Trichy vet clinic and shelter
International Animal Rescue’s veterinary centre in Trichy was set up in 2005 by Dr Deike Schacht, a vet from Germany who moved there in 2002. The centre's aim is to control and care for the stray dog population with sterilisation and vaccination and to provide shelter and treatment for sick and injured dogs.
Deike and her team established a well-equipped clinic, including consultation, pre- and post op' facilities, and a small but practical surgical theatre. The centre can accommodate around 50 animals - most of them dogs. As well as regular kennels for street dogs and in-patient pets there are facilities for puppies and quarantined animals, all of them large, airy and easy to clean.
Deike's allrounder team catches the dogs and her two vets perform all surgeries. Fast recovery times mean the dogs can leave the kennels after three to five days and complications and infections are very rare. This means more than 100 animals can be treated per month - a significant number for a small clinic. More than 5,000 dogs were sterilised and treated during the clinic’s first four years.
Outpatients and pet boarding
The outpatients clinic is popular and, as word spreads, more and more dogs are being brought in by their owners for treatment. In 2007 we also introduced the pet holiday boarding project which is very popular with pets and pet owners. During the first year some 20 dogs were cared for under the scheme.
Adoption
Our puppy adoption scheme encourages visitors to adopt young dogs for which we provide free vaccination and sterilisation at the appropriate time.
Public awareness
Education is a vital part of animal welfare and we try hard to educate people about the behaviour, management and needs of animals. A survey we conducted in Trichy General Hospital about dog bites and the incidences of rabies showed that 80% of the dog bite cases were caused by pet dogs rather than by strays. In response to this we produced a leaflet sponsored by Samrakshana Animal Welfare Society Trichy showing the ways to avoid getting bitten by dogs.
In 2007 Deike returned to Germany and Dr Jothiraj took over the day to day running of the centre.
Politics have changed for the better since the centre was opened. With the help of two government orders the state of Tamil Nadu has obliged a large number of towns to conduct ABC-AR (Dog-Birth-Control and Anti-Rabies Vaccinations). Deike's team is authorised to conduct these operations and hired for a fee, so a large number of dogs in surrounding towns have been sterilised and vaccinated from her semi-mobile-unit.