After months of dry and hot weather in Chiang Mai, Thailand, with the air quality getting to unbelievably high levels, the first rain of 2020 has arrived.
For our team at the WVS Care for Dogs clinic and shelter, being able to see Doi Suthep (a mountain west of Chiang Mai), and to breathe outside without a N95 respirator is a relief difficult to describe. It's way more than just a breath of fresh air.
Just like our teams in India and Malawi, the COVID-19 lockdown has caused an obvious change in the team’s routine: no students, no volunteers, no outreaches. The curfew and the movement limitations have hampered their capacity to reach out to local communities, even the ordinary rescues have become more challenging. But, whilst following government direction and guidelines, they continue to provide their life-saving services to the community.
With the staff divided into separate teams, extra cleaning and disinfectant procedures in place, and facemasks and hand sanitizer available for all personnel, the team is helping animals to their best of their ability and keeping everyone safe.
Let us share with you some of the team’s latest rescue stories to give you a glimpse of what has been going on at the centre, despite the difficulties.
Clementina
Clementina is a very friendly stray dog from a nearby community that had been dragging her left front leg, likely for months. She’d sustained an open fracture and it’d become infected. Unfortunately, too much time had passed to be able to save her leg. But at least our surgeons could save her life by amputating the useless appendage and preventing a deadly infection from spreading. Now, finally relieved of this burden, she happily hops around on three legs.
Woobwab
Just a few kennels away from Clementina is Woobwab, a three-year-old dog that suffered a miscarriage. She needed an urgent surgical procedure to remove the dead fetuses from her abdomen. The team was able to save her life, not only with the emergency surgery, but with all the nursing care and medical support afterwards.
Micky
Housed in a smaller cage, padded with towels and soft dog beds, is Micky, an incredibly cute puppy. Micky was brought in with a huge abscess on his neck. Thankfully, the vets were able to drain it and promptly start the appropriate antibiotic therapy, bringing immediate relief to this little fellow.
Along with Clementina, Woobwab and Micky, the Rescue Centre attended over 50 urgent cases this month, between car accidents, pyometra, dermatitis and TVTs.
On top of that, eight of the shelter’s resident dogs found new loving homes: Arturo, Carlotta, Magic, March, Franky, Tan, Tan II, Wan Lai as well as Teddy, one of the oldest dogs.
It’s stories like these that remind us why we’re here: to attend to animals in distress, improve their well-being and find a safe place for them to spend the rest of their lives.
You can help animals in need by giving a donation today. Your support, no matter how small, can alleviate great suffering, or even safe a life.