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May 08 Pages in PDF
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A matter of life and death with Graeme Smith, OAM, managing director of the Lost Dogs Home
A winter appeal Climate change or no climate change – it’s a safe bet that winter will come around at the same time of the year for quite a while yet. And there is also no doubt that it will be, for us and other animal shelters, the most challenging season of the year. A combination of adverse circumstances is responsible for this. Come winter, many people who have acquired pets for Christmas and have looked after them only in the summer months encounter problems they have never even thought about. For openers, winter is an untidy, messy season and animals coming into the house tend to drag a lot of its debris in with them. Also, the sun rises much later, and it’s no fun to get out of bed early and drag, in cold, drizzly semi-darkness, a reluctant dog to a nearby park whilst holding a leash in one hand and an umbrella in the other. Neither is it much fun at the other end when evenings are shorter, cooler and darker.
Animals are hungrier too
during the winter months, and the summer feeding budget won’t be
adequate enough for them. This is also the time when visits to the vet
are called for as animal succumb to winter ailments. And I have yet to
meet anyone who enjoys paying vet bills. Annual Winter Appeal Animals brought to us are more likely to need medical attention either because owners have not looked after them properly, or because they have been injured after straying from home. With more animals are out there needing to be rescued, and fewer people who want to take on a new pet, the demands on our resources at this time of year are consequently enormous. That’s why the Lost Dogs Home makes its major yearly appeal to its members and supporters round about now. Fleet upgrade But beyond helping us respond to these common enough problems that will remain with us for ever, we’re also aiming to have the funds to upgrade our fleet to take our rescue service well into the future. Our current ambulances are not easy to drive. They are also not designed to cover the many kilometers that we need to travel. They lack most up-to-date features needed to do the best job possible (such as a GPS system on every vehicle. And, more importantly, they are not designed to do animal work. There are vehicles which are now available that are designed and built to make it easier and safer for rescuers to locate, load and unload sick, injured, and traumatised animals. These newer and smaller vans we have in mind will be more efficient. And they’re powered by small diesel engines, they’ll be more economical to run and will emit lower carbon emissions. I feel, personally, that the Home should provide vehicles that are much easier than they are at present to drive, park, load, and unload in difficult situations. And by doing so, we’d be telling our dedicated staff that we know that animal rescue work- day after day, week after week, month after month- is stressful and often dangerous. It’s the least we can do for them – and the animals that they rescue. |
by Dr Graeme Smith
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