So where do the dogs come from? The focus of the deserving work that Farlie and Nicole are contributing to is of the street dogs of Sikkim. Feral is a wrong word. They generally live where they live because there is a food source. Locals often feed them. the dog catching team get up very early with their truck and …
What does it cost?
Vaccinating dogs against the Rabies virus requires a lot of work by skilled operators. Catching street dogs in a humane and safe way is a special skill that the SARAH dog catching teams are experienced in. The Indian government produces the vaccines which costs only 40c a dose. However while the vaccine doesn’t cost much, a lot are required. This …
Nurse Nicole and support team Daniel
Nicole is one of our senior nurses and is VERY excited to be finally on her way to Sikkim. While in Sikkim she will be assisting the vet surgeons and dog catching teams . The tasks that she will be required to perform will have a increased level of responsibility and as such on will be referred to as a …
A working honeymoon
Dr Farlie and Electrician Harley were a beautiful couple at their recent wedding. This adventurous couple like to combine hiking and mountain biking on their weekends off. To take that to another level they are combining their volunteer work in Sikkim with a fast paced trek to the base of Mt Katchenzounga. The trek they will be undertaking is called …
Meet Dr John Skuja
An update on vets going to Nepal. Dr John Skuja will leave Darwin tomorrow for Nepal to assist a Humane Society International (HSI) team. HSI have back up teams moving in next week and trucks with medicines etc moving in now also. John has set up an Everyday hero page through https://give.everydayhero.com/…/emergency-veterinary-respon… so if people would like to support an …
Fundraising begins
Meet Dr Thinley ( left) and Dr Shams. Dr Thinley has earthquake experience after working throughout the 2011 Sikkim Earthquake. He is leaving the VBB/SARAH base veterinary hospital in Gangtok in the morning with 3 of his best paravets to start assess the needs in neighboring Nepal. They will need to be self-sufficient and carry their supplies in. Fortunately we …
Dr Farlie and Nurse Nicole off to India
During April and May Dr Farlie Lewis and Nurse Nicole Patterson will be in Sikkim, India! They will be desexing the street dog population and vaccinating them against Rabies . They are working with Vets Beyond Borders and VBB’s partner , the Sikkim Anti-Rabies Animal Health ( SARAH) programme. Sikkim has been rabies free in the dog AND human population for the past …
What’s it all about?
Rabies is a virus that spreads by saliva from an infected dog entering a wound in the skin, usually during a dog bite. The virus travels along the nervous system to the brain where it starts to destroy the brain and results in a very unpleasant death – for dogs and humans. 1 person in India dies of rabies every …
That’s a wrap! From Dr Michael and Dr Lisa
Merry Christmas and all the best for 2014 from Dr Michael Heath and Dr lisa Sander, 2013 has been a one of big decisions for us. It became clear that juggling 2 veterinary hospitals, fundraising, Indian charity volunteer work and a young family was too much. We felt a significant wrench when we decided to pass ownership of the Black …
Orphan monks colouring in competition
East Bentleigh Vet Clinic Colouring-In Competition from the Orphan Monk boys of Kagyudpa Monastery, Bylakuppe, India. The boys in these photos sent their entries in our colouring in competition. They are all orphans who are looked after by the monastery. They have taken on the care of the stray puppies around the monastery grounds so that they are healthy enough …