Mayhew International Newsletter Summer 2016

Mayhew International Issue 20

working to alleviate the suffering of animals abroad

Welcome to the Summer edition of the Mayhew International newsletter! Inside you can read about the team’s recent trip to Georgia to train vets and students, exciting updates from our projects in India and Moscow, and all about the bear cubs’ journey to their new home.

Summer 2016

Mayhew International in Georgia The Mayhew is one of the few animal welfare organisations that provides veterinary training and has a presence in Georgia, and our vet team returned to the capital, Tbilisi, in March this year.

The objectives of the trip were threefold: to monitor the work and improvements at Tbilisi Municipal Dog Shelter; to provide further veterinary training in surgical techniques, understanding pain management and pre- and postoperative care; and finally, to discuss with the Agrarian University how we can develop the Veterinary Science degree curriculum, particularly around small animal surgery. In addition, the team touched based with the local animal welfare groups that we support there.

The team carried out a Spay Day at the Agrarian University Vet Clinic. The Mayhew’s Chief Vet, Dr Ursula Goetz, was operating along with Marika, Head Vet, and Vet Lili from the University Vet Clinic. With the help of several keen vet students they neutered and health checked 24 dogs during the day. This included 7 females under 5 months old who were part of Trap Neuter Return programmes or under the care of small private shelters in the city.

Marika was the first overseas vet taught by Ursula in 2009 as part of the Mayhew International Vet Training Programme, which we initiated here in London in 2006 and it was great to see how Marika has been putting her skills to use and passing on what she learnt to her own students.

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Mayhew International _ Summer 2016

Following on from the Spay Day at the University Clinic, The Mayhew team met with the Dean and Vice Rector to discuss developments to the Veterinary Science Degree curriculum so that small animal surgery is given more focus.

Ursula, The Mayhew’s Chief Vet, gave a presentation to 50 local vets and vet students on different anaesthetic drugs and the importance of adequate analgesia.

This was good timing as the protocols on the availability of certain anaesthetic drugs have recently changed in Georgia.

Mayhew International had recently been able to donate an operating table to Tbilisi Municipal Shelter and our team were able make use of this during the training at the shelter. With its adjustable controls and a heated table it both improves the working conditions for the vet staff and keeps the animals more comfortable during surgery.

It was Mayhew vet Dr Áine Macguire’s first visit to Georgia. While training the team at Tbilisi Municipal Shelter she was pleased to see the vets’ progress and as each day went by she was able to step back a little more and let them take over during surgery and practice their new skills.

“You see how different things are and how much work there is to be done to get the clinic up to international standards,” says Áine. “It made me appreciate all the

Above: The Mayhew and Tbilisi Municipal Shelter teams

Above: Tbilisi Shelter also has a small cattery and the Mayhew team checked on the residents

Above: Mayhew vet Aine and nurse Laura training one of the students www.themayhew.org

Above: Mayhew Vet Aine Macguire

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Mayhew International in Moscow Mayhew International was pleased to receive an update from the Domashnyi Dog Shelter in Moscow recently, which you may remember was partly destroyed by fire in January last year.

Above: Mayhew Chief Vet Ursula demonstrates a bitch spay

Above: One of the shelter dogs enjoying the Spring sunshine

Above: One of the Shelter nurses checking on a patient

Above: The students preparing a patient for surgery

things we take for granted such as having hot water readily available. I really admire the Georgian team as they carry on working as hard as they can, despite all the challenges they face every day.” Áine was also on hand to deal with other cases that came in to the shelter, such as Schumacher, a young dog who had been involved in a road traffic accident. He had a large wound on his pelvis and side of his leg and he was very shaky and in shock. Áine cleaned the wound, administered antibiotics and he recovered well.

Another dog had been hit by a vehicle so hard that one eye had popped out of the socket and become badly damaged, leaving the dog in a great deal of pain.

Ursula and the team were able to stabilise the dog, administer pain relief and removed the damaged eye. They were then able to safely assess the other eye which was also badly infected but the team flushed and cleaned it regularly.

The shelter staff traced the owner and they were reunited.

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Mayhew International _ Summer 2016

Above: The new clinic is fully operational

Above: Lilia with her Mayhew International training certificate

Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of our supporters who raised a fantastic amount of money in response to our appeal for help, we were able to provide emergency assistance to help the shelter get back up and running. We encouraged the shelter to invest in a small vet clinic on site so they could neuter the animals and provide vaccinations and parasite control as a

minimum. Your funds have made this possible and the little clinic is equipped and now operational.

Lilia, the vet who assists at the shelter, received training from Mayhew International in October last year and here she is operating in the brand new clinic. It’s great to see her in action and the training paying off. Thanks to all our supporters who donated for making this happen!

www.themayhew.org

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The bear cubs make it to freedom Photograph James Salvatore

Mayhew International is delighted to report that the three orphaned bear cubs from Tbilisi, Georgia, have at long last made it to their new home in Greece.

The three-month-old cubs, named Georgia, Mollie and Louisa, were taken in by Tbilisi Municipal Dog Shelter last June following the floods in the city.

We immediately stepped in to offer assistance and began working with various government agencies and authorities to secure safe passage for the bears from Georgia to Northern Greece. We also appealed to you, our generous supporters, and thanks to your donations of over ÂŁ6750 we were able to help care for the cubs while at the shelter.

Your donations also paid for custom clearance of the wildlife transportation IATA cages, hire vehicles and fees for all of the documentation required to export the bears according to CITES regulations. We called on international wildlife charity the Born Free Foundation to step in and assist the three cubs and find them a suitable home. Born Free launched an appeal raising money for the rescue, relocation and the care of the bears at the bear and wolf Arcturos sanctuary in Northern Greece.

Due to various complications with the paperwork, there were a few delays but eventually we got the all clear and the date was set for the 13th May. 6

Mayhew International _ Summer 2016

The bears were first loaded into individual crates and then flew the four hour journey over to Greece by charter flight, accompanied by vet Dr John Knight, BVetMed, MRCVS. There was a big cheer on the runway when they finally touched down! The cubs were then quickly loaded into a van and cleared through Greek customs before they began the two hour drive to Arturos by road, stopping for food and water breaks along the way.

At the sanctuary Georgia came out of her cage first and immediately ran out into the enclosure, while everyone watching held their breath. Mollie was next, followed by Louisa. All three bears seemed to be a little unsure of what was going on but they took to their new surroundings quickly; walking, running and sniffing around to explore every detail. After a couple of hours they began to settle down and after spending their first night, the sanctuary staff reported that they were feeling much more comfortable in the morning and happily eating their food.

For the first few months the bears will be enclosed in a smaller area at the sanctuary while they get used to their

Photograph James Salvatore

Above: All set and ready to go

Above: The team in Tbilisi load Louisa onto the van for the airport

Above: Louisa being unloaded from the plane in Thessaloniki, Greece

Above: Georgia and Mollie take their first steps outside

Above: Georgia checks out her new surroundings

new surroundings. The staff also plan to introduce them to another cub at the sanctuary, Patrick, who is of a similar age.

Once they are fully adjusted to their new environment, the three bears will live in a new larger bear enclosure along

with Patrick. It will give them an environment with plenty of natural enrichment where they will be rehabilitated and hopefully they can be released to live semi-wild as bears should and not be subjected to a life in captivity.

www.themayhew.org

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Mayhew International in India Mayhew International have been working in collaboration with HOPE & Animal Trust in Ranchi, India since 2009 and were delighted to reach a big milestone last month.

Above: Mayhew International has helped the HOPE team to neuter and vaccinate 50,000 dogs in Ranchi

We fund and sponsor the Animal Birth Control and vaccination programme with HOPE and they neutered and vaccinated the 50,000th dog on 21st April 2016! We are extremely proud of the HOPE team for reaching this fantastic achievement and very grateful to our supporters for all their donations, enabling this to happen.

This accomplishment goes a long way to containing and controlling the dog population in the city of Ranchi and

works towards our goal to eradicate rabies in the region.

Since 2012 we’ve also funded an Education Officer who visits schools, colleges and communities informing about rabies prevention, neutering and dog behaviour and welfare.

The programme has now reached 275 schools, more than 400,000 schoolchildren and given more than 275 community presentations.

Call: 020 8206 5870 www.mayhewinternational.org international@mayhewanimalhome.org Join us on Facebook: mayhewinternational Follow us on Twitter: @mayhewint