Client expectations soared and clients were stressed and not in control, and we tried to follow government guidelines and those set out by our governing body the Royal College.
More people than ever got pets and we became busier than ever but not every client was kind and the job became more of a battle and morale and mental health was dropping.
For a long time Mochdre Vets has supported charities and been proactive in supporting organisations. We have wanted to give back more and doing volunteer work has been something the team wanted to persue.
Veterinary practices are a place of healing, support, and second chances. Run by vets, nurses, and people who are passionate about animal welfare, they help ease the suffering of animals and give many a brighter future.
But, in some parts of the world, veterinary supplies are limited, expert training is lacking, and clinics are ill-equipped. Unable to provide animals with the treatment and care they so desperately need, many animals suffer unnecessarily.
Worldwide Veterinary Service provides free expert care to animals in need all over the world. We do this by sending vets where they are needed most, training them to increase the standard of care globally and by shipping urgent aid supplies worldwide, every week of the year.
Mission Rabies
Rabies kills at least one child every nine minutes. It’s an agonising death and there is no treatment once a person shows symptoms of the disease. If you get bitten by a rabid dog (the cause of 99% of all rabies in humans), the only chance you have is to get to a hospital and receive a course of post exposure vaccinations – which is fine as long as the hospital has them and if you can afford them. Tragically, in the places where rabies is most prevalent, access to treatment is difficult and prohibitively expensive.
The way to eliminate the disease is by vaccinating the dog populations that carry it. Protect the dogs, protect the people – and it is mainly children that get bitten as they are the ones who come into contact with roaming dogs most.
Killing dogs doesn’t work – it just creates a vacuum for more dogs to move into an area – but vaccinating the ones there is the way to establish a herd immunity and this technique works! Mission Rabies vaccinated over 35,000 street dogs in Blantyre, Malawi last year (and the year before). Blantyre hospital annually reported the highest incidence of child rabies deaths from any single institution in the whole of Africa in 2012. This is why we targeted the city. This year it hasn’t recorded a single child rabies death.
So let’s do this properly – let’s eliminate rabies from one of the poorest countries of the world, let’s protect hundreds of thousands of dogs and people, let’s establish a blueprint for how this disease can be beaten in sub Saharan Africa on a national scale and let’s do it in the next five years. MSD Animal Health are donating the vaccines, Dogs Trust are supporting 3 states, Mission Rabies are totally fired to make this happen – we just need a bit of cash and a few thousand volunteers!!! and here we were!
Illovo Sugar Plantation
The illovo sugar estate states on their website that they employ 11800 staff of which many of them would have cats and dogs but there is no local veterinary services.In fact the nearest veterinary practice was three hours drive away and as most of the employees got around by bike or on foot accessing veterinary treatment would not be possible for many people living at the Illovo estate.
I think Mochdre vets is very well equipped and we offer a high level of care to our patients. In Malawi however we were given a gazebo and we just had to set up as a field station. We had none of the usual fancy gadgets and monitors we had to rely on ourselves to be vigilant and trust that the owners could hold their pets while we injected them. Most of the people bringing the pets were children. In the UK they wouldn’t be allowed to sign the consent form if they were under 18 but on occasions we had people that couldn’t read or write and we relied on just a finger print! We worked with some of the locals that had good English and they helped translate, Jo was responsible for registering them and weighing them.
Blantyre SPCA
Aaron and Verson
As well as the out reach project we were involved with Malawian vet students and participated in helping them and sharing stuff we knew.They were all very interested in pain management and we had dogs at the clinic that we were able to perform acupuncture on and share our experiences. The staff at the Blantyre SPCA were so helpful and welcoming to us and they really seemed to want to ask questions and learn from us.
Our experience
Hannah
Hannah final year student nurse ….
From my adventure to Malawi there were two key memories which will stick out for me, one being Majete wildlife reserve and the other being the outreach project at the sugar cane plantation.
Majete started of with lavender hot towel and a fruity drink on arrival. We were then introduce to the lovely manager who promptly organised our bags to be taken to our rooms and a table set for lunch, it was a real luxury! We went on four game drives, two early rises and two sundowners.
The game drives were truly magical where we got to see: impala, waterbucks, baboons, vultures, giraffes, zebra, lions and not to forget the elephants! The elephants frequently visited the watering hole which was only 5 meters away from the lunch table.
The outreach project was people who did not have the means to pay for sterilisation and rabies vaccinations. Setting up for surgery out in the middle of a sugarcane plantation was interesting to say the least, but we made it work. After the first couple of surgeries the team really pulled together to make a flowing system. During this outreach, I have learnt how to be a nurse using the bare minimum supplies and staff. Putting IV catheters in without any assistance from another nurses to raise the vein and restrain became easy. And monitoring multiple animals under anaesthetic all at once became the normal. At the end of the outreach project, all 88 animals seen for surgery went home neuter, preventing unwanted pregnancies and stopping the spread of TVT (transmittable venereal tumour) which are spread through sexual interactions of dogs.
The adventure to malawi was truly life changing and has hopefully made me grow into a more confident nurse. Seeing what difference we can make to people who need our help has really gives me confidence to want to pursue more volunteering campaigns in the future.
Amy
Working as part of a team and being able to learn new skills and implement them in a very different environment felt amazing and gave me such a confidence boost.
Jo
Head receptionist Joanne said;- When I heard about our trip to Malawi I had mixed emotions .A mixture of excitement and also doing something out of my comfort zone. When we arrived my nerves subsidied and I felt instantly relaxed.The Malawians were so friendly and I soon realised why Malawi is known as the heart of Africa. The team at the BSPCA was so welcoming and the animals under their care so well looked after.
One of the highlights of my trip was getting involved with the outreach project at the sugar plantation. The project was neutering the village dogs which was a huge success.All in all this trip has made me realise how lucky we are with what we have.Some of the children and families have very little but it doesn’t stop them from being happy, smiling and welcoming.
Louise
Receptionist Louise My Malawi experience Volunteering in Blantyre Malawi with BSPCA : With zero medical skills but plenty of enthusiasm I traveled for a trip with team 2 that will stay with me for the rest of my life . The people of Malawi showed me how warm , proud and so very thankful they are . Not for any goods or payment just for our presence and our care . I was overwhelmed with their sheer joy everyday for our company. The commitment to caring at the practice and on outreach For animals and how they fight for each life . Mission Rabies brought me huge fulfillment with children cheering, running after the vehicles and filled with huge smiles bringing out their dogs and cats to be vaccinated.
To try and write a full story of our time would take pages and pages . This is a short paragraph , a taste of what we all encountered. Long may we hold onto the joy of what we achieved with Mochdre Vets.
Louise also talked about Mission Rabies
Many adults and children are still dying from rabies In Malawi and the surrounding villages .
Mission Rabies is a charity initiative set up worldwide to try to eliminate dog bite transmitted rabies.
They need a minimum of 70% of cats and dogs to be vaccinated to help stop rabies as a killer.
I was fortunate enough to be asked to do two days outreach with the mission rabies team alongside other volunteers and it will stay with me for the rest of my life.
We set off early in the morning armed with a bag full of vaccinations and big red “ bingo style dobber” for marking the newly vaccinated animals.
A very loud megaphone to alert all the villages to bring out their animals to us and off we went.
We traveled many miles through terrain that I was amazed we actually got through!
Once the cars couldn’t go any further, we set out on foot over land. The obstacles for me anyway were entertaining to say the least, at one point going over small bridges and water ways over big obstacles for a long way and sometimes just for one animal.
All adding to the numbers needed.
My memory of the children is what made me a little emotional at times, as waving at a few children made dozens and dozens more appear and then would all chase the cars, running alongside waving cheering and the smiles were huge.
We managed 84 vaccinations one day a big total given how far apart each animal was.
The cats came out in bags which at first was alarming but then quickly realised how easier and less stressful for all . Cats didn’t seem to mind either! The tree method was also a winner, hold the cat against a tree, it will naturally hang on, vaccinate it and go to the next one ??
The feeling of accomplishment was always present and has stayed with me since. Even with no medical skills you can make a difference, common sense and enthusiasm can get you far.
I met so many people, all humble and grateful just for us being there to help.
The education is always present on handling, caring and the facts on rabies.
Everyone’s documented and certificates were proudly given .
The fact that I had the opportunity to even join the group from Mochdre Vets still amazes me but I’m proud to have been able to do a very small part .
Melody
Thursday came around and Nicola and I had a very bumpy (literally) ride around Blantyre to treat the TVT dogs with chemo injections.
Friday we were off to Majete, where we had 3 amazing game drives and even saw elephants about 30 meters away at our campsite watering hole.
The following week I enjoyed a few rewarding (but very tiring) days of mission rabies. Where a total of 91 dogs and cats (in bags) were vaccinated against rabies.
Finishing off our last night with a wonderful sounds of Malawi concert where we had 3 different artists and lots of dancing. Malawi had both ups and downs of the water and electricity shutting off randomly, but also the pleasure of working with a terrified puppy who went from hiding in a corner, to climbing into my lap.
Overall an unforgettable experience. Thank you to BSPCA and especially Sarah for making my dreams come true.
Nicola
Nurse Nicola Without a doubt, my highlight from Malawi was Majete Wildlife Reserve. We saw 3 of the Big 5 (lion, elephant and buffalo) as well as giraffe, hippos and zebra. We stayed in tree houses where we felt really close to the wildlife, even finding leopard tracks under our hut the next morning.
Another highlight for me was taking part in Mission Rabies, going out to the local villages with a small team to vaccinate as many cats and dogs as we could; in one day we vaccinated 71. It was amazing to see how the other half live in these small isolated villages.
The people were lovely and so grateful to us for helping the village dogs. It was rewarding as we weren’t only just preventing Rabies in cats and dogs but also humans as well. We also visited the villages treating dogs with TVT (transmissible venereal tumours), neutering and giving vincristine injections weekly. It was amazing and so rewarding to see the tumours shrink from the size of melons to barely visible at all. I learnt some new things such as how to give and monitor injectable anaesthesia rather than the usual gas anaesthetic which was quite daunting. I learnt about Rabies and how to deal with cases (I didn’t realise Rabies had a 100% fatality rate). I also learnt about the treatment of wild animals such as darting lions, tracking wild dogs and pangolins (although unfortunately it was only cats and dogs I got hands on with!)
Chloe
Hello,
First of all I would like to say thank you very much for giving us the amazing opportunity to be able to volunteer with the BSPCA in Malawi. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I will be forever grateful for and that has helped me gain a different perspective of the veterinary world outside of the UK and helped me further my veterinary knowledge which I shall use throughout my veterinary career. I thoroughly enjoyed working alongside the staff and clients of the BSPCA they contributed greatly to my great experience in Malawi.
I loved the amazing experience of the safari in Majete and being able to see many wild animals in their natural habitat.
I cannot say thank you enough for the amazing experience I had in Malawi, I still can’t believe I was able to take part in such a great opportunity.
Chloe x
Ella
The next day we decided to head over to Majete. It ended up creeping up to 36 degrees which was crazy to us as we’re so used to the wet welsh weather!! On our first game drive we spotted a beautiful male elephant which got us quite emotional. He was very tranquil which our tour guide informed us can be quite unusual. We saw a range of other stunning animals such as all the different types of antelopes like the Nyala. Our tour guide was teaching us the difference between them all by their markings + the quantities of their packs and he quizzed us regularly 🙂
We then cooled ourselves off by the pool with some lunch for a few hours before heading on our second drive for the sunset. We again saw some elephants but this time we saw a family with their calf. The male became quite protective of the calf therefore we had to move on quite quickly before they became unsettled or upset. Our guide was telling us the story of Majete’s reserve and how he hopes it will persevere and that they will get to include more animals in the near future.
On our way back as the sky got darker we were alerted of some Lions near by , and our guide was driving very quickly in the dark to try and find them for us, it was a lot of fun but we did come home with a fair few bruises!
We stayed the night in Majete in the lodges , but we did not get much sleep as we later learned the Lions decided to come to us after we failed to find them!
The next day was our introduction day at the clinic. We got to meet all the volunteers and their inpatients. We were also given a presentation by Dagmar about Rabies and the BSPCA’s future goals in treating it. I learnt that Rabies is 100% fatal and despite having vaccinations we would still need post exposure vaccinations if bitten.
That afternoon the orphaned puppies became our responsibility for the rest of our time there. At first they were fed every 2 1/2 hours, but they eventually began to be fed every 4-5 hours. It was a great experience on how to hand rear puppies and we quickly got a routine down between us. We took turns during the night where two of us would do one night then the other two the next, we were very tired but seeing the puppies grow + improve made it very worth while.
We also gifted Verson and Aaron with their stethoscopes which they were beyond happy with. They couldn’t believe it was theirs and that they were also personalised. It was emotional and made us so happy how something small can mean so much to them, after all their hard work they deserved it 🙂
On Wednesday I volunteered myself to go on the TVT rounds with Courtnie, Aaron and George. I had no knowledge of TVT therefore it was a very interesting day! I was primarily in charge of documenting all the information onto their app, such as if their tumours had improved + dates of the treatments etc. I did also get to assist in restraining the dogs and even preparing some of the medication in between. I feel like this experience has given me more confidence in handling / restraining dogs as most of them were a bit wild and would not easily sit as we’re used to !
As a bonus I got to experience more of Blantyre as every patient was quite a distance from each other, all the people were so kind and welcoming and the views were breathtaking.
Thursday morning we were up bright and early to do the morning round at the clinic. We assisted in giving the animals their medication, change their bedding and giving them fresh food. We also were socialising many nervous dogs and encouraging two amputee dogs to try and get mobile again post surgery.
After the round was done Auguste and I did two surgeries together, a dog castrate and a bitch spey. I am fairly confident with monitoring under anesthetic therefore I was very keen to help. I was very surprised to learn how they manage their anaesthetics with an injectible ‘top up’. I had to be extremely observant and at any sign of the dog being light I had to administer 0.5-1ml of the ‘top up’. It was stressful at first but I did find it very fascinating as well. It was not only great to further my experience with anaesthetics but it was incredible to watch my colleagues gain confidence with surgeries and monitoring as well.
Lydia also taught me how to place IV catheters. After a few attempts I was successful and felt very proud of myself! I did try with the next surgery as well but unfortunately blew the leg!! Practice makes perfect 🙂 Courtnie, Mark and Lydia invited us out for dinner which was nice as we got to know them better and to learn more about the BSPCA – we also had a laugh eating in the dark due to the power going out.
Thursday afternoon we went over to Game Haven to experience another drive but this time focusing on Prey animals. I had never seen a Zebra so close before and I was taken back by how beautiful they were . We also managed to find their only Giraffe ‘Mrs G’ which was amazing as they stated she can be difficult to find.
Unfortunately we did seem to bring a part of home with us and it rained the entire time ! But we still had an amazing afternoon. We then made our way back to the puppies before packing our bags to sadly head home. On Friday morning we made our mark on the volunteers wall and took plenty of pictures to look back on with the other volunteers. We were extremely grateful for the incredible experience and they were grateful for our help and newly found friendships.
This trip was truly a dream come true for me. Experiencing the culture, people and animals was magical, and getting to further my skills in a variety of conditions really has helped my confidence and I believe they will be beneficial to my nursing in future. After this experience I am sure to volunteer again in the near future.
Claire
Firstly, I will never be able to thank Sarah enough for this amazing opportunity!
Malawi was beautiful, the staff and animals at the BSPCA were lovely to work alongside. In our country, we are used to gold standard veterinary care, experiencing veterinary care in a different country was definitely an eye opener for me, having to deal with patients with diseases such as rabies and commonly parvovirus was different to what I’m used to.
The work that the BSPCA do is wonderful, the mission rabies was a highlight for me, going to different villages and vaccinating the dogs against rabies was very rewarding.
Going to Majete and seeing all of the wildlife in their natural habitat made me quite emotional, especially the elephants, we were so close to a male elephant who had left his herd to go and find a mate, he was breathtaking!
We also visited Game Haven where we saw some beautiful Zebras – again, so beautiful and so close to us. Malawi was an amazing experience that I will never forget and will forever be grateful for. Thank you Sarah.
