By Skye Turner – BVSc 2004

Over a year ago I was working as a veterinarian in a mixed dairy practice in rural Victoria. All I knew about Samoa was that it was a little country somewhere in the South Pacific and Samoans played rugby. But after chancing upon an advert for volunteers in one veterinary journal and a feature on a vet who had volunteered in Samoa for 2 years in another veterinary journal, I became intrigued. That intrigue led me to find myself on a plane to Samoa a couple of months later.

I began a 6 week stint as a volunteer with the Animal Protection Society (APS) of Samoa a couple of days later.  From my background research, I knew that the APS provided the only companion animal veterinary care to the entire population of Samoa (approximately 180 000), which is spread over 2 main islands and several smaller ones. I also knew that Samoa had a huge problem with stray and feral dogs, with most people keeping dogs not for companionship but instead to guard their property.

The APS was founded by New Zealander, Joan Welch, in 1994. She was concerned at the lack of veterinary care available for dogs and cats in Samoa, and was equally concerned with the feral dog problem. After initially being run largely by palagi (white people), 13 years later, the APS has evolved into a semi-sustainable non-governmental organisation – staffed by Samoans,

but still reliant on international aid and overseas

volunteer vets. Their main objectives are to:

• Decrease the stray dog population through a desexing program, with euthanasia being the very last resort

• Provide community education on animal welfare and responsible dog ownership

• Provide a professional low-cost, affordable veterinary service to the dogs and cats of Samoa,

• and lobby the Samoan Government to enforce their animal welfare and dog control laws.

As my 6 week stint with the APS was drawing to a close, I felt a sense of hopelessness, and knew that if I was to have any real impact here in Samoa, I would have to stay much longer than 6 weeks! With the relatively small ex-pat community in Samoa, I managed to meet half the palagi in Samoa in my 6 weeks. One of these ex-pats was Karin Moore, who happened to be the in-country manager for the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development (AYAD) program. After a quick talk with Karin, I was on my way to becoming an AYAD volunteer, and after a fairly lengthy application process, found myself back at the APS in Samoa in September 2007.

Most of my working days are spent at our tiny little clinic on the outskirts of Apia, the capital. The workload is very variable, but our skills are most commonly called on for desexing operations, vaccinations, sick and malnourished puppies, dog attacks, motor vehicle accidents and other malicious attacks on dogs (machete wounds and poisoning with weed killer are all too common).

We also regularly undertake house calls around the Apia area for people without transport, and about once a month we will travel to remote village areas and carry out desexing clinics. Fees charged at the clinic are minimal – all drugs are charged at or below cost and our most expensive operation, a dog spey, costs just $40WST (equivalent to less than $20AUD). However, to put things in perspective, the minimum wage in Samoa is around $1.50AUD/hour, so $40WST may actually be a quarter to half of an average Samoan’s weekly wage.

My clinic itself is well equipped to carry out basic operations, but with diagnostic facilities such as radiology and laboratory testing either unavailable or unaffordable, you quickly learn how to make compromises and think outside the box. Living in a developing country, you also have to learn to cope without things that you would take for granted in Australia. It is only in the last couple of weeks that my clinic could afford to get a tank to ensure regular running water (we would often go for a week at a time without water), and as a result, we can now finally use our washing machine instead of washing all our drapes, blankets and towels by hand.

I love my work here and the people I work with so much, that I am looking into transferring to a longer-term volunteer position once, my 12 month AYAD contract expires in September 2008. If I ever get back to Australia, you are more likely to find me in an animal shelter somewhere than in another dairy practice!

For more information on the Animal Protection Society of Samoa visit www.apssamoa.org

For more information on becoming an Australian volunteer visit www.ayad.com.au or www.vidavolunteers.com.au

Photo:  Me operating

Contact: Andrea Jones

Phone: 8344 7844

By Pamela White - BVSc 1984

Pamela White is currently employed as a project director, and coordinator of the Environment and Rural Development Group at FCG International Ltd, based in Finland. We caught up with her recently to find out a bit more about her exciting career and life in Finland.

“I’m afraid I’m a great disappointment to Professor Blood, having veered away from the straight and narrow of veterinary work! On leaving veterinary school my main career goal was to be a ‘gun equine surgeon’, but I scarcely touch a horse these days. I do still use my veterinary training to some extent, and it was important as a route for me to get into the career I’m in today.

“I’m currently employed by a private company specialising in international development projects (or to put it more crudely, aid work), with financing from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, the European Commission, and the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank. We work in a wide variety of areas, including rural development, environmental management, water and sanitation, forestry, education, health, IT, small and medium enterprise development, and social sectors.

“A typical day varies a lot, depending on what country I’m in. In Helsinki I work on project management, mainly administrative issues, dealing with advisers working in the field in developing countries and the clients – both the financiers and the local governments. My other main task in Helsinki is to work on tenders, to try to win more assignments. This part of the work is stressful as you inevitably lose more than you win. On the other hand it stretches your intellect, I have written tenders on subjects as varied as human blood transfusion, sustainable forest management and Information Technology management.

“The other part of my work involves carrying out assignments myself, be they desk studies in Helsinki or fieldwork in developing countries. This is perhaps the most stressful but also the most rewarding part of the job, as I’m learning all the time. I also travel to support projects that are underway.

“Some of the fieldwork I do might involve animal health issues. For instance in a dairy cattle project in Kenya, I was training veterinary assistants and developing an animal health extension manual. In other cases I have been evaluating projects, for instance a sexual and reproductive health project for women in Nicaragua; or collecting and disseminating the stories of farmers supported by our rural development program in Vietnam; and working to establish a participatory monitoring and evaluation system with herders and rural dwellers in Mongolia (and drinking lots of fermented mare’s milk!).

“There are many aspects of the job that I love, particularly leaving Helsinki in late November, in the dark and sleet, to travel to the Solomon Islands and travel around in a small boat visiting project sites on tropical islands.

“However what is really rewarding is that I feel I am ‘doing good’ and helping people develop their own lives and expand their opportunities. I also enjoy the fact that my job is so varied, I do something different almost every day and am constantly challenged. I have been able to travel a lot and to get to know many different cultures. I don’t get to see many tourist sites, but I get a unique perspective to local lives.”

Contact: Andrea Jones

Phone: 8344 7844

Karen Viggers, who graduated with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science degree in 1987, has combined her life-long passion for words and love of animals to create an intriguing debut novel about a whale stranding that occurs near a small coastal village in New South Wales (NSW).

‘The Stranding’ is a poignant anatomy of loss, the deaths of two contemporary innocents, an infant and a whale. It is a memorable story of broken hearts trying to mend, of personal discovery and recovery.

The inspiration for the author’s first novel came to her whilst staying in a house overlooking the NSW South Coast. “Every time I looked out the window there were whales,” she said. “They were rolling and slapping their flippers. It was such an uplifting experience that it made me wonder what effect the whales would have on an individual, if they were at a really low point in their life.”

After graduating from the University of Melbourne, Karen developed an interest in native wildlife. Her PhD focused on wildlife health, and she even went to Antarctica to pursue her love in this arena. “As a wildlife veterinarian I was often faced with the ethics of whether things should live or die,” said Viggers. “The climax of the novel comes when the male lead discovers a stranded whale on a remote section of a beach. I thought this stranding scene was an interesting way to get people to think about different sides of the argument, and whether it’s always the right thing to try to save an animal.”

This isn’t the first time author’s initial attempt at writing, the seeds were sown at the tender age of eight when she won her very first writing prize. By the age of ten she had written her very first play about convicts, which was performed at her school. Her passion and determination to write are demonstrated by the fact that she completed ‘The Stranding’ in just under two-and-a-half years, whilst juggling family responsibilities, she’s married with two young children, and working part-time in a veterinary practice in Canberra.

Published by Allen & Unwin, the book is now widely available at most major book stores in the country. It is available in paperback and can be purchased at a price of $32.95.

Contact: Andrea Jones

Phone: 8344 7844

By Dr Beth McGennisken – BVSc 1997

Project Manager, S.A.R.A.H. (Sikkim Anti Rabies & Animal Health) Programme, Gangtok, India

Vets Beyond Borders (VBB), previously known as Vetcharity, is an Australian-based, not-forprofit organisation established by veterinary volunteers in 2003. VBB coordinates and runs veterinary based animal welfare and public health programs in developing communities of the Asia and Pacific region.

VBB works with local governments and organisations to establish effective veterinary programmes. Clinical training is provided to indigenous veterinary personnel so that long term sustainability is ensured. Volunteer veterinarians and nurses work alongside local staff and help to develop their skills.

VBB currently has two projects in India requiring experienced veterinary volunteers: The Sikkim Anti-Rabies and Animal Health (SARAH) Programme, and the Ladakh Street Dog Project.

The Sikkim Anti-Rabies and Animal Health (SARAH) Programme is located in Gangtok (Sikkim) in the Himalaya region of north east India. VBB in collaboration with the Sikkimese state government is conducting a state wideanimal birth control and anti-rabies project.

To date, more than 11,000 dogs have been sterilised and more than 20,000 rabies vaccinations administered.  Volunteers are assured of a memorable and rewarding experience working with local staff in remote regions of Sikkim. This is a unique opportunity to experience Sikkimese culture and hospitality. For further information please contact program manager - beth.mcgennisken@vetsbeyondborders.org

The Ladakh Street Dog Project is located at Leh (Ladakh) in the north west of India. This is a high altitude region of incredible beauty nestled between the Karrokoram range in the north and the Himalayan range to the south.  The area is very popular with international trekking and mountaineering enthusiasts. VBB works with local animal shelter ‘Ladakh Animal Care Society’ to provide veterinary volunteers for the animal birth control project.

This project runs through the summer months from June to September. In two summers more than 1,500 dogs have been sterilised and this has helped to significantly reduce the population of stray dogs in the area. For further information please contact project coordinator - jperry@vetsbeyondborders.org

Further information about Vets Beyond Borders can be found on the website at www.vetsbeyondborders.org.  Please consider becoming a member or volunteering to assist these important projects.

Contact: Andrea Jones

Phone: 8344 7844

The Melbourne University Veterinary Society (MUVS) is an alumni society for each and every graduate from the Veterinary School. Vetnews, our official newsletter, provides an ideal way of communicating information to you about the activities of your fellow graduates and the Veterinary School.

To assist in keeping you in touch, we have set up class secretaries from each graduating year. The role of the class secretaries is to act as a contact person between MUVS and the year graduates, to gather information of interest from you and to actively promote reunions.

Recently a very successful meeting of class secretaries was held. The strength of year groups was particularly highlighted. The minutes of this meeting have/are being sent to you.  I urge all of you to become an active part of your MUVS community.

Dr Peter Cullen

BVSc Melb 1970

President MUVS

Contact: Andrea Jones

Phone: 8344 7844