which we treated using supplements. Before Dogstars help Mungo would have been crippled for life , now he is a normal healthy puppy. Again it cost us the price of a few cups of takeaway coffee to change Mungos whole life

and Midge

All 3 have received a full course of puppy vaccinations and anti Rabies vaccinations paid for by Dogstar, we also supplement there diet of curry and rice with some commercial dog food ( which has really helped Mungos legs )

All 3 plus the adult dogs are the temple will be sterilised as soon as possible

Here comes the rain again

2010-01-09T12:26:00.001Z

After an amazingly busy week including our trip to TAPA , visit from Wspa, normal Dogstar treatments and services , 2 trips to the uni hospital the most paperwork I have ever had to do and becoming a registered charity

I thought this evening I would go to the office and catch up on all my blogging. However the weather has taken a turn for the worse and it's currently raining a level last seen in Biblical plagues. Thankfully the man at the phone was able to get my iPhone working today with my local sim so I can briefly update but no photos as they are on my laptop.

Tomorrow morning we have a female dog booked in for a spay but weather permitting I will get back online with update of the first week of the new year

Sam

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Dogstar Foundation UK Registered Charity 1133431

2010-01-04T23:12:00.002Z

As of this morning the Dogstar Foundation is now a registered charity number 1133431. The trustees and I would like to wish all our supporters a very happy new year and thank them for all the support and encourage you have given us over the last 3 and bit years.

We are looking forward to doing so much more with your help in 2010

Sam

Not such a happy new year

2010-01-02T11:54:00.000Z

Sadly my first blog entry of 2010 is a not a tale of celebration but instead a stark reminder of the day to day realities of our work here

Yesterday morning Mo and I took our newest puppy Maisy to our local Veterinarian Dr. Prashashini as her condition had deteriorated overnight at the Temple. Maisy spent the day on a drip and undergoing treatment but was not expected to last the night. Sadly Maisy passed away in the early hours of this morning, she had been made as comfortable as possible , received food and veterinary treatment , a name and died in someone arms rather than alone and in pain on the streets. Maisy was nothing more or less than victim of over population which shows yet again why the sterilisation work we are doing is so important.

I will update on the rest of our work in the next few days but today we are reflecting on Maisy who was buried this morning at MEF with our other departed Dogstar dogs , Sirius , Mango, Honey and Bull

It costs Dogstar just 10 pounds to sterilise a dog or cat , 10 pounds to prevent the unwanted litters that end up on the street or dumped at temples . If you donate even 1 pound this new year to Dogstar on Maisys behalf you will be helping us make 2010 a better year for the dogs locally.

the long and short of it

2009-12-31T05:08:00.000Z

I last blogged when I was sitting at the departure gate waiting to board a delayed plane. Once aboard the captain made an announcement explaining the plane had been delayed on its inbound journey and this was compounded by difficulties offloading aston martin from the forward hold ! not the only announcement from the the flight deck the other being a long and very detailed message about keeping your seat belt on during the journey as the plane would be traveling though areas of unpredictable air during the journey ( and I thought they called it turbulence in the trade )

All of the above meant I had very little time to make my transfer in Dubai , if you were at Dubai airport the early hours of Tuesday morning and you saw a demented looking woman running as fast as her unfit legs would carry her whilst dragging a trolley bag well that was me

The 2nd plane was smaller than the first and when it travelled though areas of unpredictable air by lord did we know it , 3 times they had to suspend handing out food and they could not serve hot drinks at all. I think there are rides at Alton Towers that are more gentle ( did I mention I REALLY don't like flying )

Madly the journey back to MEF in a van with no seat belts and questionable MOT status by UK standards did not scare me at all , but I still decided to have a stiff drink or 2 that evening which was a very silly idea as I discover at 4 am the next day hangovers and jet lag are a very bad mix indeed :(

With a clinic to run on Sunday and the usual influx of owners requesting help I had to get up and face the day ( a bit slower than normal if I am honest ) and by lunch time we had seen 1 dog with a growth on his penis which we refereed to a local vet and were settling down to lunch when a man came into the restaurant and asked for Mo. His dog Roxy was was sick and he was very concerned for him, luckily someone told him about Dogstar and he immediately cycled all the way from his village to us to ask for help. From the description he gave both Mo and I knew the dog needed to see a vet immediate as it sounded like distemper. We arranged for a tuk tuk to collect them and take them our local vet who confirmed distemper and started on treatment/supported therapy immediately.

On the way back from collect Roxys medication we stopped into our local temple to find that we have a new puppy left there by our old friend persons unknown. so please welcome the latest member of the Dogstar family Maisy

Will update again soon internet connection permitting , Sam

Up in the air

2009-12-28T13:45:00.000Z

As updated on the dogstar facebook page this morning I don't like flying , if i am honest I really don't enjoy it at all and pretty much scares the pants off me . It's mainly the take off and landing parts but the bit in the middle is not much better

Quite a bummer given just how much flying I do and that my choice if airline does not fly direct so I have 4 take offs and landings each round trip.

Am sitting at the departure gate waiting to board my delayed first plane. It's late because it was late arriving so says the man on the pa, could be worse he could have it's late because the wing is wobbly and the need more Sellotape !

Sam " I wonder how long the journey is by boat" Green

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Boxing and Packing day

2009-12-26T21:47:00.000Z

Late Wednesday evening I got the confirmation I was waiting for that I needed to fly out to Sri Lanka on Monday 28th December. Flights have been booked which is fairly simple thanks to the internet and today I have been packing which is never dull !

We have cornered the market in inventive use of bubblewrap as Marks masterclass of wrapping of an autoclave in 2008 shows

as always I have a "few" Dogstar items to take with me , now wheres that bubble wrap ....

Christmas Card

2009-12-24T22:28:00.001Z

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas

Sam and Mark

Here and there , hot and cold

2009-12-22T16:41:00.004Z

Mo has flown back to Sri Lanka today , I am due to return at some point in the next few weeks but I am waiting confirm with some potential visitors re thier travel plans before I can be 100 % sure the best days to book my flights so every thing is a bit up in the air with me at the moment. This morning to clear my head I decided to take one of my UK rescue dogs Noah for a long walk in our local woods. I know a lot of people in the UK are fed up of the snow but I have to confess I love it and am in total awe of just how beautiful it makes every thing look , even if I had to wear many layers of clothing and themals !

Sam

P.s you can click on the photos to view them full size

A year in Status on Facebook

2009-12-21T22:57:00.000Z

Killing in the name of

2009-12-20T19:05:00.001Z

Between Feb 2007 and December 2009 The Dogstar Foundation vaccinated over 1800 animals against Rabies ,

RAGE AGAINST THE DISEASE

£ 1.33 buys one vaccine

Same old Sams dog blog new amazing look

2009-12-19T21:33:00.002Z

Unless this is your first visit to my blog ( in which case welcome ) you will have noticed it has a brand new layout. Designed by the amazing Kel at Design Bug

The Volunteers blog and Sirius Blog have also had a fantastic make over as well

Thank you Kel for doing such a wonderful job

Sam

Snow Day at Dogstar HQ

2009-12-18T14:57:00.005Z

Dogstars admin was put on hold this morning when we decided to have our own Snow day

Introducing Dogstars newest helpers Bob and Snowy the dog

The postman always looks twice

2009-12-14T15:43:00.004Z

when I first started Dogstar I did not think about the range of organisations and individuals we would develop working relationships with , I certainly never imaged that one of them would be the UK postage service

Early on it become apparent that people wanted to send items to us , from small padded envelopes to large boxes containing veterinary supplies it was clear having them delivered to the house was not going to be practical. We decided to get a PO box where all the items could be sent ( even recorded delivery ) and fantastically items from other courier services and it means we just have one place to collect from. Other bonus are that the items don't get sent back if not collected after a week ( great when we are both in Sri Lanka ) and the only downside is our PO is at a sorting office 15 minutes drive form our house

We try to collect from it every weekend but some times it can be a bit longer , so where as most PO boxes are a pigeon hole with a number ours is a large box on the floor under the shelves with Dogstar Foundation 6009 written on it

Sorting office staff are used to us turning up to collect a assortment of odd shaped items or boxes that make strange rattling noises but Marks latest trip to collect post exceeded even their expectations of how odd Dogstars mail can be

A few months ago some members of an animal rescue and rehoming forum in the UK called The Refuge decided to run a Secret Santa style project for rescue animals. The idea is that rescues provide details of an animal in a rescue centre or foster home and thats matched to a kind hearted Secret Santa who sends the dog or cat a small christmas gift.

The organisers approached me and asked if Dogsatr would like to nominate some animals . Mo and I decided a selection or our Temple and Street dogs would be ideal and completed the details as requested and gave our PO box address

When Mark last at the sorting office the conversation went something like this

Postal Worker : here you go 5 items for you

Mark : Thank you

Postal Worker : hang on theres another one that might be yours , its addressed to Tuk Tuk bus stop dog and your PO box number

Mark : Thats right yes he is one of our dogs

Postal Worker : one of your dogs ?

Mark : well yes but he actually lives in Sri Lanka , at a bus stop

Postal worker *scanning package again * so it seems

Mark : but his post comes to us , I mean he could hardly have his mail sent to a bus stop in Sri Lanka could he ?

The postal Worker gave Mark a look that people reserve for village idiots so Mark thought it a good idea to leave, he also thinks its a good idea if I collect next weeks packages

I might take a photo of Tuk Tuk with me next week

Mind you that might just make it worse ......

Sirius the Dogstar

2009-12-13T20:39:00.223Z

One of the questions I am often asked is why I called our organisation Dogstar , on our website I explain it briefly

The name Dogstar was chosen as its the more common name for the star Sirius in the constellation Canis Major ( The Dog ) is the brightest star in the night sky and is visible from both England and Sri Lanka.

Like most things its there is a little bit more background. My Husband Mark is a amateur astronomer, not quite as amateur as when he first started and spent all Christmas evening calibrating his new telescope whilst looking at Jupiter instead of the Polaris the North star. A mistake that he might well have goten away with if Jupiter had not been in the East at the time and I had not known which direction our garden faced

As a result of Marks slightly wonky grasp of directions , our lack of a compass and my admission that my late father a retired boson had spent hours pointing out constellations to me as a child I was quickly roped in as his assistant.Thus I spent many chilly hours in the garden as his wing man whilst he spotted ( or what ever the word is ) all the constellations in his Sky at Night book

My favourite constellations have alway been Orion ( really easy to find and see what it is ) and the neighbouring constellation Canis Major his dog ( which includes Sirius the Dogstar ). As a child one of my favourite books was called Dogsbody and told it the of Sirius the Dogstar sent to earth to live as a dog after being accused of killing his companion ( Sirius is a double star ). I loved that book and read it and read it many times over my childhood.

In 2004 before my first trip to Sri Lanka our Friend Wendy lost her labrador Gdog to illness just before Christmas. Wendy had mentioned the night she returned home from the Vets alone a very bright star had caught her eye and after a few days she asked Mark what it was. From her timings and directions Mark ( who now was very good at such things ) was able to tell her the star she was looking at was Sirius the Dogstar

I had seen Orion and Canis Major from a beach in Sri Lanka in the early hours of the morning on my trip in 2006 and insisted on showing all my travelling companions how to find the dogstar !. Once I had meet the temple dogs at Randeniya and started on the path my life now follows the name Dogstar Foundation arrived in my head as a fully formed idea and I think of all the above played a part in that

If you want to find the dogstar I think its easiest if you look for Orion first , so here goes my best attempt at pretending to be Patrick Moore ( which is coincidentally my late father name )

The easiest way to find Sirius is to find Orion first ( easy to find by his belt , 3 stars in a diagonal line ) he is quite high in the sky in a southern direction. To the bottom left of Orion ( he is at a angle this time of year ) and lower down is a very bright star and thats Sirius its far brighter than anything else in the sky in that direction . Orion is the hunter and Sirius is part of the constellation Canis Major ( the dog ) and is his hunting dog , below Orion and the right of Canis Major is the constellation Lepus ( the hare ) who they are hunting .

The other thing to factor in is the time of night you look. In the UK this time of year Sirius is visible in the South east around 22.00hrs and still fairly low down in the sky , by midnight its nearer south /south east and by the time its dipping back under the horizon around 05.00hrs its in the South West

If you don't know what direction your house faces you can check via http://www.multimap.com/ enter your postcode and then select birds eye view to find North

and finally ( If I have not bored you to sleep ) is an amazing picture of Sirius taken by the Hubble Telescope

Credit: NASA, H.E. Bond and E. Nelan (Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.); M. Barstow and M. Burleigh (University of Leicester, U.K.); and J.B. Holberg (University of Arizona)

Thank You Funky Mutts

2009-12-12T20:03:00.002Z

In October Helen at the fantastic Funky Mutts pledge to donated a percentage of all sales to Dogstar Foundation

Yesterday we received a card and a cheque from Funky Mutts for a stunning £25 which will be used to fund two sterilisation's in January and buy a bag of food for our Temple dogs, Thank you so much to Funky Mutts and their very Funky customers for the support

Dogstar Doodles

2009-12-05T21:44:00.001Z

not content to supply us with a winning Tagline , Claire is back with a fantastic Dogstar Doodle :)

You can read what Claire gets up too when she is not winning competitions or doodling for Dogstar on her amazing Blog

A little piece of me

Dogstar Tagline competition results

2009-12-04T23:36:00.017Z

The results are in

All 3 judges commented on the standard of the entries , it was very tough indeed to choose a winner but they did ( after many hours )

The Winner of the Dogstar Foundation Tagline Competition is

Claire Rachael Pitt: Making tails wag since 2006

All 3 judges really liked this one and thought it summed up the positive nature of Dogstars work in Sri Lankan and captured the the end result of our work perfectly

Because the standard was so high the Judges also decided to place some other entries who will also receive a small prize from Dogstars founders Sam and Mark

Runner up

Debbie Trotman : Taking the lead in animal care

All 3 judges agreed this was a strong and clever entry and loved the use of the word lead

Highly Commended

Jackie Solomon: A shining light for animal care in Sri Lanka

Anthony Britner:Providing a brighter future for the dogs of Sri Lanka

both entries really caught the judges eye and the use of the words light and brightness were very relevant to the actual Dogstar ( which is the brightest star in the night sky )

and lastly a special prize for making the judges laugh ( a lot )

Hannah Monks: Doing it doggy-style...

Our new website is currently under construction and Claires tagline will be added to our new home page in the very near future

Wordless Wednesday

2009-12-02T16:59:00.002Z

A thousand reasons for me to say thank you

2009-11-29T17:53:00.002Z

A lot of readers have read about my first trip to Sri Lanka in 2006 to work at an elephant sanctuary and my subsequent meetings with Mango and the temple pups. My online appeals for help with frontline and wormer and then a vague idea about employing a vet . All of which of course became The Dogstar Foundation , helped enormously by the generosity of members of an animal welfare and rescue internet forum The Refuge , people we have met on Facebook , Twitter and Blogger and my own long suffering family

Today whilst most of us in the UK were still in bed a 6 month old dog called Shaggy was spayed in Sri Lanka and became Dogstars 1000th sterilisation since we started our spaying and neutering campaign in Feb 2007

Thats one thousand animals no longer having or siring unwanted litters , thousands of animals no longer at high risk of conditions such as canine transmissible venereal tumors or bitches at risk of Pyometra . As well as preventing the birth of literally tens of thousands of unwanted puppies and kittens many of whom would spend their entire lives suffering hunger , homeless and without care or shelter at risk of disease

If you have ever donated to the Dogstar Foundation, fundraised for us , sent items or equipment , brought via our easyfundraising link or any of our commission shopping , promoted our work or website to others , helped or volunteered in anyway then this is your achievement as well

Thank you on behalf of the dogs and cats , monks and owners and thank you from the very bottom of my heart

Samantha Green

29/11/2009

please feel free to crosspost

Wordless Wednesday

2009-11-25T08:52:00.003Z

Keeping in Touch

2009-11-24T12:23:00.001Z

On Saturday Mark and I had the most amazing day at Tilley Farm The UK TTeam and TTouch Centre

The Tellington TTouch is a specialised approach to the care and training of our animal companions. Developed by internationally recognized animal expert, Linda Tellington-Jones, PhD (Hon), this method based on cooperation and respect offers a positive approach to training, can improve performance and health and presents solutions to common behavioral and physical problems. It also helps establish a deeper rapport between humans and animals through increased understanding and more effective communication. http://www.ttouch.com/

We heard Sarah Fisher speak at the International Companion Animal Welfare Conference in Budapest and we were just blown away by her presentation. I would like to think we calmly approached her after her slot but in reality I think we probably looked more like the charge of the light brigade in our enthusiasm to speak with her. Luckily for us Sarah is used to dealing with exactable animals in all shapes and sizes and invited us to attend the companion animal workshop.

I cannot explain in words what an impact the day had on us both , Sarah and her colleagues Marie and Brian just radiated something that I cannot put into words. The actual hands on work almost brought us to tears and Mark and I both know that T Touch is something we are going to be incorporating into our work with animals in Sri Lanka and indeed our rescue animals in the UK. We are already looking forward to more training next year as well as working our way through Sarah and Maries excellent books

Unlock your dogs Potential and 100 Ways to solve your dogs problems

Our rescue collie Holly is not so sure about the 2nd book , she says stealing cat food is not at all a problem to her !

Mark and I would like to say a huge thank you to Sarah and her team and a special thank you from Sirius who also attended and has his own unique take on the day on his blog

I am no longer alone

2009-11-21T22:02:00.005Z

First of a series of 7 new posters showcasing the differance that Dogstar has made to an indivdual dogin rural Sri Lanka

Pickle the Temple dog came into our care on November 3rd 2009, Dogstar will now provide Veterinary care , support and food so Pickle never feels alone again.

Thought clouds

2009-11-16T05:12:00.001Z

Saw this program on Facebook last night and thought I would give it a go with my profile , clearly I don't have any where near the range of conversation I thought I had !

Back in the UK

2009-11-15T06:52:00.001Z

Am back in the UK after nearly 24 hours of travelling , the last few days in Sri lanka were very hard work ( even harder than normal )

lots of positives inculding discovering a wonderful vet who worked on our rabies studies in 2007/2008 who has set up practice locally and is now part of our local vet network

and some sadness when a young pup Rosie passed away shortly from a congenatial defect :(

loads of updates , fundraising and paperwork needs doing now I am home but it may have to wait untill I get over the jet lag first

Chickening out.....

2009-11-13T06:33:00.004Z

Yesterday someone brought a poorly chicken to see Mo at our local Temple. As neither of us are Chicken experts we spoke with a local vet who had treated it previously and the Chicken and his very concerned owner are going to see her today.

There really is never a dull day here

Sleeping on the job

2009-11-12T04:33:00.003Z

Yesterday Mo , Sampath ( our driver ) and I were painting more rooms at our local Temple

During one tea break Sampath become a cat bed

7th, 8th & 9th November

2009-11-09T12:06:00.002Z

On saturday we held our follow up clinic for the animals that we had seen in Octobers clinic , the morning started out a bit damp ( okay it was hissing it down ) and we were worried that it might stop people getting to us

I was some what surprised when I found this chap in the queue

Not sure who was more confused him or us but it turned out he was there to see another Vet who was using the same building as us and had arrived a bit early

As well as the suture removal , post op checks and additional vaccinations we had arranged for 4 animals to be sterilised ( 3 dogs and a cat ) as there owners had brought them to the last over subscribed clinic. If we had the funds and resources we could literally operate every day of the week such is the demand for Dogstar Services locally now.

After lunch the team did some house calls near our base in Randeniya including vaccinating dogs against the recent Distemper outbreak. We had sadly seen a case of hard pad Distemper at the mornings clinic and have via a local vet started treatment but the best treatment for Distemper is prevention as it is a very serious condition with a high fatality rate.

last stop of the day was Kubaldiwela to see our 6 new Temple dogs , once we arrived we discovered we now have 7 dogs so we named the last male Harry. All 7 had an anti Rabies vaccination and the first injection to treat their mange plus a check up from the Vet team. Even after a few days we can see a difference in each dog and Henry and Pickle who are becoming very friendly

Sunday we headed out to Kandy to collect some medication , on route we stopped in Kubaldiwela to feed the 7 dogs some fish

Pickle and Romy

Mack

Pickle

Henry

next stop was the children's home at Hingula where Michael the Monks dog lives, Michael's ear was starting to trouble him again so we have started some more treatment

After a few more Temple visits and a fantastic ( and very hot ) curry lunch in Kandy we headed back to our base collecting the medication on route just in time to escape the daily afternoon monsoon downpour

This morning Sampath and I went back to Hingula to deliver some ear drops for Michael and we ended up being the practise audience for the children's show in December. The Monk and Teacher were saddened to hear that Mo and I would both be back in England on the day of the show so they have arranged for the Children to perform again for us in January which is fantastic

Sampath and I then joined Mo and 3 MEF volunteers at our local Temple where we are repainting the Monks very basic living accommodation as a Thank you for all the help they have given us over the last 3 years caring for the Temple dogs

I am back in the office now as yet again its pouring down with rain, tomorrow I am taking a local dog to the Vet to be spayed which will bring our total to a stunning 996 !

November 4th

2009-11-08T13:43:00.001Z

Whilst visiting Oscar and the other dogs at Udakarndupona Temple on November 3rd we met a Monk who teaches at another Temple and he asked if we could visit as they had a number of dogs they were trying to care for that he said needed our help

Never ones to let the grass grow under our feet Mo, Sampath and I headed over to Kubaldiwela Temple where we meet 6 of the saddest looking dogs we have seen in a long while. We have started a treatment plan which includes additional food and supplements and will arrange for the Vet team to attend on Saturday

Introducing Henry

Chutney

Pickle

Mack and Mable

Mables feet ( ouch )

and Romy

Distemper Update

2009-11-03T07:19:00.000Z

Huge thanks to our supporters who generously donated funds over the last 48 hours to enable us to fund a distemper vaccination program

Yesterday was a Poya Day here ( bank holiday ) so this morning I have been phoning around making arrangements to buy vaccines and arrange for a vet team to attend and run the clinic

We are a very small organisation , with a small team and a budget to match but we pride ourselves on getting your donated funds direct to the animals that need them when a problem arises in a low cost and timely manner

Our long term aim is still reduction in population via surgical sterilisation . A reduced population has more resources like food and shelter available per head. This coupled with access to veterinary care and vaccines makes for a happier healthy environment for the entire community

In a very small way we can see this working around our base in Kegalle, since we started work 3 years ago there has been a marked decrease in stray animals like this local street dog from early 2008 who came into the Temple looking for food

Patch as we called him was very aggressive ( hardly surprising ) but very food motivated so we did start to work with him and he received veterinary care but sadly he disappeared a few weeks later

Of course we do still have street dogs and some are of course in better condition than others but now more of our local street dogs look like Tuk Tuk

Tuk Tuk last week

Tuk Tuk was sterilised and vaccinated by us in 2008 , and now lives a very contented life outside our base at the Tuk Tuk rank ( can you see what we did there ? ) when the weather is very bad during the Monsoon season Tuk Tuk and his fellow Dogstar treated street dog Waggy are offered shelter at a local factory.

Even a few KM away we can see the difference in the general health of both the street dogs and even the owned dogs, hence diseases like parvo and distemper being able to take hold so quickly or conditions like TVT spreading between entire dogs

Funding permitting we are going to expand our area of operation a few more KM each way in 2010 which will make a huge difference to dogs who are currently like Patch

Raining cats and dogs and tablets

2009-11-02T09:36:00.000Z

its raining again here , I am due to visit the temple to give a dog some medication. If you think picking up doggie poop in a bag whilst holding an umbrella is tough, let me tell you that medicating one dog whilst trying to stop 14 more eating the cheese with the tablets in , holding an umbrella in monsoon conditions is a real challenge.

Distemper

2009-11-02T04:51:00.000Z

we have had reports of 2 canine distemper outbreaks locally ( 2km and 5km away ) ,we have already vaccinated hundreds of dogs locally and the outbreaks are in areas we have not reached yet. We always offer DHL ( Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis ) and Parvo vaccines as well as Rabies at our clinics and it costs us depending on vaccine availability /branding between 4-6 UK pounds to fully vaccinate a dog.

Canine Distemper is a highly contagious viral disease which is often fatal , the local government vet 5 km away has already advised me she has had fatalities

Mo and I trying to arrange emergency vaccination clinics. We have a huge funding gap for last month ( minus 600 UK pounds ) and were already eating into our reserves. Luckily we do have some Distemper vaccine in stock ( we try and keep some vaccines in stock in case of outbreaks as vaccine supply can be rather temperamental at times )

We really really need help , I generally like to focus on the positive side of what we do and why but there is nothing positive about dogs suffering and dying from distemper

If anyone has any free time to help can with raising funds or awareness for Dogstar they please email Mark@dogstarfoundation.com , even if you have an hour free a month that would be a great help to us and the dogs

Thank you

Sam

Funny few days

2009-10-28T07:26:00.001Z

very busy few days here , seen lots of animals , visited a lot of houses from the fairly well off ( by local standards ) to very very poor households.lots off positives s and negatives and lots to think about

Very sad news that Wangeesa Thero the Monk who first approached me 2006 to ask me to look at his sick dog ( mango ) passed away in hospital on Sunday evening. Without Wangeesa and Mungo its highly likely there would be no Dogstar so the last few days have been a lot about reflection

The entire road is awash with flags and banners ( lots more since I took this photo ) and all the tuk tuks have flags attached

This afternoon we have the funeral service, as is tradition his body has been on display at the Temple for the last few days and Mo and I went yesterday to pay our respects on behalf of everyone at Dogstar . After the service his body will be cremated at the Temple and a pyre has been constructed by the Temple Stupa ( dome )

as part of our daily visits to animals we have met a group of children who often follow us between houses. On the first day they noticed I had a bottle of liquid hand wash hanging from my rucksack and asked what it was, I showed them and we all ended up washing our hands. Now every day they see me they dash over and "help" with what ever we are doing and the only reward they want is to wash their hands with my hand gel

can tell you it makes me feel so small and humble, the things we worry about in the UK and the stress and strains we create for ourselves pale into nothing when you see children living in very basic buildings with no running water inside the house, outside drop toilets ( with no running water ) getting excited over liquid hand gel. The children asked ( well pleaded if I am honest ) if we could give them some after school english lessons so Mo and I are going to visit them next Thursday for an hour or so.

it really has been a funny few days.....

Can you pledge a pound ?

2009-10-27T04:52:00.000Z

The Dogstar Foundation has sterilised 990 animals and vaccinated 1757 animals against Rabies since 2006. This month our outgoings will be about £ 800 UK pounds , so far our income has been £ 189.43 UK pounds. If you like what we do and you could spare a pound a month to help us help communities with no access to Veterinary care we would be very grateful

Pledge a Pound Details

last 72 hours

2009-10-26T02:45:00.003Z

The last 3 days have been so busy I would never catch up with blogging for each day so I will try and give you a small taste of whats happened in pictures

Mimi and her very happy owner Violet after a successful post op check up and suture removal check, so grateful was Violet that she gave us so very yummy takeaway curry for our lunch

Temple dog Pepper in the Dogstar Tuk Tuk

Temple dog Tara who is having a trial visit to a local family who want to offer a Dogstar dog a home,

Dogstar Tuk Tuk at the Clinic

Sampath our driver putting up the recovery area tents

Dogs number 4 and 5 waiting at the clinic

The Clinic was another successful day , 35 animals were seen and 31 sterilised. So popular are the clinics that we had more people turn up on the day that we had surgery places for ( we preregister all clinics now as demand is so great ) If we can't sterilise animals on the day we will book them onto the next clinic , all the animals that required anti Rabies vaccinations were given them.

Sunday was meant to be a slow day and we had planned to be out for around 2 hours but we spent nearly 6 hours doing house calls !. A number of people had called asking for us to visit and once we get to one house we nearly always end up being asked to look at the neighbours dog and the neighbours neighbours dog

First stop was a local Tuk Tuk drivers dog who had been bitten by another dog

Arrangements were made for our local Vet Doctor Abeyratne to see him and whilst we were there we also arranged for him to be neutered in the near future so a good result all round

One of the funniest visits of the day was to visit Podi Nangi ( which means "little sister" ) Podi Nangi was sterilised last week the owner was concerned about her wound. It seemed like half the village came out to "assist"

Podi Nangi best pal is the households cat called Kitty , eagle eyed readers may spot that Kitty is due a visit to our vet to remove his rather ample furry nuts !

Podi Nangi and Kitty

Low point of the house calls was reaching Udakarandupona Temple to find that Oscar had been attacked by a local community dog. The Monks had done a very good job at cleaning the wound with their supply of betadine but of course we had to rush him straight to Doctor A for sutures and more antibiotics. The Monks have taken him back and are caring for him separately from the other dogs.

Oscar

Mary Mungo and Midge are doing better than poor Oscar, the Monks are giving Mungo his daily supplements and we are hoping to see an improvement in his legs over the next month or so

Mary Mungo and Midge

Mary

When we got back to base well after 6 pm we heard the very sad news that Wangeesa Terro our local Randeniya Monk had passed away in hospital after a short illness. The funeral is on Wednesday and both Mo and I will be attending as Wangeesa was very special to the entire Dogstar Family and a very kind man

So a real mixed few days from me in Sri Lanka

Sam x

Thursday 22nd October

2009-10-25T06:51:00.000Z

I arrived in Sri Lanka about 9 am local time on Thursday after about 20 hours of travelling , Mo met me and my rather large bags at the airport and by 11.30 we were back at MEF

After a shower ( and I REALLY needed it ) and some lunch Mo said she was due to visit Oscar and some pups at the one of our new temples and would I like to come , as Jet lag had yet to kick in I jumped at the chance

Like a lot of people I had read Mo's blog and seen the photos of Oscar but nothing had prepared me for what a cute little lad he is and how stunning his eyes are

The difference in him since Mo found him is amazing , 2 quick visits to our local Vet , treatment for his skin , excellent care from Mo and now the Monks and some regular food have turned him around in under 2 weeks :) he has a bit more recovering to do but in another 6 weeks or so he should show no effects of his rough start

When he is awake Oscar has some company in the form of 3 sibling puppies ( 1 male 2 female ) that were left at the Temple, the Monk said they had not named them yet so we could. Showing my age and my taste in 1970s children's TV I plumped for Mary , Mungo and Midge

Mungo and Mary

Mungo had hurt his face earlier in the day on the bottom of a wire fence, the Monks had cleaned it and applied some iodine but asked us to have a look. Because of the risks of infection ( and indeed fly strike ) in such warm climate we decided to take Mungo to our local Vet on Friday for a examination and antibiotic injection

Mungo has a calcium deficiency that causes very bowed front legs , luckily the treatment is very simple ( Mineral tablets ) and very effective

I will try and get a photo of all 3 pups together but at the moment trying to get them to stay still enough is a challenge ( I need a wide angle lens )

Suddenly I was hit with an wave of tiredness and Mo wisely decided to get me back to my room before I fell asleep on a Monk ( highly likely to cause a diplomatic incident )

As we passed our nearest Temple on the way back and even through I was yawning loudly we stopped quickly to check on our dogs

They are all looking great and happy to pose for a photo ( our supply of food may have helped )

I was especially pleased to see Bumpy who struggles with skin conditions looking not only well but shiny

I got back to my room , lay down for a short nap and woke up 3 hours later

so much has happened since Thursday and I will catch up as soon as I can

Sam

Its the season to be jolly ?

2009-10-20T05:54:00.002+01:00

Christmas it seems has come early to Dogstars UK HQ this year with the delivery our latest fundraising items yesterday morning

Introducing The Dogstar Foundation Christmas Pudding 2009

each pudding costs £5.99 plus actual Postage and packing costs , a number of our supporters live overseas to the UK and they don't want to miss out

so thats why in just over 3 hours I will be at the local post office pudding in hand to get postage rates for worldwide shipping

when I first decided to work with animals in Sri Lanka I never imaged that my work would ever involve standing in my local chemist ( where the post office is ) in the middle of October asking them how much it costs to send a christmas pudding to Canada

Just goes to show once you start these things they tend to take on a life all of there own !

Sam

P.s if you want to order a pudding please email Mark@dogstarfoundation.com

positives and negatives

2009-10-18T10:43:00.000+01:00

Mo our project manager posted her blog yesterday showing a lot of the dogs and villages we are currently helping including a young male pup Oscar who Mo found in the middle of the road earlier this week

you can read Mo's Blog here

Oscar is an example of what can happen to unwanted puppies in an environment where there are not enough homes or resources to care for them. I wish after 3 years and nearly 1000 sterilisation's we had solved all the population issues but of course we have not and its very much an ongoing process. What I am pleased about is that we see a lot less puppies like Oscar than we did 3 years ago and how many people come to us for help and advice

People often ask me if what we do and see is depressing and I can honestly say overall its not , of course we all have days when we get down normally because we just don't have the funds or equipment for all the work we would like to do but overall seeing a problem and being able to provide a low cost appropriate solution for animals and people is a really positive feeling.

I am flying back out to Sri Lanka on Wednesday and will be visiting Oscar at his new Temple home with Mo over the next few weeks. Between our blogs and the website we will show you his progress.

Sam

Sorry seems to the hardest word

2009-10-17T09:00:00.012+01:00

In the last month my inbox has seen an increase in requests from residents in Sri Lanka and visitors asking if we can help with individual dogs or provide services to whole villages they are aware need help. Although we cannot possibly at the moment respond to every request with assistance we are trying to assist with information and support. Equally Mo and our Sri Lankan team are often asked if we can provide sterlistation clinics and outreach services for rural villages which are current funding and staffing just cannot stretch to :(

If you think you can help us help those who need our services in anyway please get in touch

info@dogstarfoundation.com

Unless you are the widow of a deposed dictator or the administrator of a online lottery who needs my bank details because I have a long queue of both waiting for my time !

Sam

from serious to silly and all before breakfast

2009-10-16T10:15:00.003+01:00

On a serious note this morning have been talking with the head of our Sri Lankan Vet Team about the next stage of our rabies research , very exciting ideas and I will keep everyone updated as we work up the finer details

On a lighter side I have been looking at some of the entries for the Tagline competition and I am really impressed with the quaility of the offerings so far and the ( joke ) entry of "doing it doggie style" had me roaring with laughter

not sure I could send paperwork into the UK Charities Commission on that on it !

Dogstar Tagline competition

2009-10-15T17:34:00.005+01:00

Create a new Dogstar Tagline competition on Facebook

not that we ever had a old tagline as such, well not a real one anyway

we had a few things that looked like I had cobbled them together on the back of a fag packet ( and maybe I had , Dogstar really needs a proper Press and Publicity department ) but nothing that really sums up what we do

if you fancy a go and please do because my mind is a blank wasteland where such things are concerned pop over to Facebook. Like all competitions there is a grand prize , well okay its a prize as I am not sure that calling £30 worth of Amazon.co.uk vouchers could be talked up to "grand" in anyones books

If it swings the deal Mark and I could always do a bit of sewing for the winner as well !

Press Hound

2009-10-14T19:19:00.005+01:00

Not to be out done by my tentative steps into Sri Lanka media ( remember the Sam and the 3 legged cow fiasco ) Sirius Dogstar our travelling ambassador gets his own press coverage

Remember I said I visited a really nice lady called Anna and helped her ride her horse well here is the proof From Horse and Hound ( a publication almost as famous as me )

Anna did really well with my help and she had a clear round , I did get excited when she mentioned rounds and thought there might be a drink or 2 in it but I found out it meant Anna and Black Rock did not make any mistakes of course I had whispered advice in Anna's ear and told the horse I would give him a sugar lump if he was a good boy

Love Sirius

Sirius would like to say Thank You to Jo Prestwich who took the photograph and Horse and Hound for their kind permission to reproduce this article

Sirius has his own blog which he tells me is at 6529 more fun than mine , you can judge for yourself here http://dogstarfoundation.blogspot.com/

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-14T01:00:00.000+01:00

ICAWC 2009

2009-10-11T19:06:00.004+01:00

Mark and I had the most amazing few days at the ICAWC , all the presentations and resources were fantastic and have given us so many new ideas for the year ahead. We met so many wonderful and insprational people that I would not dare trying to list them in case I forgot anyone but a huge thank you to everyone who made time to talk to us.

We were chuffed no make than fanbloodydelighted to have a set of Rabies Gloves donated to Dogstar Foundation by Snip International and MDC Exports. The rather fetching and potentially life saving gloves are coming to Sri Lanka with me next week and will be put to good use at the October 24th Clinic

oooh and my mum and Marks old Scout group will be pleased to know our hand sewn tops lasted the 3 days !

Funky Mutts

2009-10-11T16:26:00.003+01:00

The lovely Helen from the fab Funky Mutts says

In October the charity we are supporting is the Dogstar Foundation, who do brilliant work with dogs in Sri Lanka. You can find out more information about the charity by visiting www.dogstarfoundation.com . £1 from every sale will be donated to them to help the temple dogs.

We love to hear from you so please keep in touch and keep wagging!

Helen Moorcroft
Funky Mutts

Funky Mutts has a fantastic selection of funky items for you and your dog ( or cat )

http://www.funkymutts.co.uk/

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-07T10:00:00.002+01:00

sewn up

2009-10-06T19:08:00.006+01:00

we looked at getting Dogstar polo shirts made up for the conference with our logo on but they were £ 17.50 each and we needed 4 ,

then I hit on a fantastic idea, we would use the patches that I brought last year as a fundraising item ( the worst bloody fundraising item in the world I might add as I never sold one , hell I can't even give the bloody things away but I digress ) we would use the patches and sew them on polo shirts we already had

brilliant , no cost , recycling at its most efficient an all round excellent idea if I do say so myself

but hang there is the slight snag neither of us are well exactly gifted in the needle craft arena and my Mum who is very gifted is away on a tour of Europe for a week

So armed with the confidence of fools we get out 2 sewing kits

"how hard can it be" I say ,

" I had a sewing badge in scouts" says Mark

" I never knew you were in Scouts" I say

"oh yes but I only got two badges" replies Mark "sewing and swimming"

"but you can hardly swim"

"well you only had to swim for a little bit and you didn't have to be very good"

"soooo having a badge from scouts for sewing does not really make you an expert"

"well no"

2 hours , a lot of swearing and a few pricked fingers later we have 4 Dogstar Logo polo shirts made up,

according to Mark they are like a a Rolf Harris paintings good from a distance but close up its all a bit messy

International Companion Animal Welfare Conferance

2009-10-05T22:52:00.003+01:00

Mark and I are attending this years ICAWC in Budapest on Wednesday for 2 days

http://www.icawc.org/

we are really looking forward to attending and hearing the speakers and meeting lots of other animal welfare groups from around the world

September 28th

2009-09-27T21:31:00.009+01:00

is Dogstars 3rd Birthday , 3 years since my path crossed the paths of 5 dogs sheltering at Randeniya Temple in Sri Lanka

Little did I know what was starting that night, I wrote this at the time

I have been up to the temple and spoke with the monk , I also got a very good look at the adult dog who is not the mother of the puppies and she is in a shocking state ( I had only seen her at a distance before ) she has the worst mange I have ever seen ( in real life or pictures ) and a huge open sore on her leg

I arranged for the vets to come out that evening to see her ( she would not have lasted the night without treatment )

it took 15 minutes to clean her wounds and she screamed louder than I have ever heard , I was in tears and turned away to find the van driver and monk also crying, the vets were fantastic with her and so gentle even through it was agony for her. They then gave her injections for mange and some antibiotics, they have held off on doing her anti rabies injection at the moment as it would have in all likelihood killed her outright

That dog was of course Mango , my beautiful little Orange dog who survived and become the inspiration for Dogstar.

The puppies , Rufus , Truffles, Milkshake and Nippa also thrived under our care, although Nippa was responsible for my attendance at the local hospital for post exposure Rabies injections an experience which gave me a unique insight into how Rabies affects communities in rural Sri Lanka and led to our work in Rabies research and vaccination programs

Mango sadly passed away last year and is buried under a Mango tree near my room at the Millennium Elephant Foundation ( my 2nd home ) I hope Mango would approve that because I met her Dogstar has sterilised over 950 animals and vaccinated nearly 2000 against Rabies

not a bad legacy for a little Orange dog

Sam

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-16T14:26:00.001+01:00

Mosaic of our Twitter followers

2009-09-16T13:57:00.002+01:00

Get your twitter mosaic here.

Thank You

2009-09-14T08:06:00.001+01:00

everyone who helped us raise a stunning £268 pounds at the Wiccaweys Show yesterday

Sam

P.s my downstairs loo no longer looks like a Jumble sale either !

Procrastination

2009-09-10T09:32:00.003+01:00

its amazing what you can find and build when you are avoiding sorting out the jumble sale in your downstairs loo

worlds apart

2009-09-10T08:22:00.003+01:00

Mo is in Sri Lanka busying preparing for Dogstars World Rabies Day clinic on September 27th, visiting households in Randeniya and signing up dogs and cats for sterilisation and vaccinations

I am in the UK getting ready for the Wiccaweys Autumn Show & Collie Fun Day and my entire house including bizarrely my downstairs loo looks like a jumble sale !

Dogstar really is a organisation of extreme contrasts !

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-09T19:37:00.002+01:00

World Rabies Day 2009: Awareness is the Best Defense against Rabies

2009-09-07T15:22:00.002+01:00

The world is again joining together on September 28^th to raise awareness and understanding about the importance of rabies prevention. Rabies is the oldest and deadliest disease known to mankind and Dogstar Foundation is supporting this initiative.

Led by the Alliance for Rabies Control and supported by numerous human and animal health organizations worldwide, World Rabies Day is a unique campaign that brings together hundreds of thousands of people across the world to reinforce the message that rabies is a preventable disease, yet kills 55,000 people needlessly each year, half of which are children under the age of 15¹.

“Rabies is primarily a disease of children, who are particularly at risk from this terrible disease, due to their close contact with dogs, the major global source”, said Dr. Debbie Briggs, Executive Director of the Alliance for Rabies Control. “Children are more likely to suffer multiple bites and scratches to the face and head, both of which carry a higher risk of contracting rabies. Children are often unaware of the danger that dogs transmit rabies and may not tell their parents when a bite, lick, or scratch has occurred from an infected animal”, says Briggs.

Rabies is a viral disease that can be transmitted to animals and humans. The disease is transmitted mainly by bite, but exposure may also occur through contamination of broken skin or mucous membranes with saliva from an infected animal. Once neurological symptoms of the disease develop, rabies is fatal to both animals and humans. The good news is that rabies is easily preventable. “Vaccination prior to possible exposure is a crucial part of health management of domestic animals, and is the single most important factor in rabies prevention”, said Peter Costa, Global Communications Coordinator for the Alliance for Rabies Control.

Rabies prevention starts with the animal owner. Protect yourself, your pet and your community by taking animals to be vaccinated. Avoid stray animals and wildlife. If you are bitten, wash bite wounds with soap and water and seek medical attention immediately. If your pet is bitten, consult your veterinarian immediately. Prompt and appropriate treatment after being bitten and before the disease develops can stop rabies infection and/or prevent the disease in humans and animals.

The World Rabies Day initiative also raises money towards local rabies prevention and control programs, with eight projects funded since 2008. “Through the World Rabies Day campaign we continue to engage all the major stakeholders associated with rabies to take action”, says Costa. “We invite everyone to join the team that is Making Rabies History!”

More information on World Rabies Day can be found at the official web site, www.worldrabiesday.org.

References:

¹WHO. Human and Animal Rabies, Rabies: A neglected zoonotic disease. Available at: http://www.who.int/rabies/en/. Accessed on July 23, 2008.

Thank You

2009-09-06T10:52:00.001+01:00

to every one who helped support us yesterday at Peckham Rye , we raised just over £150 which will be used to sterilised and vaccinate another 15 animals