Here we have an example of what an animal goes through when it comes into the clinic with fish poisoning. When the fish inside the reef consume a certain algae a toxin is held inside of them which affects animals and humans alike. There is more information about this on the main page. Sometimes it can take only a week for animals to recover, whereas other times it can take upwards of two months. Rocko is a lovely dog, and although he has taken to running away now that he has his legs, he does love the attention when you give him a rub behind the ears. Enjoy.
I am sure everyone has heard about the earthquake in Chile. My heart goes out to the victims of this disaster as they search for their families, friends and animals. What you may not have heard, is that because of the earthquake, a tsunami warning was issued throughout the Pacific. Boy did it ever wake us up!
At 3:30 in the morning on Saturday, we received multiple phone calls warning us about the possibility of a tsunami. I called the police to confirm and we were grateful for the five-hour warning. Laura (veterinarian) and I were the only two staying at the EHF residence and it was up to us to get all the patients and other animals in our care to higher ground and to pack the essentials for ourselves.
Blessed as we are, we were caring for fewer animals than usual and could transport the twenty dogs and cats in 12 cages and take a few on leads. I called Nan Hauser, our local whale researcher, who had generously offered her house in the past when cyclones threatened the island. We didn't have a vehicle large enough to move all the animals at once but Nan’s partner, Brown Apera, offered his truck and his help. Kevin Rowell, a local supporter, also kindly joined the effort. It took two trips for all of us to complete the move and we saw many fully loaded vehicles heading up various hills just as we were. (I saw a picture yesterday of the hospital on the hill surrounded by people and their cars.)
By 7am, we had delivered all of the animals to safety at Nan's wonderful home. Craig the clinic cat doesn't like being in cages so he was allowed to stay in the car curled up on our bags. One of our patients, Rocko, a big fish poisoned dog, needed to continue his supportive care no matter where we were located and we set up a drip IV line. Laura did a great job taking care of Rocko in spite of his love of chewing through his catheters. (Fortunately, this one lasted until we returned home.)
Nan was more than accommodating to all her guests. She offered us breakfast while welcoming more people seeking refuge. The plan was to watch the sea from the top of a hill as the tsunami rolled in, but there really wasn’t much to see. We waited for the “all clear” before we decided to take the animals home. We later learned that the tsunami didn't amount to much here and we are definitely thankful for that.
Returning all the animals to the clinic was made easier by the addition of yet another truck and helper, Huw John from Reef Sub, who was also staying at Nan's to escape the possible Tsunami.
This tsunami drill provided the unexpected opportunity to clean behind all the cages and now the area is spic and span thanks to veterinarians Sula and Laura who accomplished this chore (after they too were awakened around 3:30am.) and also worked a full day at the clinic (which was pretty busy for a Saturday) before falling into bed exhausted. Thanks guys for your extraordinary work!!!
A great deal of gratitude also goes out to all those who helped us in the transport and temporary housing of these animals. You have shown a true kindness.
Blessings to those in Chile who will be recovering from this disaster for months and years to come.
Well, Micro-Craig is doing very well here at the clinic and has more than doubled in size since we first got him, in part because of the large quantity of food he eats. Since he has grown a bit too big for his box and the bucket we were keeping him in, he has been moved to the bath tub which has the bonus that it's really easy to clean.
He's got his legs a bit more now and we have weaned him off the bottle. The upside is that it is a lot easier for us. The downside is every time we go into the bathroom now he hears us and screams at the top of his little lungs--wanting to be fed. He isn't quite used to drinking water yet, as the last time we put in a shallow container with him, we later found him pretty wet.
Here's a short video to show our healthy hand-reared kitten, and above is a picture of Micro-Craig with a puppy, called Speedo, we're trying to rehome.
Because of the high number of fish poisoning patients brought to the clinic last December we decided it would be a good idea to remind the community once again about the dangers of feeding their pets fish from the lagoon.
Fish poisoning has been one of the most frequently addressed topics in EHF's animal health care education program. The illness and how to avoid it has been discussed in newspaper columns, articles, on television, radio, in school presentations and in our animal care pamphlets. Still, Rarotonga animals continue to suffer from this debilitating and potentially lethal illness.
Most recently, in January, the local television news ran a spot highlighting some of the victims that we were caring for and we talked about the effects of the disease and how it can be prevented. That piece was followed by a more in depth and longer program that discussed the effects of fish poisoning on animals and humans. We are now working toward creating a public service spot for the island's only radio station with a goal of reaching an even wider audience.
The number of fish poisoning patients has decreased from 20 in December to four in February. I don't know if the decline is because our message reminded people not to feed their animals fish from the lagoon or if the algae thought to be responsible for the toxin that leads to the fish poisoning is at lower levels, but it is a relief to see fewer fish poisoning patients admitted to the clinic.
The three cases currently being treated are all cats (which is a little unusual as we tend to see to more dogs). Blackie (black and white), Esther (tabby) and Robert (ginger) are all at various stages of recovery. Blackie, who has been with us the longest, is up in his feet but still not eating on his own. Esther who came in about a week after Blackie can't even lift herself up off the ground and is still generally very "floppy". Robert, on the other hand is very stiff, and when he's not literally sitting on his head, which I've caught him doing twice now, he eats very well. He just needs to get up on those feet of his.
A lot of volunteer time is required just to make sure these patients are getting enough food, water and exercise. Each patient receives significant attention from our clinic team but it is also the loving owners who come by to visit their pets while they are here recuperating that helps the animal improve.
The complete elimination of fish poisoning cases may only occur when (and if) the toxin and disease process becomes completely understood but until then, the number of cases can be diminished by not feeding reef fish to pets. We will continue to be here for those animals who do get sick and offer our support to the animal and to the community. A big thanks goes out to all the skilled and caring volunteers who have spent so much time helping these patients to get well and return to their families.
We have seen a disheartening rise in the number of car accident victims, but that's a topic for a later post!
In the pictures we have, from top to bottom, Robert, Esther and Blackie (almost escaping now that he's better). The video below is from about a month and a half ago and shows a couple of dogs that we had in with fish poisoning. Casper, the white puppy, was found on our property late one evening with fish poisoning. He was still a little bit wobbly when he left. Toto, an old dog with a blind eye, took a good amount of time to get better as well. He had a really hard time getting his legs back. And as for the last dog, Dags, he was with us for more than two months with bed sores on both of his hips. I was really happy to see him go home. I have another dog which just came in recently whose name is Rocko, but he's hardly moving, hardly breathing. Once he's up on his feet I'll show you what it's like when they walk.
After the thirty plus kittens that we received just before the summer holidays, December, here in Rarotonga, we only have one left! It's been a long time but we have found homes for every single one of them except one which one of our local volunteers has called "Mr. Pudgy". We still get the occasional kitten given to us to re-home but we are finding homes for them. Just recently we have also received a very small kitten which the volunteers have been feeding every four hours, even in the middle of the night. They have been very diligent but their work seems to be paying off for we have a healthy approximately two week old kitten which they have called "Micro Craig", after Craig. We already have a "Mini Craig" as well. They all look alike.
On occasion we also get a box full of puppies which we then have to find homes for. This never seems to be much of a problem though as most of the people who live here are looking for puppies. Earlier this week we were given six puppies, three males and three females, that were found in the mountains. Thanks to a "puppies wanted" list that has been created we called made a few phone calls and every one of these puppies found a new home by the afternoon. We don't seem to have much of a problem finding them homes. Even with big dogs we are finding good owners. We caught a couple of stray dogs, one male one female, and before they were even desexed we found homes for them.
As we continue to desex the local animal population there are less litters being born. This may be why we are seeing such a positive turn out of our animals looking for new homes. It's wonderful to see an animal that one has looked after for a month or so (in this case mostly cats) go to a good home where they can receive more attention than we can give them here at the clinic. Thanks goes out to the community for supporting these animals as well as the work we do.
Pictures, from the top, are of Graham holding "Mr. Pudgy", "Micro Craig" weighing in at 300g, and camera shy Laura feeding "Micro Craig".
It's been busy here at the clinic with a lot of volunteers coming to help us look after the animals that have been placed in EHF's care. The combination of lots of volunteers and the need to start our second island-wide census made it the perfect time to rent bikes and set off from the clinic to go house to house to count Rarotonga canines.
The purpose of the census is to document the number of dogs on the island and the percentage of that number that EHF has spayed or neutered. One of the primary goals of the Esther Honey Foundation is to humanely reduce and stabilize the number of dogs and cats on the island through desexing. Reducing the number of homeless, wandering and unwanted animals will result in benefits to the animals, the community and even the local economy.
To measure our progress in reaching this goal, we check whether the dogs we are counting have been desexed or not and mark it down on a tally. To document that the dog population is stable or decreasing we need to confirm that a minimum of 70% of the dogs are desexed.
Graham, Janie, and Rachel, all from New Zealand, have been our official counters when they are not working in the clinic. It's been a week and a half since we started and the three volunteers have covered the area of Arorangi, one of the most populated areas of Rarotonga. Being out in the community has allowed them to meet more locals and to drum up additional support and surgery candidates. They have been scheduling untreated dogs to be picked up and brought into the clinic for surgery! Their success in rounding up new patients has kept our clinic veterinary team very busy.
So far it's been a great way to meet locals, communicate what we are doing and let people know how our work can help. Great thanks goes out to all the volunteers who have come to help EHF in this effort whether by biking from house to house to count dogs, or by staying at the clinic to treat current patients and those dogs coming in thanks to census takers! THANK YOU!!
In the picture above, on their bikes, are Rachel, Janie, Graham and Beth, all from Massey in New Zealand.
Just to let you know, the house where I and the other volunteers live is on the same site as the clinic and is shared by all the animals that we care for. It is quite basic and can accommodate up to eight people. There are three bedrooms that provide dorm-style sleeping; one large with four beds and two smaller rooms with two beds each. The bathroom includes a toilet separated from the shower/sink area. The shower starts off cold but if you stick with it, it gets hot after about a minute.
The bedrooms are just off the main living area that has one small TV which can pick up one channel every now and then. This is a good place to sit down and read in the evening. We have lots of books.
The kitchen too is pretty basic. We have a gas stove and range, a sink and lots of cupboards. The foundation is buying a new microwave soon. We have two refrigerators (luxury) which we need when we have lots of people with their own food. Everyone buys their own food either at the market on Saturdays and Thursdays or down at the local super market. It's much cheaper to buy at the market.
We do have our own washing machine, two in fact. One for the animals and one for the household. We do all the drying on the line however. So plan ahead. If you're a light sleeper make sure you bring some ear plugs, a sound machine or something else that will help you sleep until you get use to the noises. Not only do we have dogs, but there are chickens everywhere. You cannot escape them anywhere on the island. And sometimes they like to pick on people and crow right outside your window at 6 am.
In addition, we are only a few hundred meters from the end of the runway. It's pretty cool to see but the sounds of departures and arrivals can be pretty intense at night. Despite all this, after a few days, volunteers become quite accustomed to the noises and sleep perfectly well. I know I slept well last night.
The beach is not more than a twenty second walk from the clinic, literally over the road. I'd have a really nice office view if the clinic was moved 20 or so meters down the road. Oh well. Other than that, we have plenty of animals to play with and lots of places to explore when we get a break. I hope you come as it is just beautiful here and the locals are wonderful.
The pictures here include the clinic (where we live to the left and in the back ground you can see some of the cages to the right). The next two are from inside the clinic showing the kitchen and the living space. Pretty comfy eh?
