Saturday, April 30, 2011
Tonga, Round II
On the eve of our 2nd month long trip to The Kingdom of Tonga I thought I would quickly write an update on whats going on.
Aside from the hours of work that has gone on voluntarily arranging our clinics on Niue, Tonga and Vava'u here in NZ, there are lots of people also busy on these islands helping co-ordinator logistics, arranging accommodation for our volunteers, dealing with media enquiries and fundraising - all to help animals. Its inspiring and SPAW is really proud to be associated with so many wonderful individuals who selflessly give up their free time and invest both financially and emotionally to this cause.
Our upcoming Tonga trip includes a week long visit to Vava'u and we are really excited about this aspect of our work - being able to send vets to very remote islands to deliver veterinary care that otherwise wouldnt happen. We are also proud to be assisting with the export of our first two "travelling" canines. One who is leaving Ha'apai for Whangarei in NZ and the other who is leaving Tongatapu for the sunny shores of Australia. What an honour it is to be able to help these expat families who have fallen in love with these local dogs, given them a loving home and are investing the money and time it requires to bring their canine family members back to their home countries with them.
One of these dogs Skupors is currently waiting on Vava'u for our vet team to arrive with his mum Jane. Jane is today driving from Whangarei, to make the flight back to Tongatapu, then up to Vava'u to be with Skupors until his export date in about 3 weeks. This is dedication and as you can see by the pictures, Skupors is one lucky canine. I think though, that Jane and her family feel like they are the lucky ones having Skupors in their lives.
It reminds me of when I was in the Cook Islands and helped 5 families export dogs home to New Zealand - I loved taking those dogs to the airport, bundling them up in the cages and waving goodbuy as they made their way onto the tarmack. Nervous as they all were, I new that feeling would be short lived once they settled into their new home.
Good luck to our team as they embark on an exciting journey to The Kingdom of Tonga. Im going to thank each personally, they deserve it, having paid their own flights, will fund themselves in full for their time on island and have given up their annual leave - all to help island animals and experience working on a tropical island in the pacific ocean.
Tongatapu Clinic: 4th to 28th May
Vava'u Clinic: 4th to 11th May
Dr. Alex Elson, Dr. Amy Douding, Dr. Kim Vickerman, Dr. Geoff Malcolm, Dr. Julie Brown, Dr. Laura Nettleton, Vet Nurse Luella Osborne and Vet Student Mallori Kaminski.
Also a special thanks to Jo and Vini Kupu, for their dedicated support and co-ordination on island.
Welcome to our awesome journey ....
Pictured is Skupors.
Karen
Aside from the hours of work that has gone on voluntarily arranging our clinics on Niue, Tonga and Vava'u here in NZ, there are lots of people also busy on these islands helping co-ordinator logistics, arranging accommodation for our volunteers, dealing with media enquiries and fundraising - all to help animals. Its inspiring and SPAW is really proud to be associated with so many wonderful individuals who selflessly give up their free time and invest both financially and emotionally to this cause.
Our upcoming Tonga trip includes a week long visit to Vava'u and we are really excited about this aspect of our work - being able to send vets to very remote islands to deliver veterinary care that otherwise wouldnt happen. We are also proud to be assisting with the export of our first two "travelling" canines. One who is leaving Ha'apai for Whangarei in NZ and the other who is leaving Tongatapu for the sunny shores of Australia. What an honour it is to be able to help these expat families who have fallen in love with these local dogs, given them a loving home and are investing the money and time it requires to bring their canine family members back to their home countries with them.
One of these dogs Skupors is currently waiting on Vava'u for our vet team to arrive with his mum Jane. Jane is today driving from Whangarei, to make the flight back to Tongatapu, then up to Vava'u to be with Skupors until his export date in about 3 weeks. This is dedication and as you can see by the pictures, Skupors is one lucky canine. I think though, that Jane and her family feel like they are the lucky ones having Skupors in their lives.
It reminds me of when I was in the Cook Islands and helped 5 families export dogs home to New Zealand - I loved taking those dogs to the airport, bundling them up in the cages and waving goodbuy as they made their way onto the tarmack. Nervous as they all were, I new that feeling would be short lived once they settled into their new home.
Good luck to our team as they embark on an exciting journey to The Kingdom of Tonga. Im going to thank each personally, they deserve it, having paid their own flights, will fund themselves in full for their time on island and have given up their annual leave - all to help island animals and experience working on a tropical island in the pacific ocean.
Tongatapu Clinic: 4th to 28th May
Vava'u Clinic: 4th to 11th May
Dr. Alex Elson, Dr. Amy Douding, Dr. Kim Vickerman, Dr. Geoff Malcolm, Dr. Julie Brown, Dr. Laura Nettleton, Vet Nurse Luella Osborne and Vet Student Mallori Kaminski.
Also a special thanks to Jo and Vini Kupu, for their dedicated support and co-ordination on island.
Welcome to our awesome journey ....
Pictured is Skupors.
Karen
Saturday, March 12, 2011
We made it to Tonga! An amazing experience.
We made it to Tonga!
I cannot believe how quickly 2011 is flying by. Next week, its my birthday. The very same day, our first ever clinic to Niue island will end - what an occasion to celebrate.
I am still coming down from the high of our Tonga visit in February, over 120 animals de-sexed, 40+ more were provided with much needed veterinary care for various ailments, two beautiful dogs lives were humanely ended after being hit on the roads, hundreds of flea and worm treatments were distributed and at least 100 families now look forward to spending time with their pet without the concern of pregnancy or unwanted puppies or kittens - overpopulation is a very real concern for the community of Tonga and due to the level of need we experienced during February, I have no doubt our future on Tonga is long term. We were welcomed officially by Lord Vaea who heads the Ministry and is also a nobleman, it was a great honor for our organisation to be invited to meet with Lord Vaea. It seems we made a good impression during our first meeting, as he followed by an official dinner invitation which was enjoyed by all the team.
One of the most outstanding memories of my time on Tongatapu was the incredibly large number of local people who visited to make use of our free veterinary services. We were never really sure how things would pan out, but thanks to our partnership with the Ministry and some good relationships established on island with expats and locals alike, word spread and we were kept very busy. On the first day, our waiting room was full, and the animals (and people) didnt stop coming, one day, our volunteers Dr. Roz Holland, Dr. Bethan Cosgrave and vet nurse Stephanie Davidson managed to desex 17 animals on their own - this is dedication and I am always amazed at the levels to which volunteers will work, their willingness to help unwavering and they were all a credit to their profession and to our organisation. Quality care is at the forefront of everything SPAW does, and they did us proud.
Our first clinic saw 3 veterinarians, 3 vet nurses, a photographer, a clinic assistant and vet student (plus myself) pass through Tongatapu. We also had the pleasure of the company of two kiwi animal lovers who were accompanying our volunteer Vet Student on her first ever volunteer stint as a vet student - mum and dad so proudly supporting their daughter in her endeavours. This was a very heart-felt gesture and I loved seeing this family supporting each other through the volunteer experience.
Pfizer and Shoof, our official sponsorship partners outdid themselves. We really cannot do this without them and are building long term relationships with these organisations - they are standing by SPAW and their neighbouring Pacific Island communities.
There is no doubt spay/neuter and veterinary expertise is needed in the pacific. It is our organisations goal to create a legacy that ensures the long term development of veterinary care on island communities. The only way this can be done well and with integrity is to make sure our knowledge and skills are being passed on to local people and that they have the training and provisions relevant to their work. They are the ones that rightfully can and should influence their people and therefore must be given the opportunity to own as much of the process themselves. To my good friends Nau, Mote and Mika, we are so inspired by you and cannot wait to spend more time at your side on Tonga.
As our world faces difficult times - my own country of New Zealand rocked by the death and destruction of the Christchurch earthquakes, Japan now going through heartbreaking devistation and likely more to come, my heart goes out to all of the people who have lost loved ones and to all the animals who are effected during these tragic situations, they do matter too.
Which leads me to my closing point: One of the most important things we can do as good human beings is to share; share our knowledge, our financial resources, and our good will - to help where needed. I know this is the view of millions of people on our planet and any person who volunteers or helps SPAW will likely take this stance in life. We welcome you all and cannot wait to share more amazing stories on our development as an organisation and the future of animal welfare, veterinary care and training and development in the pacific.
Take care out there everyone,
Karen
I cannot believe how quickly 2011 is flying by. Next week, its my birthday. The very same day, our first ever clinic to Niue island will end - what an occasion to celebrate.
I am still coming down from the high of our Tonga visit in February, over 120 animals de-sexed, 40+ more were provided with much needed veterinary care for various ailments, two beautiful dogs lives were humanely ended after being hit on the roads, hundreds of flea and worm treatments were distributed and at least 100 families now look forward to spending time with their pet without the concern of pregnancy or unwanted puppies or kittens - overpopulation is a very real concern for the community of Tonga and due to the level of need we experienced during February, I have no doubt our future on Tonga is long term. We were welcomed officially by Lord Vaea who heads the Ministry and is also a nobleman, it was a great honor for our organisation to be invited to meet with Lord Vaea. It seems we made a good impression during our first meeting, as he followed by an official dinner invitation which was enjoyed by all the team.
One of the most outstanding memories of my time on Tongatapu was the incredibly large number of local people who visited to make use of our free veterinary services. We were never really sure how things would pan out, but thanks to our partnership with the Ministry and some good relationships established on island with expats and locals alike, word spread and we were kept very busy. On the first day, our waiting room was full, and the animals (and people) didnt stop coming, one day, our volunteers Dr. Roz Holland, Dr. Bethan Cosgrave and vet nurse Stephanie Davidson managed to desex 17 animals on their own - this is dedication and I am always amazed at the levels to which volunteers will work, their willingness to help unwavering and they were all a credit to their profession and to our organisation. Quality care is at the forefront of everything SPAW does, and they did us proud.
Our first clinic saw 3 veterinarians, 3 vet nurses, a photographer, a clinic assistant and vet student (plus myself) pass through Tongatapu. We also had the pleasure of the company of two kiwi animal lovers who were accompanying our volunteer Vet Student on her first ever volunteer stint as a vet student - mum and dad so proudly supporting their daughter in her endeavours. This was a very heart-felt gesture and I loved seeing this family supporting each other through the volunteer experience.
Pfizer and Shoof, our official sponsorship partners outdid themselves. We really cannot do this without them and are building long term relationships with these organisations - they are standing by SPAW and their neighbouring Pacific Island communities.
There is no doubt spay/neuter and veterinary expertise is needed in the pacific. It is our organisations goal to create a legacy that ensures the long term development of veterinary care on island communities. The only way this can be done well and with integrity is to make sure our knowledge and skills are being passed on to local people and that they have the training and provisions relevant to their work. They are the ones that rightfully can and should influence their people and therefore must be given the opportunity to own as much of the process themselves. To my good friends Nau, Mote and Mika, we are so inspired by you and cannot wait to spend more time at your side on Tonga.
As our world faces difficult times - my own country of New Zealand rocked by the death and destruction of the Christchurch earthquakes, Japan now going through heartbreaking devistation and likely more to come, my heart goes out to all of the people who have lost loved ones and to all the animals who are effected during these tragic situations, they do matter too.
Which leads me to my closing point: One of the most important things we can do as good human beings is to share; share our knowledge, our financial resources, and our good will - to help where needed. I know this is the view of millions of people on our planet and any person who volunteers or helps SPAW will likely take this stance in life. We welcome you all and cannot wait to share more amazing stories on our development as an organisation and the future of animal welfare, veterinary care and training and development in the pacific.
Take care out there everyone,
Karen
Email from Tonga in Support of our Work
Thought I would share this great letter from Sue Gardiner who has lived on Tonga for years, is a Kiwi and helped us set up on Tonga.
March 2011
Dear Karen and the team at SPAW
I would like to express my sincere thanks to SPAW and your generous sponsors Pfizer and Shoof for the vet clinic recently held in Tonga.
I have resided in Tonga for ten years and during this time I have been deeply troubled to see the state of many of the animals here. Unfortunately, with the cost of living being far higher than the average salary, the care of animals is usually way down the list for most Tongan families priorities. They simply can not afford the cost of taking an animal to the vets . Our local vet clinic is in appalling shape. Often they have no drugs to assist sick and dying animals and at times they operate purely on the generosity of overseas donations which are few and far between.
The clinic has had many positive outcomes. Firstly you have managed to spay well over 100 animals and treat many more. These are animals that would not have otherwise been seen by a vet. Secondly, the visiting vets have passed on valuable skills and knowledge to our local vets . The local vets would not have been exposed to this training had your team not visited Tonga. There is no resources to send our local vets overseas for further training. In addition the clinic was able to further educate the public on caring and valuing their pets.
To Pfizer and Shoof I would like to extend my sincere gratitude. Without the generous sponsorship from you this clinic would not have been possible. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your extremely kind donations.
To the lovely Vets that visited us...thank you for caring enough to come to Tonga to help us and our animals. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us .
It is very important to us that the SPAW continues the clinics in Tonga. Education regarding the proper care of animals is very important . I urge SPAW and your wonderful sponsors to keep up the good work and please come visit us again in May.
Kind Regards
Sue Gardiner
General Manager
Forum Travel
GSA for Tonga
March 2011
Dear Karen and the team at SPAW
I would like to express my sincere thanks to SPAW and your generous sponsors Pfizer and Shoof for the vet clinic recently held in Tonga.
I have resided in Tonga for ten years and during this time I have been deeply troubled to see the state of many of the animals here. Unfortunately, with the cost of living being far higher than the average salary, the care of animals is usually way down the list for most Tongan families priorities. They simply can not afford the cost of taking an animal to the vets . Our local vet clinic is in appalling shape. Often they have no drugs to assist sick and dying animals and at times they operate purely on the generosity of overseas donations which are few and far between.
The clinic has had many positive outcomes. Firstly you have managed to spay well over 100 animals and treat many more. These are animals that would not have otherwise been seen by a vet. Secondly, the visiting vets have passed on valuable skills and knowledge to our local vets . The local vets would not have been exposed to this training had your team not visited Tonga. There is no resources to send our local vets overseas for further training. In addition the clinic was able to further educate the public on caring and valuing their pets.
To Pfizer and Shoof I would like to extend my sincere gratitude. Without the generous sponsorship from you this clinic would not have been possible. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your extremely kind donations.
To the lovely Vets that visited us...thank you for caring enough to come to Tonga to help us and our animals. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us .
It is very important to us that the SPAW continues the clinics in Tonga. Education regarding the proper care of animals is very important . I urge SPAW and your wonderful sponsors to keep up the good work and please come visit us again in May.
Kind Regards
Sue Gardiner
General Manager
Forum Travel
GSA for Tonga
Friday, December 10, 2010
It's Christmas Time - what a year its been!
Welcome, Kia Ora, Mālō ē lelei, Fakalofa lahi atu
There is no better time of year than Christmas to reflect on the year that is about to pass and look positively to what awaits us all in the new year.
2010 has been an amazing year for South Pacific Animal Welfare. In just one year, we have achieved remarkable milestones. In most people's eyes, we have achieved the impossible. Due to the level of dedicated support around us we have gone from an idea, a vision, a dream, to a very real entity.
The concept of SPAW has been with me for some years - I was just one person with a vision to do something tangible and credible to help animal kind. Now as we end our first year of development and head into our first year of operation I am no longer alone and it is a great feeling. There are now hundreds of people in our midst - from all over the world. Our Board of Directors are experts in the areas of business, animal welfare, veterinary care and law. It is important to us that we work collaboratively in all of our efforts and that our mission and values are at the forefront of all of our planning. Hundreds of man hours have gone into our joint efforts and we have done all we can to create a sustainable organisation model that is now a part of the global animal welfare world. South Pacific Animal Welfare is an entity we can foster from our own land of Aotearoa helping animals that most certainly need, if not deserve our focus and attention.
To our partners in The Kingdom of Tonga and Niue, we thank you for inviting us to your islands to work with you to foster and develop animal welfare capabilities with you in the years ahead.
We look forward to bringing you news and stories next year and wish you all a really awesome Christmas and New Year period. Thanks for supporting us.
On behalf of the team at SPAW
We welcome you to our journey.
Ka Kite, Malo, Koe Kia
Merry Christmas
NZ Maori: Ngā mihi o te Kirihimete
The Kingdom of Tonga: Kilisimasi Fiefia
Niue: Monuina a Aho Kilisimasi mo e Tau Foou
There is no better time of year than Christmas to reflect on the year that is about to pass and look positively to what awaits us all in the new year.
2010 has been an amazing year for South Pacific Animal Welfare. In just one year, we have achieved remarkable milestones. In most people's eyes, we have achieved the impossible. Due to the level of dedicated support around us we have gone from an idea, a vision, a dream, to a very real entity.
The concept of SPAW has been with me for some years - I was just one person with a vision to do something tangible and credible to help animal kind. Now as we end our first year of development and head into our first year of operation I am no longer alone and it is a great feeling. There are now hundreds of people in our midst - from all over the world. Our Board of Directors are experts in the areas of business, animal welfare, veterinary care and law. It is important to us that we work collaboratively in all of our efforts and that our mission and values are at the forefront of all of our planning. Hundreds of man hours have gone into our joint efforts and we have done all we can to create a sustainable organisation model that is now a part of the global animal welfare world. South Pacific Animal Welfare is an entity we can foster from our own land of Aotearoa helping animals that most certainly need, if not deserve our focus and attention.
To our partners in The Kingdom of Tonga and Niue, we thank you for inviting us to your islands to work with you to foster and develop animal welfare capabilities with you in the years ahead.
We look forward to bringing you news and stories next year and wish you all a really awesome Christmas and New Year period. Thanks for supporting us.
On behalf of the team at SPAW
We welcome you to our journey.
Ka Kite, Malo, Koe Kia
Merry Christmas
NZ Maori: Ngā mihi o te Kirihimete
The Kingdom of Tonga: Kilisimasi Fiefia
Niue: Monuina a Aho Kilisimasi mo e Tau Foou
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Frankie - on the road to recovery
This is a great story of a little pup, destined to a likely short and highly miserable life of starvation, neglect, fear and abuse. Luckily for little Frankie, travelling documentary maker Amy Taylor came across him. Amy and Frankie's story is similar to many rescue stories. Amy could have turned her head, and carried on walking, but she didnt. She picked up Frankie and took him to a new home she found for him. Now, as you will see from the photos, Frankie is on his way to recovery. This is a beautiful story and one I know we will experience a thousand times over in Tonga in the coming years.
Add a caption
Frankie
“Every drop of rain raises the ocean…”
Sometimes in life you come across a situation and you just have to follow your heart, even if it seems impossible or you don’t know if it will really make a difference. That’s what happened when I met Frankie - a lovely little puppy who was living a nightmare life and was not far from dying, which probably would have been a relief for him. But luckily there is a happy ending to his story.
I was walking down the road near where I was staying when I saw a pitifully thin dog outside a small shack where an elderly Tongan woman and her grandchildren lived. He was only around four months old at the most and was really underdeveloped except for his long legs and big ears, making him look a bit like a baby kangaroo. He didn’t run away when I approached him, probably because he didn’t have the energy to, and when I got closer I could see fleas and lice crawling through his dirty golden fur, and open sores all over his body.
I went to the house across the road and asked if I could buy some corned beef to feed him, but the people didn’t seem to understand (or else they just thought I was crazy!) so I walked further up the road to buy chicken then came back to try and feed him. A pack of other dogs appeared and attacked him, taking away the much needed food. Meanwhile the lady and her granddaughter were watching me and laughing as I cried and tried to help fend off the other dogs and get him to eat something. After all that he went into the house and there was a loud heart-wrenching yelping – the lady came outside and was holding him by his front leg and trying to put him into a plastic bag to give to me. His leg was bent at a terrible angle an I thought it was going to break, so I pleaded with her to put him down and said I would be back in the morning to pick him up.
I left with tears pouring down my face wondering what I was going to do. I only had a few days left in Tonga and was not really in a position to take on looking after a dog, but there was no other option. The next morning I was up early, cooking chicken, making a bed and a lead. I picked him up at 8am, the grandkids were all there and I asked them why he was so skinny but they had no answer. I wrapped him up in a towel and walked back home, amazed by the fact he just looked into my eyes and let me take him. He was so light it felt like I was going to break his bones just by holding him. After feeding him the chicken I ran a bath and got rid of all the fleas and lice with coconut shampoo & tea tree oil, he was so scared but didn’t move and just stood there shaking. Once he dried off in the sun I could see the wounds starting to heal already, and his broken little body seemed to be looking better already. I didn’t have to worry about him run away because he was glued to my side from the minute I got him home.
I’m writing this four days after rescuing Frankie and he’s curled up on his bed next to me, sleeping with a full belly after a big day of playing with Eddie, another puppy who has been given a better chance at life (see his story on here also). Today I found him a home with a lovely Australian couple that have lived here for many years running a whale watching business. They love dogs and already have Tommy who’s a big gentle giant, and him and Frankie liked each other straight away. I left feeling like it will be ok to drop him off there tomorrow, even though I’ll miss him I’ll know he’s in a good place.
Tonga is not an easy place for most animals – there’s a combination of poverty, extremes in weather, and a lack of veterinary care, understanding, and compassion. There is an urgent need for SPAW to help change this, and I hope that we can all help to make that change happen.
So even though it may sometimes seem impossible or futile I’m convinced that it never is, and that making that difference for even one animal will bring an immense amount of happiness not only to them but also to yourself. Each and every life matters.
Amy Taylor
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Niue sign an MOU with SPAW
It has been absolute ages since my last blogg. We have been so busy preparing for our new endeavours to Tonga and Niue it seems the last few months have flown by.
The great news is that Niue have also signed an MOU with SPAW and we are truely pleased to have agreements with both Tonga and Niue to provide veterinary care, spay/neuter services and humane education on both islands.
Check out our website www.spaw.org.nz ....
As our activity increases we will be sharing it all and I cannot wait to help our animal friends on these islands.
Because we all care about animals and want to help our future in the pacific is going to be an exciting and productive journey.
Karen
The great news is that Niue have also signed an MOU with SPAW and we are truely pleased to have agreements with both Tonga and Niue to provide veterinary care, spay/neuter services and humane education on both islands.
Check out our website www.spaw.org.nz ....
As our activity increases we will be sharing it all and I cannot wait to help our animal friends on these islands.
Because we all care about animals and want to help our future in the pacific is going to be an exciting and productive journey.
Karen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)