February 2018 WVS Thailand, Monthly Report Dr Giacomo Miglio, DVM, MRCVS February 2018, the official beginning of Chinese New Year that, according to their Zodiac System, it s going to be the Year of the Dog. What could be a better aegis to us all? Here at ITC Chiang Mai we started the month receiving a very kind donation from Petra S. and Sofie S., two veterinary students from Czech Republic that took part at our 2 nd ABC Surgical Course: a couple of brand new Heat Pads for our surgical theatre. Despite being located in a Tropical Country, hypothermia is still a potential threat during long surgical procedures, especially in puppies or cats, so these new pieces of equipment are, indeed, really appreciated.
Let s move for a second to one of Thailand neighbours country, Burma (Myanmar), whose events, sometimes dramatic, had recently brought it to international attention. Yangon it s Burma s largest city, a well-known religious centre (with temples, pagodas and the Shwedagon Paya an astonishing golden stupa), but perhaps less shining and less known, is Yangon Animal Shelter, a little gem that probably not every Yangon s tourist will get to see. Yangon Animal Shelter is currently housing over 600 dogs, under the direction of Ms Terryl and Ms Nathalie, with the support of two Myanmar s vets. WVS Thailand has been in contact with them over the past few months, and would like to cooperate and run a Mass Neutering and Vaccination Campaign over there. In order to do so, the support of local Myanmar vets is vital. That s why we all welcomed Dr Soe Min Lin Dogs at Yangon Animal Shelter and Dr Zaw Ye Naing, that joined us during the 3 rd ABC Surgical Course, to review their surgical training, operative standards and become more confident with WVS protocols, in light of a future cooperation. Dr Zaw and Dr Soe from Yangon Animal Shelter
Dr Santiparp AKA Dr Poppy and Namphueng with the Yangon Animal Shelter Team In the meantime, since wasn t ideal to leave 600 dogs without veterinary care for 14 days, our Senior Vet Dr Santiparp and one of our Vet nurses, Namphueng had been sent over there to look after these animals. Dr Zaw and Dr Soe have been the class-mates of several other freshly graduate vets and vet students, from Australia, UK and USA. III ABC Surgical Course I always hope that something of what they ve been experiencing here will remain with them throughout the rest of their career, and it s always a pleasure to find some comments written on the back of their Post-course assessment.
Like the one of Dr Anna S. new graduate Vet from Australia for the second time in a WVS training program (as a students she went in Ooty few years ago): We had a small group which was great; I think that if would be more than 10 people a course it would be too much. Everyone, was very nice and helpful; the accommodation and facilities were great. Or Jack H., 4 th year vet student from Charles Sturt University, that went from zero to 15 surgeries performed in a couple of weeks: I found the training course very beneficial and gained a great deal of surgical and anaesthetic experience over the past two weeks. Great supervision and support, very helpful and friendly staff; good enforcement of proper surgical technique and informative lectures. I have no dislikes about the course and will highly recommend it to other veterinary students. Dr Phakkakarn, AKA Dr Dear If it is great to have participants and volunteers from all over the Globe, it s even nicer to get Thai vets involved with our activities such as Dr Pattama and Dr Phakkakarn, that took part at our 1 st Thai course of 2018, led by our Senior Vet, Dr Santiparp (just back from his trip in Burma!) ABC Surgical Course for Thai Vets
Whilst Dr Santiparp was looking after the ITC, the biggest part of our team headed to Shukokai, for the first Bunn Lott Mobile Clinic of 2018. With Bunn Lott we have been having a long standing cooperation for years now, unfortunately this time Katherine, CEO of Bunn Lott Elephant Sanctuary, couldn t be present for unforeseen reasons. Our team had to manage itself, led by Mr Guy (ITC Manager) and Ms Fon (Outreach Manager). The local community knows WVS people already, so even against the odds the outreach was, overall, positive, with more than 100 animals neutered. Pre-op area at BLES Mobile Clinic Dogs of Sukhothai are very proactive when it comes to neutering!
During this Outreach project we had the pleasure of having with us Dr Laura B., UK vet at her first trip with WVS. She seems to have enjoyed her time with us as much as we loved having her here, very kind and dedicated person Hi Dr G, [ ] I have had an great time volunteering for the WVS, it has exceeded all expectations, the standard of care you provide and work you do is fantastic. Could your please thank all the team, especially Fon and those that came to BLES, for being so welcoming and helpful, they were all amazing. Thank you for giving me this opportunity, and I will definitely be back. Many thanks Laura Outreach team at BLES This month we also had the pleasure to receive the visit of Dr Amy Lewis, from our sister charity Mission Rabies. Dr Amy has been a great asset for the place, working along with the dog catching team and the catcher s coordinator, Mr Nut, implementing the use of WVS App and tailoring guidelines for dog population surveys in these areas.
The 22 nd of February has also been the Official Opening of Chiang Mai s Animal Birth Control Clinic, wanted by Dr Boyd, one of ABC Courses past participant. WVS was there, of course, with Dr Luk, Dr Amy, and Mr Clarke, representing the whole WVS-MR Family Chiang Mai Municipality's ABC Clinic Has been a real pleasure to be part of this, and to see so many citizens interested and actively booking their animals for neutering. Opening Cemermony at Chiang Mai Municipality Dr Amy and Dr Luk at Chiang Mai Municipality
Totally, during the February Month, including all the above activities, WVS Thailand team has neutered over 180 dogs and over 60 cats. Our rescue Centre has provided medical and surgical care for over 50 animals, and completed the adoption process successfully for 11 dogs. Finally, I d like to conclude sharing the story of a dog called Thung Ngern (Money bag in Thai), that epitomize the importance of what we do and promote every single day: neutering. As vets we all know that it s not just a matter of population control and unwanted litters, but also about benefits for the individual animal. It might sound virtual and far away in time perspective for some Owners, until they see it with their own eyes. That s why we ve decided to share Thing Ngern case on our social media, not just as a successful story, but as a good chance to raise awareness on neutering benefits. The big, ulcerated tumor that you see in the picture is a mammary cancer (more precisely a ductal adenoma ), one of the biggest that our veterinary team has seen so far. The veterinary literature shows very well that the Thung Ngern getting ready for surgery incidence of this kind of pathologies can be dramatically reduced (almost eliminated) with neutering female dogs at a young age. Prevention is the key to avoid long, potentially difficult surgical removal of such masses.
Thung Ngern was, overall, lucky: our vets where able to operate her, close her up in a proper way, without excessive tension over her skin, and let her go home after a short recovery. Thung Ngern on the surgical table Thung Ngern and Dr Pim few hours after the surgery Ready to go home! Is with this picture in mind that I d like to end my report: Thung Ngern wagging her tail at the end of a busy, eclectic, but very positive month.