Vets Beyond Borders to Train Government Vets in Bhutan.
Collaboration between Vets Beyond Borders, the Government of Bhutan and local NGO’s should enable a well-structured programme to operate throughout the country, delivering veterinary services to the street-dogs and communities of Bhutan and controlling their numbers in a humane and sustainable manner.
This is a natural development from the state-wide model in Sikkim. We envisage this programme will serve as a country-wide model for this region of Asia. Target outcomes for the initial collaboration are to improve the surgical skill of the Government veterinarians, teach current techniques in surgical steralisation, improve dog catching methods and develop sound surgical protocols for all ABC field units.
This programme will demonstrate an effective alternative to methods currently employed to control the street dog population in Bhutan. The various stakeholders have already been consulted and steps undertaken to reduce the carrying capacity for strays eg refuse collection, pet dog registration, vaccination and sterilization, and community education. Vets Beyond Borders will also provide advice to the local NGO’s in shelter management and resource development.
This is a natural development from the state-wide model in Sikkim. We envisage this programme will serve as a country-wide model for this region of Asia. Target outcomes for the initial collaboration are to improve the surgical skill of the Government veterinarians, teach current techniques in surgical steralisation, improve dog catching methods and develop sound surgical protocols for all ABC field units.
This programme will demonstrate an effective alternative to methods currently employed to control the street dog population in Bhutan. The various stakeholders have already been consulted and steps undertaken to reduce the carrying capacity for strays eg refuse collection, pet dog registration, vaccination and sterilization, and community education. Vets Beyond Borders will also provide advice to the local NGO’s in shelter management and resource development.
Village life for volunteers in Sabu
One of the wonderful lasting memories for many volunteers who have worked on the VBB street dog programme in Ladakh is staying at the farmhouse in Sabu village with Kunzang, the Ladakhi Animal Care Society president and his family. The expansive house is of traditional Ladakhi style with white washed walls, a central courtyard, and Buddhist motifs painted throughout. Parts of the house are more than 400 years old, and although there is electricity, showers and private bedrooms, staying there still gives a real sense of stepping back in time. Vegetable and flower gardens, apricot and apple orchards and fields of barley surround the house. Delicious brown bread is cooked on the outdoor fire for breakfast, and every evening the VBB volunteers are treated to a tasty Ladakhi dinner.
Kunzang’s family including his mother, Ama-le, and Tashi Phunsok, Kunzang’s father are full of warmth and life, and Tashi Phunsok’s Buddhist devotion adds a real sense of serenity to the household. The youthful element is provided by Padma famed for her gorgeous smile and cooking prowess! and the cheeky Tsetan whose lively sense of humour endears him to everyone. Finally Kunzang himself and his lovely wife Rinchen make up a family that anyone would feel welcome in. All this within walking distance of the clinic makes for an unforgettable and rewarding volunteering experience.
Kunzang’s family including his mother, Ama-le, and Tashi Phunsok, Kunzang’s father are full of warmth and life, and Tashi Phunsok’s Buddhist devotion adds a real sense of serenity to the household. The youthful element is provided by Padma famed for her gorgeous smile and cooking prowess! and the cheeky Tsetan whose lively sense of humour endears him to everyone. Finally Kunzang himself and his lovely wife Rinchen make up a family that anyone would feel welcome in. All this within walking distance of the clinic makes for an unforgettable and rewarding volunteering experience.
Sikkim Vet Aides
The SARAH programme would quickly grind to a halt without its wonderful team of vet aides.
Bucchu, Hissay, Dupchen, Som, Namgyal, San and Lamu (the only female member so far!) show a level of commitment and skill that make them a real pleasure to work with.
Their roles include dog-catching (which involves a 5am start), sedating and preparing the dogs for surgery, administering and monitoring anaesthetics, supporting the (hopefully not too demanding!) surgeons, caring for the dogs post-operatively, packing and sterilizing the surgical instruments, as well as cleaning the pens and feeding and releasing the dogs. Their smiling faces and happy banter bely the long hours these vet aides work – although perhaps their big appetites, evidenced by the enormous amounts of rice they pile on their plates each lunchtime indicate their level of industriousness. I imagine all of the VBB vets and nurses would agree that working with the SARAH vet aides is one of the highlights of volunteering in Sikkim, and reason enough to return.
Their roles include dog-catching (which involves a 5am start), sedating and preparing the dogs for surgery, administering and monitoring anaesthetics, supporting the (hopefully not too demanding!) surgeons, caring for the dogs post-operatively, packing and sterilizing the surgical instruments, as well as cleaning the pens and feeding and releasing the dogs. Their smiling faces and happy banter bely the long hours these vet aides work – although perhaps their big appetites, evidenced by the enormous amounts of rice they pile on their plates each lunchtime indicate their level of industriousness. I imagine all of the VBB vets and nurses would agree that working with the SARAH vet aides is one of the highlights of volunteering in Sikkim, and reason enough to return.
