Mayhew International Newsletter Spring 2015

Mayhew International wor ki ng to alleviate th e s u ffe r i ng of an i mals ab road

Issue 16 | Spring 2015

It was certainly a busy year in 2014 and we couldn’t have achieved all that we did without you. So why not take a seat and peruse the following pages to find out more – and perhaps celebrate your part it in all with a glass of Georgian wine!

Mayhew International has teamed up with the Georgian Wine Society to offer special Mayhew half cases of wine and 10% of every sale goes towards funding our animal welfare projects in that fascinating country. For more details see the back page. Enjoy!

5000th dog vaccinated on the Mayhew International sponsored Rabies Drive in Ranchi with Mission Rabies

MAYHEW INTERNATIONAL in AFGHANISTAN In the last quarter of 2014, the Mayhew International team travelled to Afghanistan where Dr Mo was laying the groundwork for a dog survey to be carried out in Kabul in 2015.

This will be the first dog survey of its kind and Dr Mo will be working with volunteer vet students from Kabul University to realise the project. With help from Kabul City authorities (who are providing maps of the 22 districts which make up Kabul) and Andy Gibson MRCVS from Mission Rabies who has adapted their mobile phone survey app for the Kabul teams to use, Dr Mo will lead the teams to monitor the surveyed districts and information collated. This

data will be crucial to understanding the dog population in the city as presently there are several different estimates ranging from 50,000 to 200,000 dogs on the streets. Collating such data is vital preparation before embarking on a mass rabies vaccination campaign or a mass neutering programme which will ultimately improve the quality of life for both the dog and human populations in the Afghan capital.

Training of local vets and vet students

Dr Mo inspecting one of the shelter dogs at Tigger House Kabul

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Street dogs in Kabul, Afghanistan

Dr Mo at Tigger House carrying out some vet checks on the cats

Dr Mo showing tail bandaging techniques to the Nowzad vets

also continued with Dr Mo spending time with the vet team at the Nowzad clinic, as well as carrying out some more complicated surgeries for them.

Topics covered with the Nowzad team included bandaging techniques following amputations, nasal flushing and dealing with potential complications following neutering surgeries.

Time was also spent at Tigger House in Kabul, where the team were shown how to de-matt a cat, assess gum and dental problems and manage some skin conditions in the resident dogs at the shelter. Dr Mo was also on hand to carry out some more complicated operations, dental surgery and advise on vaccination protocols for the shelter animals.

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MAYHEW INTERNATIONAL in INDIA Mayhew International has several on-going projects in India that grew and developed over 2014.

Our collaboration with HOPE & Animal Trust in Ranchi expanded with the funding of an Education Officer. This is a very important role that reaches out to schools, colleges and community groups in the region, talking about the street and community dogs, where they come from and how to behave around them, explaining the benefits of neutering and basic animal health and welfare and, critically, raising awareness about rabies: how it is transmitted and the importance of vaccination.

In 2014, the Mayhew International Education Officer made 75 school visits, reaching over 49,000 schoolchildren and arranged 94 community presentations, reaching more than 18,500 people in the Ranchi area.

Alongside the community work, our sponsorship of HOPE’s sterilisation programme continued, with a grand total of 6,797 dogs neutered over the year. We have now neutered more than 30,000 dogs over 4 years in Ranchi and the results were noticeable during the Rabies Vaccination Drive with Mission Rabies in November of last year, when many of the dogs caught and vaccinated were noted as already neutered. Well done to the HOPE team!

During the same month, The Mayhew’s 4

Mayhew dog carer Josh was part of the Rabies Vaccination Drive in November

Mayhew’s Chief Vet Ursula in Ranchi

Education project in Ranchi

Dog first aid in Varanasi

Dr Mo vaccinating a pup against rabies in Ranchi

Chief Vet provided two weeks of training in neutering techniques, asepsis and handling and restraint for the local Indian vets. This was followed by a two week intensive vaccination drive with the aim of reaching 5000 dogs in the area.

Heading up the vaccination teams were The Mayhew’s Dr Mo, there gaining invaluable experience for Kabul, and Josh from our dog team in London.

Working with the fantastic local dog catchers, and with a lot of early mornings and late nights they achieved the target of 5000 dogs vaccinated against rabies

between 15 and 29 November!

In the neighbouring city of Varanasi, Mayhew International is working in collaboration with FIAPO (Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations), Dogs of the Ganges and Animal Aid to start a new community outreach project. An Education Officer has been appointed and is presently collating information on the street dogs in Varanasi, the local animal activists, vets and schools in order to have a citywide programme on basic animal health and welfare established.

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MAYHEW INTERNATIONAL in MOSCOW Mayhew International was pleased to have been able to grow the number of programmes in Moscow in 2014.

We continued our sterilisation programme with local charity Fond Dingo, which provides this service for animals from hoarding cases, those living with families on very low incomes and private apartment shelters. The vet and team from Fond Dingo responded to 23 calls for help in the Moscow region and neutered 285 animals.

The “Koshkin Dom� project with Moscow charity Human Ecology started in June. This involves cat neutering and a Trap, Neuter, Release programme for feral and semi-feral cats. Within 6 months the Mayhew International funded vet neutered 353 cats! A great achievement.

Reflecting the work of our very own TheraPaws programme here in London, we are now working with PET Moscow (Pets Expel Troubles) - a charity set up

The shelter in Moscow where Yoko was living

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Russian cats waiting to be neutered.

Rescue dog Yoko now visits care homes and hospices in Moscow.

Russian pups at one of Moscow’s private shelters.

to provide a visiting and occupational health programme for residents at elderly care homes, hospices and facilities for the handicapped in Moscow with rescued shelter dogs. It is a truly heart-warming project which also helps to promote the thousands of dogs in shelters waiting for adoption in Moscow.

Homeless dogs generally suffer a bad press in the Russian media, so this

programme does much to dispel that image and shows the great love and comfort we get from these wonderful animals. Mayhew International helps fund a facility which allows the shelter/ rescue dogs chosen for the project to be washed and groomed, interact with people and become accustomed to a home environment before embarking on their visits.

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Would you like to help Mayhew INTERNATIONAL and sample one of the world’s great wine cultures at the same time?

The Mayhew and the Georgian Wine Society have teamed up to raise money for Mayhew International’s Street Dog Project in Georgia. The Georgian Wine Society has put together a discounted case of wines, and 10% of the money raised will be donated to Mayhew International’s work in Georgia.

Georgia has the oldest wine culture in the world, dating back over 7000 years, and its rich wine culture is recognised and protected

by UNESCO as part of the world’s shared heritage. It also has more

grape varieties than any other country on earth, but its wines have never been widely known in the west. In recent years the reputation of Georgian wines has started to increase dramatically in the UK and further afield.

If you would like to sample Georgia’s unique and fabulous wines while supporting Mayhew International’s Street Dog Georgia project, find out more about the Georgian Wine Society’s case here: www.georgianwinesociety.co.uk/ uncategorized/mayhew/

Please keep in touch with Mayhew International.

We love to hear from you: Join us on Facebook: mayhewinternational Follow us on Twitter: @mayhewint Donations telephone: 020 8206 5870 Email: international@mayhewanimalhome.org

Mayhew International