Field Vet Clinic on Island near Phuket
This week we have spent 5 days with PAWS - the Phuket Animal Welfare Society. PAWS has about 7 staff working for them. Three Thai vets (Aui, Ning and Vim, two technicians (Nuan and Kun-Lang), one helper (Kun-Sar) and the boss (Athena) and the web designer (Russell. We arrived midday Monday and spent the afternoon learning the ropes at the static clinic , which is based in Phuket township on Phuket Island.
PAWS was set up to look after the stray dogs and cats of Phuket island...and boy are there a lot of them! In order to better control the population and provide for the animals already around PAWS has a desexing program where every day the vets neuter any stray animal brought in by the public or they travel out to the small islands near Phuket and hold field clinics for the animals of the local people.
In order to neuter strays while here Jamie had to learn how to do a new type of suture as all of the animals that are neutered do not return to the clinic for a check up. So the vets do a small incision and the final suture is designed so the stitches are cleverly tucked inside the cat or the dog and don't require removal.
On Tuesday and Wednesday we travelled to Maphrao Island and held a field clinic in the local primary school. Over two days the vets desexed 70 cats! There were very few dogs on the island because the local people are muslim. One of the local ladies cooked lunch for us each day - it was like a banquet and very delicious.
On Thursday we drove to Ao Patong, Ao Karon and Ao Kata (Patong, Karon and Kata Beach) and helped Aui and Clare check the stray dogs and cats of these areas. Today we went back with Kun-Lang to these beachs to catch some stray dogs that hadn't been neutered yet. Boy they are wily animals. They were very hard to catch. Kun-Lang had to blowdart them and chase them up a hill.
Long-tail boat taking us to Maphrao Island
The big "Farang" cat doctor
Aui has an audience as she spays a cat
Fish fried with salt and cumin - yum!
A "victim" from last year's field clinic joins us for lunch
PAWS was set up to look after the stray dogs and cats of Phuket island...and boy are there a lot of them! In order to better control the population and provide for the animals already around PAWS has a desexing program where every day the vets neuter any stray animal brought in by the public or they travel out to the small islands near Phuket and hold field clinics for the animals of the local people.
In order to neuter strays while here Jamie had to learn how to do a new type of suture as all of the animals that are neutered do not return to the clinic for a check up. So the vets do a small incision and the final suture is designed so the stitches are cleverly tucked inside the cat or the dog and don't require removal.
On Tuesday and Wednesday we travelled to Maphrao Island and held a field clinic in the local primary school. Over two days the vets desexed 70 cats! There were very few dogs on the island because the local people are muslim. One of the local ladies cooked lunch for us each day - it was like a banquet and very delicious.
On Thursday we drove to Ao Patong, Ao Karon and Ao Kata (Patong, Karon and Kata Beach) and helped Aui and Clare check the stray dogs and cats of these areas. Today we went back with Kun-Lang to these beachs to catch some stray dogs that hadn't been neutered yet. Boy they are wily animals. They were very hard to catch. Kun-Lang had to blowdart them and chase them up a hill.
Long-tail boat taking us to Maphrao Island
The big "Farang" cat doctor
Aui has an audience as she spays a cat
Fish fried with salt and cumin - yum!
A "victim" from last year's field clinic joins us for lunch
posted by Jamie and Katie at 8:16 am
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