One cat can have up to three litters a year – averaging about five kittens per litter.

Dear Editor,

I would just like to write in praise of the Esther Honey Foundation.

The service this foundation offers our island is just so valuable! I have had a cat trap from them now for the past year, and have used it to catch stray cats around our house.

I take them in to Esther Honey for de-sexing, so they can no longer contribute to the wild cat population that is so high on our island.

I have caught about eight female cats so far, each of which could have had litters averaging around five kittens per litter, three litters per year.

So, that’s 120 cats per year. And of course this multiplies down the family tree, as each female (let’s say 50 per cent, so 60 cats) from these yearly litters would within a year contribute another 15 cats each to the population.

So now Esther Honey have stopped 900 stray cats from entering the cat population by next year just from my feeble contribution. (I was always good with mental arithmetic!).

According to Mr Google (who knows everything!) one female stray cat in their reproductive lifetime can contribute 420,000 cats to the cat population! So Esther Honey have already dealt with over 3 million potential cats in Rarotonga, from my catch alone!

Esther Honey have more traps, so anyone else want to help out? Keep up the good work Esther Honey, you are doing Rarotonga a fantastic service.

Kelvin Passfield

Matavera

Australian vets Cathy O’Neil and Tracey Kloos

The Esther Honey Foundation thanks Australian vets Cathy O’Neil and Tracey Kloos from Macquarie Road Vetz who not only volunteered their considerable skills at the Esther Honey Foundation Clinic but also solicited donations of more than $15,500 in veterinary supplies including contributions from Genvet and Saxon vet suppliers to bring with them!

Tracey and Cathy have over 45 years of veterinary experience between them which has been especially helpful with the recent increased demand for Esther Honey’s free de-sexing services. The spike in scheduled surgeries could be a great sign that almost 18 years of EHF education programs lauding the benefits of de-sexing have had an impact. But an even more likely source of inspiration is the recent police crack-down on dog registrations. Either way, the more spay/neuters the better! Meitaki Maata Cathy and Tracey!

Read the full story here.

UK Vet Harriet Stewart in surgery

UK Veterinarian Harriet Stewart wrote a Blog about her month-long experience volunteering at the Esther Honey Foundation.

“I have loved my month here as a ‘honey’- it’s been hard work at times but often very rewarding, and I always feel proud to tell people I meet around the island that I volunteer at the Esther Honey animal clinic. Locals and tourists alike are very grateful that we’re here and it’s nice to feel part of the island community.  It’s definitely going to be hard to leave, and I’ve even started to sleep through the nightly chorus of whining, meowing, barking and cock-a-doodle-doos!”

~Harriet Stewart, BVSc

Read Harriet’s Blog:

Michelle Gray, Senior Vet, the Esther Honey Foundation Animal Clinic

Working as a vet in the middle of the Pacific Ocean presents some interesting challenges (as well as some amazing benefits). One of the obstacles we face at the Esther Honey Clinic is the lack of veterinary laboratory services – we have no access to most of the diagnostic tests that are used daily in a normal veterinary practice. We are often forced to rely on our physical examinations and our brains to figure out what is going on with a particular patient. Sometimes however, this just isn’t enough … and that is where our little VetScan machine becomes our savior.

Provided we have the required rotors (which must be shipped from overseas and stored in the fridge), it allows us to run blood biochemistry tests. It provides information on our patient’s liver and kidney function, protein levels, electrolytes and blood glucose. Critical information to help us diagnose and treat our patients. Animals like little Nala – a 6wk old puppy who wasn’t eating and we couldn’t figure out why. Her results showed very low protein levels and very high (unreadable) kidney markers. Knowing this enabled us to tailor our treatment to give Nala the best chance of survival.

Normally shipping in the VetScan rotors is an expensive exercise, and logistically challenging as they must be kept cold at all times. In the past this expense has sometimes prohibited us from running the tests. Nala was the first of our patients to benefit from a recent donation of rotors by Abaxis, and our thanks goes out to this company for their wonderful generosity, and their contribution to the health of the Cook Island animals.

Australian veterinarian Michelle Gray

Australian veterinarian Michelle Gray is back on Rarotonga to help out at the Esther Honey Foundation Animal Clinic.

Gray first worked on the island in 2010, and has been back and forth between Australia and the Cooks ever since. She arrived on Saturday and will be on Rarotonga for at least six months. She said though she is from Australia, she now feels at home in Rarotonga.

“I do locum work (in Australia), so I move around a lot. Rarotonga is more of a base now. I’ve got a lot of good friends on the island.”

Gray is conducting a research project on toxic fish in the Cook Islands, but has also been working as a vet at the clinic.

“I’ve mostly been doing consults and helping with the patients.”

She said the main issue at the clinic currently is finding dogs a place to live.

“We’ve got a lot more dogs who need homing. We’re pretty steady with the desexing services we offer, and the number of dog and cat injuries has been pretty steady as well.”

The Esther Honey Foundation animal clinic opened in 1995, and is located in Nikao. – BD

The work the clinic is doing is fantastic and vital, it was so touching to be able to help out and see how much the locals appreciated it. The Rarotongans are such beautiful people and when any locals found out I was working at Esther Honey they went out of their way to make me feel welcome. Even though many locals couldn’t afford to pay for treatment they’d give what they could and neutering a pet in exchange for a tray of eggs was certainly a different experience!

Working with the limited resources was challenging but taught me a lot in terms of veterinary practice and also about myself, it’s amazing how resourceful you can be when required.

Greg is a real asset to your organisation and really helped us feel welcome and integrate by taking us to island dancing lessons and fab little local restaurants, so rather than just feeling like a holiday maker I felt like a local and got to see so much more of the island. He also does a fantastic job keeping the place running and is very passionate about his job especially the education side of the organisation.

Rarotonga now holds a very special place in my heart with lots of wonderful memories to look back on and I’d love to revisit at some point and come back to the practice to help out again if you’d have me. Keep up the good work!”

~Lora Black   UK Registered Veterinary Nurse

I’ve met so many kids who have been spoken to in school by Gregg who have really taken the message of how to care for a pet to heart, and its kids rather than their parents who are contacting EHF when their pet is sick.”

~Rosemary Skinner BVSc MRCVS (Third volunteer tenure with Esther Honey)

By Gregg Young, Esther Honey Foundation

We have decided to address the public to discuss the issue of controlling the dog and cat population in Rarotonga, a responsibility we all share.

The Esther Honey Foundation is here to provide veterinary care and education to improve the health and well being of all Cook Islands’ animals but we can only succeed with your help. We offer free desexing so that you can bring your animals and those who are wandering your property to the clinic without worrying about the cost.

Many countries, including those in the Pacific, face severe overpopulation issues.

If you travel to Tonga, Fiji, or Samoa you are likely to see thousands of roaming dogs, often in poor health. In the Cook Islands we have been very fortunate to have the Esther Honey Foundation provide veterinary services and work with the community to humanely manage the dog and cat population.

Together, we have significantly decreased the dog population. We need to maintain that progress that we all worked so hard to achieve by continuing to spay and neuter.

Studies confirm that killing animals for population control does not work.

The program used by the foundation has been scientifically-proven to offer a permanent solution to overpopulation but only if we continue to desex untreated animals.

Desexing can prevent the public health and safety problems associated with roaming dogs such as the spread of disease to humans and other animals, aggression, noise, and road accidents.

In the Cook Islands, tourists and locals alike often notice and comment on how docile the local dogs are.

This friendly canine behavior is not common in other Pacific countries where overpopulation results in dogs fighting with each other and sometimes attacking humans.

Maintaining our shared achievement of having desexed 70 percent of the Rarotonga dog population will result in the dog numbers continuing to drop if we continue to desex as many intact (not yet treated) dogs as possible.

Animals who have not been desexed continue to have puppies and will increase the overall number of dogs on the island. You can help keep the numbers of cats and dogs at healthy levels for the benefit of animals and humans alike by bringing in all cats and dogs who need to be desexed.

February is World Spay Day month and we will be announcing events soon, but don’t wait to make an appointment. Call today to schedule surgery for all your neighbourhood animals.

You can also help by adopting. We are caring for six dogs and numerous kittens who need good homes. There is no charge for adoption. We’re here for the animals and for the community.

If you have any questions please contact us on 22336 or 75310.

Our hearts have been warmed as we have seen the Cook Islands community time and again support the work that the foundation is doing. Whether it’s been in monetary support, supplies, or even volunteering, this year has been astounding and it may not be possible to show how grateful we truly are. This support shows how much the community values the work that we do to raise the level of animal welfare here in the islands and provide veterinary care for animals in need.

The list of organizations/people that the Esther Honey Foundation would like to thank includes:

• The Rarotonga Resort and Spa
• Snowbird Laundry
• Timberland
• The Bond Store
• The Barton Family
• Raromart
• CITC, Telecom
• Muri Beach Club Hotel
• Little and Matysik
• The Roadhouse
• Cook Islands News
• Etu Moana Beach Villas (Aitutaki)
• The Boat House (Aitutaki)
• Air Rarotonga
• Air New Zealand
• Turama House
• Avarua Bakery
• Computer Man
• John Koteka Electrical
• Raro Plumbing
• Solar Bob
• Mary Smith
• CITV
• T&M Heather
• Crown Beach Hotel
• Turoa Bakery
• and many more we may have missed.

It is also all the small donations that help us to move forward in our endeavours to benefit the Cook Islands animals which we hold very close to our hearts.

With that said we are pleased to share some of the highlights of our 2012 accomplishments. Your generous support has allowed us to:

• Treat more than 3,000 owned and homeless animals at no cost to the community
• Spay/Neuter more than 500 cats and dogs
• Provide one-half million dollars (US) in veterinary services
• Serve 14,000 meals and rehome 230 dogs and cats
• Provide Animal Health and Humane Education Presentations for every Preschool and some secondary schools on Rarotonga. (1,966 seeds of kindness and compassion planted!)

Without the support of the community we simply wouldn’t be able to offer these services. So a big Meitaki Ma’ata goes out to all of you as we go into the new year where we hope to continue our work with your support. We wish all of you, animals as well, blessings for the new year.
Gregg Young, Esther Honey Foundation Animal Clinic Director
Cathy Sue Ragan-Anunsen, Esther Honey Foundation President and CEO

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The Esther Honey Foundation has become the seventh group in as many years to receive a funding boost from Island Hopper Vacations.

The foundation received a $700 cheque from the travel agency on Monday, with clinic director Gregg Young on hand to receive the funds.

For the past seven years, Island Hopper staff members have nominated an organisation to receive the year’s total amount of money made from weekly mufti days.

“We don’t tell whoever we have nominated until we ring them up,” says sales consultant Mousie Skews.

“It’s a nice surprise though for that organisation when we call them.

“We felt that this is our small way of giving back something to our community and help out those organisations that are doing great work for our community and our people.”

The foundation, which offers spaying and neutering free of charge among other veterinary services, is the seventh recipient of the annual donation.

Groups to have received the funding from Island Hopper since 2006 are Rarotonga Hospital’s children’s ward, Creative Centre, Te Kainga, Punanga Tauturu, Te Vaerua, and Are Pa Metua. – Matiu Workman