DNA Vetcare is on a mission to help improve the standard of veterinary care globally. Through supporting UK-based charity Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS), the group of veterinary surgeries based across London and Kent has raised over £14,000 in donations since 2019 and even sent Director Dane Walker to volunteer with the charity’s veterinary team in Thailand.
In most parts of the world, veterinary practices are places of healing, support, and second chances. However, due to a lack of veterinary training, supplies, and equipment, some are ill-equipped to provide the treatment needed, and because of that, many animals suffer in silence.
Through its Vet Practice Membership scheme, WVS recruits teams of passionate veterinary staff to assist with funding and running its animal welfare projects across Asia and Africa, to not only treat and care for animals in need but train local staff in surgical skills and ship critical supplies to NGOs to make a positive and sustainable impact.
Director for DNA Vetcare Dr Dane Walker volunteered his own time and expertise at the charity’s centre in Thailand in 2011 and has been supporting its operations in any way he can since. “During my visit, I witnessed first-hand the expert care the incredibly dedicated team provides despite the sometimes exceptionally challenging circumstances. I’ve stayed connected with the team since, discussing countless cases over the year, and through DNA Vetcare, offered ongoing support.”
Twelve practices within DNA Vetcare are currently members of WVS and actively host fundraising events and activities to support the charity’s work. Just recently, the team raised a further £7,000 through donations from clients to provide much-needed relief abroad whilst travel restrictions still delay the charity’s efforts to deploy expert volunteers to where they are needed most. In the past, the clinic raised funds through collection boxes in the clinic and sponsored swims by Director Dane Walker.
Founder and CEO of WVS Dr Luke Gamble says the support of DNA Vetcare and all its members, has helped his team deal with countless heart-breaking cases throughout the pandemic.
“With the support of DNA Vetcare, we opened a brand-new Critical Care Unit in Chiang Mai, Thailand mid pandemic to support the increasing number of dogs in need on the city streets. The extension has allowed us to triple the cases we can manage and treat more animals susceptible to deadly infections and parasites, road traffic accidents, mistreatment, as well as the debilitating effect of the pandemic, due to a lack of food, water, and care.”
Cola, a stray dog in Chiang Mai, is just one of the patients to receive a second chance at the facility. When he first arrived at the centre, he was given a guarded prognosis due to his extremely poor condition. Cola was suffering from severe hind limb paresis (partial paralysis) caused by nerve damage, which the team suspect was human inflicted. He also had multiple wounds on his back as well as sores from dragging his weak hind limbs. Due to the spinal lesions, he needed help urinating, as the innervation to the muscles of his bladder was affected. However, as Cola still had pain sensation in his hind limbs, there was hope for recovery, and after seven weeks of specialised treatment and care, Cola was walking and running pain-free on all fours and had caught the eye of a family eager to adopt him.
Readers can learn about the charity’s Vet Practice Membership programme, and how they can help animals in need all over the world, at https://wvs.org.uk/support-us/vet-practice-membership.