Care For Paws: Dog Sterilisation Camp

Feature image: Me holding a one eyed puppy we named Stitch was brought to the camp. Stitch’s stitches in his eye had never been removed so a small surgery was done by the vet. Stitch was well looked after and is now living off the street and happily adopted with his new family 

 

Using the money we earned from selling our t-shirst in Care For Paws, we funded a sterilisation camp and collaborated with Adopt-A-Dog Sri Lanka and Vets For A Better Future, to run a stray dog  sterilisation station at the Army Camp. From 9am to 4pm our service participated in numerous hands on activities to vaccinate, sterilise and neuter about 40 dogs in total. Physically and mentally this was not an easy task; it was quite hard to look after around 40 partly-rabid dogs in such a confined space. Dogs were vomiting/weeing/pooing on each other after the surgery, they needed to be hydrated with a drip, ticks needed to be taken out, wounds needed to be looked after and fights needed to be broken up. However, we got the task done and by the end every dog was safe, and every surgery was successful.

The group at camp (i’m holding Stitch)!

Some things I participated in specifically was looking after the dogs that had just been picked up and dropped off from the van that drove around and picked up dogs off the street. The transportation process was really tough/stressful on the dogs, many of them were caught using nets, and a lot had bad reactions to the sedation. So I gave them lots of affection/attention in attempt to calm their nerves, some of the dogs weren’t having it, however i’m glad that I managed to keep some of the dogs from freaking out. Another thing I helped out with was setting up and inserting the hydration drip to the dogs that had come out of surgery. It was really necessary for each dog to get the proper amount in order for them to have a good recovery.  This task took a lot of percussion and carefulness. With the support of the head surgeon, I was able to watch his technique in order to properly insert the needle, in the right location and depth.

Inserting hydrogen drip needle  (taken by Yungki/Sara)

I also helped with de-ticking and removing the lice from the dogs. After this we would spray the dogs with anti-lice spray. At first it was really gross but after a while it became easier and you get the method of twist and pull. As mentioned a few of the dogs had pretty horrible reactions to the surgery so I had to clean some vomit out the way which was honestly the most disgusting part of my day, but someone had to the job. After the dogs were recovered we fed them yogurt and gave them water. An unexpected event occurred and a Mama had three baby pups! It was really scary watching the vets resuscitate the puppies but thank got, they were all alive and breathing after the fluid from their lungs were cleared. I spent some time making sure they stayed warm and close to their mother, trying to get the to drink some milk.

Looking after the pups!

This experience was honestly really challenging but so rewarding. It took lots of perseverance to complete a lot of the tasks as it we were outside the whole day and always had to be on our feet, or on standby incase something goes wrong or assistance is needed. I also learnt a lot (through the head doctor) regarding animal healthcare, the carrying capacity of dogs in Sri Lanka and the governments involvement with animal population control. I spent a lot of the time in the surgery room watching, and the vet taught me the steps and discussed what he was doing in the process of the surgery. At first it was quite hard to watch the incision and seeing dog guts, but after a while it did not phase me and I found the process really interesting.

 

In the makeshift surgery room