January 2008

Thank you, Geoffrey McCartney and Eric Solis Marketing Limited for our regular free printing!

The deadline for the next newsletter is April 15^th 2008. Please send copy to the Editor, Patricia A Green

LUCKY ANIMALS REHOMED • LET US SPAY • STILL LOOKING FOR THAT SPECIAL HOME • FAREWELL • FINDING MY “CHI” • ANIMAL WELFARE CONFERENCE • VOLUNTEERING TO HELP ANIMALS • ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING • THANKS

LUCKY ANIMALS REHOMED

(1) Froggy (3) Rocket (5) Gin (7) Amber

Since the October 2007 Newsletter was sent out, we have managed to re-home quite a few animals. Froggy (1) had begun to seem quite at home at North-West Veterinary Clinic before he went out to his join his new family. Chance (2) spent a long time in AWN’s care but we are happy to tell you that he has now gone to a good home. Rocket (3) was originally rescued from the Queen’s Park Savannah and then adopted into a home in Maraval. Unfortunately, things did not go well for him there and he came back to AWN. Rocket has now been adopted by a family in Diego Martin, where, it is reported, he has settled down very well. Cookie (4) enjoyed a long stay, supervising the clients at Vinmer Veterinary Clinic, before going to her new home. Gin (5) became a Christmas present. He now lives in Cunupia, where he has joined an extended family. He is fortunate as he has a young owner to play with and older adults to keep him company while she is at school. Last heard, he was settling in very well. Thor (6) now lives in Arima. He stayed at the TTSPCA before being adopted. Amber (7) was a very lucky dog. She came in looking like a real “fraidy cat”. However, one of our Committee saw her potential and sponsored her until she blossomed into the dog you see above. Now she has been adopted. Albert’s (8) first Christmas did not look too bright. He was safe at Vinmer Veterinary Clinic but it did not look as if he was going to have a lot of fun. Then his luck changed. Another of our Committee members responded to an appeal for a foster home for him, for the holidays. He behaved himself and got on well with her dogs. She has a potential home for him but for the time being he is still with her. Hang in there, Albert!

(2) Chance (4) Cookie (6) Thor (8) Albert

In November 2007 AWN organised its third annual Spay Week, with the co-operation of the Veterinary Association of Trinidad & Tobago and many of the veterinarians in Trinidad.

Final figures are not yet in, but we have already reached an approximate total of 470 spay and neuter operations. This exceeds the totals for 2006 and 2007 but we are still hoping to reach our goal of 500 operations carried out in Spay Week. In our first Spay Week, in 2006, there were 430 spay/neuter operations carried out. In 2007 there were 411 operations. The slight drop in 2007 was attributed to the visit of a team of vets from overseas, under the auspices of the TTSPCA about the same time.

Information gleaned on similar programmes (one in another W.I. island and one in a Native American area) showed the response to our Spay Week compared very favourably with these.

Returns put in by the veterinarians showed that those working in rural areas in south and central Trinidad carried out the most operations. These are areas where there are many people who would like to ensure that their animals do not reproduce relentlessly, but cannot meet the regular cost of neutering them. The discounted fees offered by veterinarians participating in Spay Week were a great help to these people.

The typical spay-week candidate is a female mixed-breed dog, a.k.a. the genuine Pothound. Many people, especially in rural areas, recognise these animals as the backbone of their domestic security system. They are loyal pets and good watchdogs. However, they are capable of producing at least two litters of pups each year: litters that may contain 8 – 10 pups each time. It is difficult to place the pups and they will, in their turn, produce regular litters, thus contributing to the stray population.

Remember, a spayed or neutered dog will lose none of its ability to be a good watchdog. In fact, it may be even better because it will be paying attention to its job rather than minding pups or chasing females.

This year it cost AWN approximately $70,000 to run Spay Week. This money came mainly from donations and fund-raising efforts. We also received a grant of US$2,500 from the Alice Morgan Wright – Edith J. Goode Trust which was a considerable help.

P.A. Green

Coal, seen at right is a small black dog with one tiny white patch on his chest. He has perky ears, an intelligent expression and a fine red collar.

He was found and taken in by AWN, but his owner has never come to claim him. Would you like to be his new owner? If so, contact North-West Veterinary clinic, 622-3356, as ask for Coal.

At Vinmer Veterinary Clinic (628-2773) there are several pretty kittens in need of a home. Also at North-West Veterinary Clinic there are two black and white kittens (pictured above left) who are now “teenagers”. Why not go into these clinics and see if there is a cat or kitten you could learn to love?

Fritz - shown at right - was brought into AWN with a leg. He was found in Diamond Vale area and efforts were made to find his owners, but to no avail. Now he has recovered from his injury he is a bright and attractive looking little dog.

Here is Peat (on the left), a male Pompek found in Mucurapo and now staying at North-West Veterinary Clinic.

All the above animals would really love to go to a new and secure home where they will find a family to love them.

We have recently lost two members who were among the first to join AWN in 2001. Mrs. Germaine Chai died in November 2007 and Mrs. Daphne Conyers in January 2008.

Germaine Chai, was one of the earliest members of AWN. Over the years she helped and supported AWN in any way that she could. She and her late husband, Earle, always had dogs and cats whom they loved and cared for. The dogs would often join them on their expeditions around Trinidad and they all enjoyed the trips. One of her last dogs was Popeye, a large Black Labrador/Rottweiler-cross with a sweet disposition who now has a new home in the west. AWN would like to acknowledge the generosity of Germaine’s friends and family who donated to AWN in her memory.

Daphne Conyers was another early member of AWN. She frequently accompanied another member, to look after the dogs at the Waterloo Cremation Site. Before going on such an expedition she would cook a big batch of “Doggy Pelau” which ensured a huge welcome from the hungry hounds on site. Two-footed AWN members were equally appreciative of the snacks she provided for the Annual General Meeting and other events. We should like to record our thanks to Daphne’s family who kindly donated the collection taken at her funeral to the Animal Welfare Network and the TTSPCA. Both these members will be greatly missed. The AWN Committee.

OPEN DAY AT UWI VETERINARY SCHOOL The University of the West Indies, School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) held an Open Day at their facility at Mt. on Thursday 17th & Friday 18th January as part of their celebrations for the 60th Anniversary of UWI.

Guided tours were conducted from 9am – 2pm for 5th & 6th form students from schools around the country who might be considering a career in this field. The general public was also invited to visit in the afternoon from 1pm – 6pm.

Both AWN & the TTSPCA were invited to have stalls at this event. However due to certain constraints only one stall was in operation and only for the students’ morning visits.

It was an enjoyable 2 days with the students being quite attentive and interested in what we were trying to do, namely trying to make the public aware on how to be responsible pet owners by I.D. tagging and to encourage spaying & neutering in order to reduce the number of stray dogs. Our spay week statistics were on display as well as information sheets, membership forms and information about AWN & TTSPCA.

This event was the perfect stage to make some of the youth of Trinidad aware of our organizations and to educate them on pet care. Also it would have been a good opportunity to make valuable contacts with these schools (25-30) as a means of making possible future visits to these institutions in a future educational project.

However, this to me was a really pathetic public relations exercise from our organizations in respect of available manpower when it is most needed to put forward our cause to the general public. If we really are interested and determined to improve the lot of pets in Trinidad we are in desperate need of volunteers who can be relied upon to step forward and help when it is needed.

Our membership is well over 100. Surely more than ONE person could be found to man our stall over these two days!

A Golden Opportunity to spread public awareness as lost.

Andrea Cochran

On one of my usual ‘doggie rounds’ with Sita we walked into the TTSPCA turned the corner by the cages and came face to face with one of the most pathetic sights I’d seen in a while. (Trust me I’ve seen some pretty grim things over the years while volunteering with AWN, but, this one got to me.) Here was this cat, perched on top of his water bowl, trying to balance to take a pee….yet, something was not quite right, and then we realized – no eyes - Sita and I looked at each other and felt gutted. We asked a couple of questions: the usual, why wasn’t it put to sleep, was it owned, etc. Turns out, this skinny creature found its way into a yard, was taken to the TTSPCA where they sponsored it, in the hope that it would be adopted.

(Now, I think this is where I put on my sensible AWN cap, and tell you that it is really not wise to adopt or hope that a blind animal will be adopted, not only is it a huge responsibility to care for a blind animal but it’s extremely traumatic for a blind animal to adjust to new surroundings/kennels.)

Anyway, back to the story. We cleaned the cage, changed the water and left. Suffice to say there were a few “guilt” calls back and forth, followed by a healthy dose of sleepless night. The sun rose, and so did I. The next day I visited my four legged friend, discovering a severe infection of the eye sockets (can’t describe the stench – not good). Well, against all criteria, common sense and just plain staying out of the crazy realm, the discussion came down to which one of us was taking “Chi” (inner strength) home! I won, my husband once again lost – although he loves him now. (Thank you, my long-suffering and patient Douglas.) Chi was carted off to North West (needless to say, my vets have taken the path of least resistance and just go with the flow!), stayed there for a few weeks undergoing treatment -at one point his sex was under discussion and he was thought to be both male and female – however, with close examination – Chi is a he.

To cut a long story short, or as short as possible, I have found my Chi, even though his eye sockets must be cleaned inside twice a day, ointment applied when needed, not to mention my hands, arms and back look like I’ve been through a grater. He discovered the art of climbing, however, has not mastered the art of landing without grabbing me. My chairs, well, I could cry. He’s totally worth it! I have watched this sad creature blossom into a confident, happy, playful cat that knows his way around rooms (once the furniture hasn’t been moved – then you hear a bump every now and again), makes you and anyone that meets him smile with joy, (not to mention how your heart melts when this now chubby thing, curls up in your arms, purrs, coos and falls asleep). So, bottom line, I threw caution to the wind, stepped on board the crazy train, and I’m in LOVE!

Sara Agostini

Animal Welfare Network has received information about the 2008 Caribbean Animal Welfare Conference. AWN members have attended previous conferences and found them to be very interesting and useful events. If any members would like to attend they can make contact with the organisers through the website provided below.

Registration is now open for the 2008 Caribbean Animal Welfare Conference, to be held April 21-24, 2008 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

The conference will include workshops on organizational development, fundraising, disaster management, animal welfare education, and other topics. This will be another great training and networking opportunity for all animal welfare groups working in the Caribbean. www.caribbeananimalwelfare.org A conference schedule, information on how to register and how to reserve hotel rooms, and other conference details, can be found on the conference Web site:

Financial assistance applications are also available on the Web site.

The AWN, as you know, is an organization that survives only by the efforts of committed members, all volunteers, who give of their time, their skills, and in some cases, their finances. We would love to hire at least one person to support full-time, the implementation of our projects but we just don’t have the funds. The organization took a decision at its inception in 2000, to keep running costs to the barest minimum and commit all funds to animal welfare work and we have been true to that commitment. We are proud of what we have achieved so far, but we recognize that we have reached a plateau, and can do no more if we continue in our present mode of operation. If we are to move forward and achieve more, we must think of new approaches to maximize the contribution of all potential volunteers.

All too often, interested persons join the organization and we are unable to provide them with specific tasks to perform and so incorporate them into the loose fabric of the network so that feel a part of the organization and don’t lose interest.

We need to better structure our volunteer programme and we need two or three members to manage the programme. The basis of this programme is already in place but we need to make it more specific, so that on joining, members can be assigned tasks specific to their capabilities. These tasks could be occasional, such as counting coins from donation tins and assisting with home checks in their area, or ongoing, such as writing funding proposals, managing a small spay project in their area, developing and implementing a fund raising venture, assisting regularly at a shelter. There are opportunities for everyone to assist, no matter how busy with work and family.

Volunteering can be a very rewarding experience, you meet other like-minded people and if you care about the welfare of animals you will know that you have done your bit to help them.

Do you have an interest in such as project, and would you like to help to set up and manage such a programme? Maybe you could help to coordinate this effort in your area? Do you have ideas or experiences with other NGO’s that may be useful?

Please consider this request and contact Sita Kuruvilla or Pat Green by phone or email if you think you can help. Contacts: S. Kuruvilla – (Tel.627-3449 or e-mail tsk@flowtrinidad.net) P. Green (633-3646 or e-mail pagreen@tstt.net.tt).

Sita Kuruvilla

This is an early reminder that the Annual General Meeting of The Animal Welfare Network will take place in late May or early June. We will let you know the exact date of the meeting as soon as it is set. Then, you can put it in your calendars and make up your minds to attend this year. We really need your support and look forward to seeing you there.

P.G. Actg.Sec.

We should like to say a special word of thanks to Shivani Mohammed for all her help. We have come to rely on Shivani for help in central Trinidad in particular: help in checking homes for adoptions, rescues and whatever else is needed. Thank you, Shivani.

The AWN Committee

Address: #14 Hillside Avenue, Cascade, Trinidad, W. I.  •  Tel (answering service): 1 868 627 3449  •   Email: animalwelfarenwk@yahoo.com