Mayhew International Summer 2014 newsletter

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

Issue 14 | Summer 2014

Hello everyone!

We can hardly believe that we are half way through the year already but thanks to your support and generosity we have been very busy with our animal welfare initiatives abroad during these first five months.

A puppy at Tigger House shelter, Kabul.

In this edition we bring you an update on all the work we have been doing in Afghanistan, India, Romania, and Russia.

This summer we also have a number of events planned which provide the perfect opportunity for supporters to come and meet with members of our team.

Hyde BARK held in Hyde Park – Sunday 15 June Open Day at The Mayhew Animal Home – Sunday 20 July Find our more at www.themayhew.org/events We would really love to see you there!

INDIA

Our collaboration continues with HOPE & Animal Trust in Ranchi, funding their animal birth control (ABC), rabies vaccination programme and education project.

Many of you will have seen our latest appeal which featured puppies Julie and Babu who were rescued from the streets.

Julie is doing well and has put on weight and the original traumas from the road traffic accident have healed. A further operation will be required on her leg once she is back up to full body weight and HOPE & Animal Trust is searching for a home for her. Babu, goes from strength to strength and enjoys life at their ABC clinic. Thank you to everyone who donated to the appeal!

So far this year, Mayhew International has sponsored the neutering and vaccination of 461 dogs and visited 66 schools and 17 community groups to promote the rabies prevention and dog population control programmes.

We are also excited to be starting work on a new education project in the city

Hope & Animal Trust’s education programme.

of Varanasi together with the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO), Dogs of the Ganges and Animal Aid which is due to commence in June this year. Mayhew International is pleased to announce we will be funding the Education Officer appointed for the role.

Dr Mohammadzai gives a dental check at Tigger House, Kabul.

Dr Mohammadzai training vets at the Nowzad clinic.

AFGHANISTAN

As you read this Mayhew International’s Dr Mohammadzai has just returned from Kabul, where he has been working for one month.

Veterinary training lies at the core of our international work and we are delighted to share our knowledge with government and non-government organisations in Afghanistan. Dr Mohammadzai has spent time with the charity Nowzad, training up their new team of Afghan vets in spay and neuter techniques as well as carrying out more complex surgeries for them on some of the animals in their shelter. Romo, a Kabul stray, was picked up from the streets with what appeared to be trauma from a traffic accident. Upon investigation, he required orthopaedic surgery and Dr Mohammadzai and Dr Susan Chadima from the EU Development Agency were able to successfully carry out the procedure at the Nowzad clinic. Roma is now well on the way to recovery and hopefully a new home.

Veterinary assistance and training was also given to the staff at Tigger House,

another shelter in Kabul. Training involved Dr Mohammadzai performing complex surgery to remove an eye from a dog who was suffering from glaucoma.

During our visit, we held discussions with Kabul University Vet Faculty regarding their curriculum for small animal medicine and we will now be helping to fund veterinary equipment which is sadly lacking at the moment.

Some of you will have seen the case of the lion cub, rescued from abuse and neglect from a Kabul roof top.

With Mayhew International’s assistance, the cub was signed over to Kabul Zoo, but in very poor condition – severely malnourished, with chronic muscle wastage and broken canines. The veterinary team at Kabul Zoo took the cub in and worked for five long months giving him a proper diet, daily massages and physiotherapy. In April we were all

Puppies at the Nowzad shelter, Kabul.

Roma recovering from complex orthopaedic surgery.

Marjan in the lion closure, five months on.

delighted to see the cub released into the zoo’s lion enclosure where the plan is to introduce him to the female lion. It was therefore, timely, that Mayhew International had facilitated training in India in wildlife medicine for Kabul Zoo’s vet.

Mayhew International continues to

make long term plans for our work in Afghanistan. We have now met with the Ministry of Agriculture, Kabul University and Department of Sanitation regarding a comprehensive programme for rabies vaccination and street dog population control where the emphasis is on cross collaboration of all agencies. Our aim is to ensure our work has a lasting impact.

RUSSIA

The support of our neutering programmes in Moscow continues. This year we have already carried out 125 operations through Fond Dingo. The majority of these have been for private apartment shelters and multi dog and cat households in the outer suburbs of Moscow where there is little access to veterinary care and difficult economic conditions.

Mayhew International is also pleased to help fund a new project Koshkin Dom with the Moscow based charity Human Ecology. Koshkin Dom or House of Cats is a project working with the Garden Allotment Association of Russia. Many Russian families have summer houses with large gardens and allotments where they spend most of the summer months.

Rather than leave their pets at home, families take their cats with them which can lead to on-going problems in the area. Often unneutered, the cats can breed prolifically during the season.

When the families return to the city, many of these cats and kittens are

Multi-animal household neutered.

abandoned and left to fend for themselves and of course, continue to multiply, become feral and end up at the mercy of the severe Russian winters. Koshkin Dom is a one year project starting in May/June set up to raise awareness, promote and offer neutering and provide shelter and protection for the feral colonies. Mayhew International will be providing core funding for the veterinary provision and surgeries as well as supplying two gas anaesthetic machines. We are very much looking forward to working with Human Ecology and will provide you with an update in the next issue.

ROMANIA

Education and raising awareness within local communities is such a vital part of any population control programme which is why Mayhew International has continued to assist Romania Animal Rescue.

We have funded the printing of education materials to ensure future generations develop knowledge, skills, empathy and respect for animals.

Support for our friends at FPCC SOS Oradea and Cat Association Oradea continues and our donations have included food, flea treatments and animal transporter cages.

Pupils with the animal welfare booklets, Buhusi, Romania.

There is still lots more we have to share with you!

Coming up in our next issue: – Mayhew International returns to Tbilisi, Georgia for two weeks of veterinary training, Trap Neuter and Return (TNR) workshops and shelter management – The Mayhew welcomes Dr Anupam

Mital to our facilities in London for three weeks of intensive training in spay/neuter and shelter medicine – Mayhew vet David travels to the International Training Centre in Tamil Nadu, India, to teach a canine surgery course.

Please keep in touch with Mayhew International. We love to hear from you: Join us on Facebook: mayhewinternational Follow us on Twitter: @mayhewint Sign up to our e-Newsletter: www.mayhewinternational.org/newsletter Donations telephone: 020 8206 5870 Email: international@mayhewanimalhome.org

Mayhew International