The 26th of August is International Dog Day, and here at WVS, we provide veterinary treatment and care to thousands of dogs every year. Whether it is through our veterinary aid parcels, vaccination campaigns, humane animal birth control clinics, or direct treatment for an injury or illness, our aim is that no animal goes uncared for.
At our International Training Centres, located in India, Thailand, Malawi, and the Galapagos Islands, we provide veterinary services and attend to a broad range of cases. Many of the animals we treat have never received veterinary care before in their lives, and without treatment from a WVS vet, would be left to suffer in silence.
At our International Training Centre in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand over 6,000 animals were treated in 2022. From here, we provide sterilisation surgeries to both dogs and cats, vaccinate animals at the clinic and at our outreach projects, and run a rescue and rehabilitation programme.
Keep reading to find out about one of our recent patients, Ozzy, who was rescued, rehabilitated, and rehomed at WVS Thailand.
Ozzy’s tale
A stray puppy named Ozzy was brought to us in December of 2022, in urgent need of treatment. Sweet Ozzy was in a great amount of pain, suffering from a severe eye infection which was incredibly swollen.
Before coming to our Thailand centre, he was taken to another animal hospital which failed to treat him. The eye itself was sunken into the socket and his eyelashes were turning inward (entropion) causing her a lot of irritation.
Our veterinary team commenced Ozzy on a course of pain medication, he received daily flushing of the eye, and a sample was taken to help the team accurately target the infection.
Further investigation revealed that Ozzy had microphthalmos - a congenital condition whereby the eyeball fails to develop correctly. Therefore, the best course of treatment was enucleation (surgery to removal the eye). The surgery went very well, and by the next day Ozzy was back to bouncing around his kennel and playing in the dog park.
Ozzy was nursed back to full health and it was then time to find him a new place to call home. Unfortunately, he was quite a nervous dog around strangers, and this made it surprisingly difficult for Ozzy to find a home.
Around six months later, two kind WVS volunteers, named Callum and Rebecca, made a very special bond with Ozzy. They had fallen in love and could not go home without him!
We have since received wonderful updates, and Ozzy is settling in very well at his new forever home in the UK. We are thrilled that Ozzy now has the life that he deserves and is a happy and healthy dog.
How you can help animals like Ozzy
There are lots of ways that you can support our work and help more animals to receive expert care. Find out about membership here, view our volunteering programmes worldwide, or subscribe to our email newsletter to receive updates on our global projects and further opportunities to get involved in.