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REPORT ON SPAY WEEK 2008 • REPORT ON SPOTT PROJECT • Fund Raisers • Minutes of 2008 AWN AGM • Past Adoption Day Summaries
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CLICK BANNER ABOVE TO RETURN TO HOMEPAGE |
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REPORT ON SPAY WEEK 2008 • REPORT ON SPOTT PROJECT • Fund Raisers • Minutes of 2008 AWN AGM • Past Adoption Day Summaries |
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One of the upcoming events in which AWN is participating is the annual Animal Care Expo of the Humane Society of the United States to be held in Las Vegas on April 6 - 9, 2009. AWN has been invited to deliver three presentations:
For more information on the event, go to it's website by following
this link. We also participated in a Humane Society International event - Spay Day International, held on February 24th, 2009. AWN worked with a journalist from the Newsday to prepared a one page story (shown below) promoting spaying and outlining the programmes of the AWN and TTSPCA.
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Spay Week 2008 ran from November 17th – 21st, and once again AWN had the support of over twenty two (22) clinics across Trinidad. The Trinidad and Tobago Veterinary Association also supported the event by donating part of the proceeds ($2000.00) from one of their fundraisers. Most of the advertisements for Spay Week were sponsored and there were appearances on several TV stations, to promote the event. With Spay Week in its fourth year and with the advertising in print and on national TV, the response this year was greater. Many clinics had persons enquiring about spay week long before it had even been advertised and some clinics had clients already booked before the ads hit the newspapers. As a result 2008 was the biggest year for Spay Week in terms of numbers. We are finally witnessing a growing demand for low-cost spays and we anticipate a greater demand n 2009. The 2008 figures were as follows:
Even with the advertisements fully sponsored, the cost to run Spay Week for 2008 was a whopping $90,000.00. Vet clinics are paid $300.00 per spay to cover the basic cost of the surgery. This is a 50% reduction in the normal cost. $150. is paid by public and $150 is paid by AWN. The vets usually have to block out a week from their normal operations to cater for Spay Week, which means a loss of income as other surgeries have to be scheduled outside of this week. This year AWN received no corporate funding specifically for Spay Week. Half of the cost of this programme was covered by proceeds from the AWN Charity Concert, A Christmas Fusion held in November. Funding is still a major issue and we are still looking for dedicated funding for the entire programme. Spay Week was one of the very first programmes envisioned by the members of the core committee in 2001. The committee and the volunteers who organized fund raising events that ensured we could pay for Spay Week for four years straight have to be commended for their work. Spay Week is by far one of our most successful programmes and the support from the local veterinarians is encouraging. To date under this programme 2,008 pets have been spayed or neutered. AWN is committed to finding ways to improve this yearly event. We are
currently in the process of conducting an audit of the Spay Week 2008
programme. We also intend to send out a questionnaire to participating
veterinarians to get their inputs. For 2008 programme, I would like to thank, Valerie Betaudier for her help with the advertising, Pat Green for the data collection and reports, Andrea Cochran for working on the Audit, Marc Cheeks (Pro Pac) for sponsorship, Patt Christopher and all the AWN volunteers who worked on the Christmas Concert to make it such a success, Wendy Sheppard-Muinos for agreeing to sing at the concert and all the veterinarians who with their hands and expertise help us achieve our goal of reducing the numbers of unwanted litters. You are all a remarkable group of people. Michelle Lourenco, Chairperson
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 Report on SPOTT Project - October 11-15, 2008 We have completed the first component of the SPOTT Project in the north coast communities of Blanchisseuse, and Maracas/ Las Cuevas. This project has brought veterinary services to the communities and has introduced the concept of spaying/ neutering as a means of improving the health of individual animals, and promoting the general welfare of the community through the humane control of the dog population. Over the four day period, a total of 130 surgeries were performed of
which 78 were spays and 52 were neuters. An additional 128 dogs were
examined in the clinic. All dogs were vaccinated, wormed and sprayed for
fleas and ticks (some volunteers suggested that they should also be treated
for fleas and ticks).
The project was initiated with a survey of the three main communities. The results of the survey indicated that access to veterinary care was limited, few dogs were vaccinated, almost no dogs were spayed or neutered and the majority of persons were unfamiliar with the concept of neutering.
Meetings were held with the village councils, visits were made to schools in the area to discuss general pet care and the benefits of spaying, flyers advertising the programme were posted in shops, bars and community centres. Banners were put up closer to the dates and megaphone announcements were arranged before and during the clinics. Local contacts were relied upon for local knowledge and to assist in
spreading the word. In order to gather support for the programme,
presentations were made to the School of Veterinary Medicine, the Trinidad
and Tobago Veterinary Association (TTVA) and the Regional Corporation for
that area. This worked well in Blanchisseuse where we had access to a large, secure facility with adequate electricity and water, but was more of a challenge in Maracas where the pavilion washroom served as the surgery area with all other areas under tents. The Maracas clinic had to be set up and taken down every day and this added to the general work load.
Dr Hatto Pidduck, Dr Emily Cappon and Vet students (below right)
The SPOTT Project would not have been possible without the hard work and special efforts of the Project Team including: Michelle Lourenco, Sara Maynard, Andrea Cochran, Shira Mohammed, Pat Green, Rebecca Ferrier, Emily Cappon
We are also very grateful to Propac, Signpost and. Hyline Labels and CMB Advertising for their sponsorship of the outreach programme, to Samantha for preparing the artwork and to Brenda Pakeerah of the Newsday and Rachel Stampfli of the Express, for ensuring that we received news coverage. Sita Kuruvilla, Project Coordinator
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CAR BOOT SALE
When the group tallied the results of the sale they were delighted to find that the amount to be donated to AWN over $23,000.. CAR RALLY In September AWN members from south and central organised a car rally to raise funds for the organisation. This was a Fun Rally and the those who participated enjoyed themselves while helping to raise approx. $1,200.00 for AWN’s funds. CHRISTMAS FUSION CONCERT In November the Christmas Fusion Concert was held at the Maple Leaf School. Performers, led by Wendy Sheppard-Muinos, gave their time and talents free to help AWN. Thanks to their generosity and that of all firms that sponsored various aspects of the production, over $40,000 was raised. This went towards the cost of running AWN’s fourth annual Spay Week, also held in November.
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Minutes of the 2008 Animal Welfare Network Annual General Meeting Chamber of Commerce Building, Westmoorings, Port of Spain, Trinidad, W.I. Committee Members Apologies: S. Morgan, V. Betaudier
The meeting closed at 4.45 p.m. and members were invited to enjoy the refreshments kindly provided by volunteer and to take advantage of the opportunity to meet other members present.
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Address: P.O. Box 6354, Carenage Post Office, Carenage, Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. • Tel (answering service): 1 868 627 3449 • Email: animalwelfarenwk@yahoo.com |
An
outreach programme was developed to get information into the communities on
the benefits of spaying and to advertise the free clinics. At right
are images of our first client in Blanchisseuse and the washroom/surgery at
the Maracas Sports Pavilion.
The
clinics were held at the Blanchisseuse Community Centre on October 11 and
12, (a weekend) and at the Maracas Sport Pavilion on October 14 and 15. This
entailed the setting up of a full veterinary hospital with surgery room,
clinic area, recovery area and waiting area. The photo at left shows
SPOTT Clinic at Blanchisseuse.
Members
of AWN and the TTSPCA assisted with the transport of equipment, drugs and
materials, and the setting up of the clinics. They also managed the intake
of patients and recorded preliminary data, and assisted with preparations
for surgery and the recovery of the animals after surgery. They also saw to
it that meals and drinks were provided and at the end of the day, they
dismantled the clinics, cleaned the facilities and transported everything
back to our base at the TSPCA. Kelly O’Meara of Humane Society International
(HSI), a partner in this project brought in Dr Gwen Davis to assist us with
the clinics. Dr Davis worked tirelessly (but still managed to find the
energy to enjoy a steelband concert). At right (top) are Dr Rebecca Ferrier
and (bottom) Dr Gwen Davis of HSI in Maracas.
Local
veterinarians pitched in, and there were four vets performing surgeries at
all times and another two or three vets handling the clinics. We are very
grateful to Drs Ferrier, Pidduck, Fernandes and Cappon, and to members of
the executive of the TTVA – Drs Warren, Mc Kenzie, Jasper and Young who came
out to assist. We are also grateful to the veterinary assistants including
Linda Bates, Mark Haynes, and Gina Goindoo, and to the many students of the
vet school who came out. 
We
recognize that this initial effort will not solve the problem of strays in
these communities and that this will require an ongoing effort. It has
however demonstrated to us there are many who are interested in the welfare
of their animals, they recognize that they cannot allow their dogs to breed
continuously and if it is within their means they are willing to have them
neutered.
At
left is Dr. Selene Warren of TTVA.
Thirty
car-owners paid $200 each to come, park and sell whatever they wished from
their cars. In addition they were asked to make a donation to AWN out of
their takings. The group members also brought car-loads of stuff which was
sold entirely for AWN’s benefit, as were sales of soft-drinks and sales from
the book stall (which was very popular). The response to the sale was
tremendous and the majority of the items were sold in the first couple of
hours. Hundreds of people came! 
