I know I always start off by saying the same thing (predictable to the last) - but I can't believe how long it is since I wrote my last blog from here. For those of you who have enquired as to my health and wellbeing as I've been out of touch for so long, what can I say but thanks and sorry. The past couple of months have gone by in a blur - trying to do 2 almost full time jobs has been almost as stressful as full time work in the UK! Not very Sri Lankan.......
Volunteers have come and gone, some have been easier to deal with than others but overall a lovely lot of people. Most keep in touch when they go and am currently being urged to join 2 youngsters in India 'for a bit of a laugh'!! Not sure whether time (or energy....) will allow. Anyway, here's a photo of the last group who were with me - it's groups like this that make it all worthwhile (by the way, Dogstar's Sam is next to me).
The other big demand on my time of course is work for Dogstar ..... and that never diminishes. Those of you who follow my blogs on http://www.dogstarfoundation.com/ will know most of our patients, but for those of you not familiar with our work day-to-day stuff revolves around treatment of skin complaints, vaccinations, wound treatment etc. We've just been asked to help with the dogs at another local Temple - I went out this morning with the vet and for around 4.50 sterling each (less than the cost of a good glass of wine in the UK!) we were able to treatment skin problems and vaccinate against rabies. Here's Midge, one of the temple dogs who was really in need of help. I'll be visiting her regularly to keep a check on progress.
The Temple is in a lovely location with beautiful views across the countryside......
Much of the Dogstar work is carried out in the rural villages which are always good to visit. It really gives an insight into the lives of local people - far from the cosmopolitan lifestyle of Colombo! Here's Dogstar 1 - our regular transport - and one of the villages I visited recently.
Towards the end of April, Dogstar worked with another large welfare group - Tsunami Animal People Alliance - and Embark, in a joint venture over 20 days just south of Colombo. During that time, around 500 dogs were sterilised and the Dogstar team treated 300 cases. Here's one of the surgical cases:
The effects of the tsunami are still evident in some places and it was a sobering thought when visiting the area to treat local animals.
Apart from work with the other groups, we had our own Dogstar clinic at Hiriwadunna Temple on 22 May. As always, this took a lot of planning but the outcome was worthwhile with 16 cases sterilised and a further 50 odd cases seen for vaccination.
The team are now operating on younger dogs - around 3.5/4 months of age - which is simpler than in older dogs, with a smaller incision and fast recovery. For the little boys, no external sutures are used - there's just a tiny incision which is closed with super glue (excellent for keeping our the dirt!).
Here's a lovely little pile of pups in recovery. These were 'left' at the temple and are now being checked regularly. Dogstar are also looking after their vaccinations and this coming Saturday they'll be vaccinated against distemper and parvo - still killer diseases here.
It's not all dogs and volunteers - the programme still involves a lot of work with the elephants. Sadly, one of our little males - Madhu - of 17 years has now gone back to his Temple in the hill country for the perahera season, but he'll be coming back with his mahout later this year. Here he is being loaded on the lorry to take him back home:
Madhu is very small compared to our magnificent tusker, Raja. Here he is enjoying his time in the river.
Finally (well, it has been a long time!) last week here was one of the main religious festivals of the year - Vesak Poya. I managed to get 2 days off to visit a friend's coconut estate - which was just the haven of tranquility I needed. During my brief stay, I was taken to see Dambadeniya Temple - a very old and important site - and climbed a local mountain with lovely views. At Vesak, paper lanterns adorn houses, temples and every possible structure where they can be fixed. Below is my friends lovely place:
Cooking here is still done in the traditional way on an open fire - something I've yet to try!
(P.S. The cat wasn't on the menu!!)
Cows are still milked by hand.....
Below are some images of the Temple at Dambadeniya and the surrounding views.
And here are some of the vesak lanterns - all made with a wooden frame covered with paper. Some of them must take ages to construct.
Well, that brings us right up to date! The big news from here later this week is the International Indian Film Awards being held in Colombo with all the Bollywood stars in attendance - just hoping one of my Colombo contacts can manage to get me an invite (some chance....).
I now have a volunteer-free month which is nice in some ways - means I can catch up watching some DVDs in the evenings. At least I hope to be able to keep in touch on a more regular basis.
Love to all.
Mo xx
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