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<\/a><\/p>\nArriving quite late on day 1 we just ate, which involved an uphill hike across a cornfield and then when that was finished and we went to bed that involved a downhill hike across the cornfield.\u00a0 By then end of our stay it provided quite a ritual as we got to befriend \u2018Crackling\u2019 the young large white pig.<\/p>\n
Day 2, Lawson and Karin left early for their 5 hour drive home despite having had to sleep in their car the previous night.\u00a0 Then all bar me walked to the neighbouring village to meet \u2018the chief \u2019( an 86 year old woman) … \u2018no not far\u2019.\u00a0 Because they all walk such extreme distances nothing is very far for them!\u00a0 The team all returning in the early afternoon a bit burnt and Toni was missing a sock.\u00a0 That afternoon Lekena, rang all his friends, 2 tables were set up and we started work.<\/p>\n
Neither the locals nor Lekena had ever seen a sterilisation or even a castrate,\u00a0 so they looked on in fear that their animals had been killed once we\u2019d given them their KTD (Ketamine, Butorphanol, Torbugesic) combination.\u00a0 Bearing in mind, a doctor only visits the villages once or twice a year, it became apparent within a short period of time that our Spay Sisters mission had to adapt it\u2019s focus.\u00a0 In previous years we have gone out with \u2018numbers\u2019 in mind ie\/ how many dogs and cats we could sterilise in order to help the overpopulation problem.\u00a0 Here in Lesotho our role had to change, there wasn\u2019t a stray overpopulation problem, they themselves were killing the extra puppies or kittens if it became a problem.\u00a0 We had to show, explain (at least the best we could despite the language barrier) why we were doing what we were doing and encourage them to bring us their dogs. \u00a0 The average size of the adult dogs was 25-30kg\u2019s and a lot were greyhound crosses as they have racing in Maseru.\u00a0 They race dogs and horses in Lesotho and are an animal loving nation despite a few weird tribal ideas ie. Helena noticed that the dog she was operating on was bleeding from the mouth, after better inspection it turned out to be a huge gauge of membrane missing from beneath it\u2019s tongue with a very sheepish looking owner standing beside it!.\u00a0 Lekena explained using the big pin from their blankets they slice beneath the dogs tongue to rid of the \u2018tongue worm\u2019 and then the dog will get fatter.<\/p>\n Another weird idea that we encountered happened on day 3.\u00a0 A girl arrived with a rice bag and said \u2018cat operation\u2019 so we got into the car, windows closed despite the 30 degree heat and opened the bag to find 2 male cats ( 1 had a retained testicle \u2013 thankfully it was inguinal) with clipped ears.\u00a0 As ear clipping is a universally known method for identifying neutered stray cats from a distance, we wondered whether they had had another vet in the area.<\/p>\n \u2018No No you are first vets in Lesotho for dogs and cats\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018No No we cut ears ourselves, it makes cats stay at the home and be friendly\u2019…<\/p>\n Trying to get them to understand that the staying at home and being friendly was due to the neutering was difficult so the 3\/11 cats neutered who still had their ears, we left them in the hope that they will correlate the operation with the behaviour change and not the ears!<\/p>\n A month or so before our trip, Bev Seabourne had written to us asking whether we did horses! As Spay Sisters is definitely in for a penny in for a pound, we had agreed explaining that she had to provide the drugs and emasculators.\u00a0 Solly and Samson were employed by Highveld Horse Care Unit and arrived in a nice 4 x 4 on the second evening with enough sedatives for 10 standing castrates.\u00a0 A huge thank-you\u00a0 goes to those 2 men, because not only did they ferry us about, they also translated, held dangerous dogs, provided us with Shoofly and acted as body guards!<\/p>\n So Lekena would ring neighbouring villages (nothing was near!) we would all set off and then on arrival set up a mixture of tables and bags then wait and dogs, bags of cats, horses sometimes a sheep\u00a0 or a donkey would turn up and we would vaccinate, plus or minus operate and \u2018the boys\u2019 would shoe, treat wounds and plus or minus castrate.<\/p>\n After the first standing horse castrate as Solly\u2019s emasculators didn\u2019t even have a ratchet mechanism it became obvious that I was going to have to teach him to castrate horses.\u00a0 He had done a lot of RSPCA work in SA and was familiar with needles and injecting etc… As the nurses had no large animal practice either they also got taught i\/v\u2019s i\/m\u2019s and s\/c\u2019s in horses.<\/p>\n Solly and Samson left us on day 7 to return to SA. On the day he left Solly castrated 2 horses entirely on his own, only with Samson\u2019s help and everything was written down in detail.\u00a0 1. Check the horse has two testicles etc. They are now due to make a monthly trip to Lesotho and will now be able to offer, shoeing, treatment of sores and castration.\u00a0 It will therefore be being done to a much higher standard than any of the locals present methods.<\/p>\n Because we really were \u2018a novelty\u2019, white women in green t-shirts we spent a lot of time surrounded by school children.\u00a0 So Helena on numerous occasions stepped up the pace by launching into sing along songs, her repartee including Father Abraham, Head-Shoulders-Knees and Toes, Put your right leg in! Realising we had another market for our \u2018Spay sister\u2019 talents we went off to the local school were we taught the similarities between man and dogs and cats.\u00a0 Explaining if you throw a stone at a man it will hurt and if you throw a stone at a dog it will hurt too!<\/p>\n The school choir then got together and sang for us.\u00a0 It was a very moving experience.\u00a0 The country of Lesotho has the 3rd<\/sup> greatest number of Aids\/capita and hence there are quite a few orphans.\u00a0 They aren\u2019t distinguishable from the rest, all wearing layers of clothing despite the heat.\u00a0 In general the children looked ok and there were only a few with puffed up faces, which we took to be due to protein loosing enteropathies.\u00a0 Our aim now we are back is to send enough human wormers, vitamins and some books and pens back to the school.<\/p>\n By our last day we had achieved our aim, word had spread,\u2019 we were good\u2019!!\u00a0 The people were bringing their dogs and saying \u2018OPERATION\u2019 rather than at the beginning of the 9 days when they only said \u2018VACCINATION NO OPERATION\u2019.\u00a0 With a lot of fond farewells, the morning we left to return to SA, Lekena asked if we would come again and at this stage we don\u2019t know.\u00a0 There are definitely other places in the world with far greater overpopulation problems and there are areas were the local vets need encouragement and help to get operating themselves but despite the lack of amenities it was definitely a cleansing experience!! (and that is internal cleansing rather than external!)<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n