Bir2015a

School children helping to catch dogs

As part of our campaign to keep the stray dog population in check and to ensure their good health, Tibet Charity has been regularly organizing camps in Tibetan and Indian settlements around Dharamsala.

On 11th May 2015, a team of two vets, Dr. Pankaj Sharma and Dr. Milli Swali started their journey to Bir along with Mr. Lobsang Thukjey, a paravet and Mr. Pema, a vet attendant to start Animal Birth Control (ABC) and Anti-Rabies vaccination (A-R) camp at Bir and the settlements around it.

On arrival, they were received by a group of young local Tibetan volunteers. Without wasting much time, they immediately went about cleaning up the makeshift clinic, an abandoned house, and setting up operation tables and other requirements for the camp.

Once that was done, they immediately set out to catch dogs that were not sterilized. On the first day, they caught hold of 8 dogs to be operated. While going around catching dogs, they made sure to give A-R vaccination to those dogs that did not require sterilization.

Once they have completed the dogs in Bir, they went to catch dogs in Chauntra, a neghbouring Tibetan village with one school and an Old people’s home. They were very well supported by over enthusiastic students of the school and also by the inmates of the old people’s home in catching dogs.

At the end of three days, they have sterilized 23 dogs (6 males and 17 females). They have vaccinated 152 dogs in the area which did not include those that could not be caught and promised to be vaccinated by the volunteers. Some vaccines were left behind for these dogs.

Bir2015

Dr. Pankaj and Dr. Milli at work

Like every place the vet team goes to, they also treated dogs that required surgery and dressing of wounds. This time they successfully removed mammary tumor of one old dog.

The locals were highly appreciative of the good job done by the team. While thanking the team, they requested Tibet Charity to organize such camps on more regular basis.

We thank Brigitte Bardot Fondation for kindly funding all the expenses related to Tibet Charity animal care activities, which included the vehicle. Without their support, it would not have been possible for us to continue running this program.

We also thank Ingrid Smolders for kindly supporting Dr. Milli Swali to work with us and also for supporting us with the medicines and other requirements for conducting the ABC camp.

Click here for ppt description of the camp