Dharamsala lies in the north of India in the state of Himachai Pradesh, this means ‘The Wanderers’ Home’. It is the resort of the Tibetan government in exile led by the Dalai Lama.
Tibetans are, as a nation, really interested in improving the conditions for their animals. In contrast to other religions, where animals exist for people’s use and are considered to be less worthy creations, the Buddhist belief is that all living things are of equal importance. This consideration was the decisive point when we accepted this project, for here, we could really see that together with the locals, a difference could be made.
Dyrenes SOS (Animals SOS) have recently sent vets to Dharamsala to help with their street animals. The local officials have been pleased with our help as this help has helped to reduce the cases of rabies. The street dogs’ health has shown a marked improvement this can be seen in their much healthier coats and skin condition.
Besides this it has been noticed that fewer puppies are born as the parent generation have been sterilized. The locals and the tourists are no longer in danger of being bitten by a rabid dog and everything points towards really good conditions for street animals in Dharamsala.
We were very sad when we received the notification that last year, the authorities had decided, for the time being, to close the clinic we had borrowed from Tibet Charity. This meant we could no longer send vets to Dharamsala. When that notice came we had a team of vets who had packed their bags and were basically on their way but we were forced to cancel the operation and wait for the green light again.
We received this at the beginning of the year and immediately started to advertise for voluntary vets. We were so fortunate that Vets Beyond Borders have made sure we came in contact with two Australian vets and it was possible to send them to Dharamsala from 19 May 2008 – 6 June 2008. They have had the company of a Danish veterinary student and they are expecting plenty of exciting projects. To begin with they will follow up on those dogs that have already been through the ABC program as they will need to be treated again for worms and parasites. Later they will travel round the camps in the country where there is also a great need for street animals to be sterilized, vaccinated and treated.
So it is with great pleasure that we can again send vets to Dharamsala and we know there is plenty to do there.
