Local vet reaches out to the poor

LOCAL vet Dr Mike Lowry and his team from the Heritage Veterinary Clinic are on a mission to spay animals in disadvantaged communities in the Highway area.

He founded the Mike Hardwich Foundation after realising there is a need for animals to be spayed or neutered in townships in and around the Highway area. He has sterilised more than 1 000 dogs in the last 18 months. Dr Mike, as he is affectionately known by his clients, said he was made aware of the need to sterilise animals in underprivileged areas when he came across figures that were of concern to him.

“Many of the welfare organisations in KwaZulu-Natal sterilise less than 100 animals per month. This means that the impact, in real terms, is minimal. In a trial lasting three months, my veterinary assistant and I managed the sterilisation of up to 20 animals per day. This was certainly sustainable, and the number could be increased if an additional veterinary surgeon was employed. The hospital was under no unmanageable pressure and the best procedures were followed.

“Every animal was sterilised using the same procedures used for any other operation and in accordance with parameters laid down by the South African Veterinary Council. In addition, the animals were all vaccinated and dewormed. Where mange was found, they were also treated for this with follow-up treatment. The animals were all transported to the hospital by my kennel manager, Eric Zungu, and returned in the evening. The cost to the pet owner was nothing, and no further visitations were necessary because all sutures used were dissolvable,” he said.

He said the costs to the practice were accurately measured and worked out at about one third of the going rate.

“It is very important to sterilise dogs and cats. Just to put it into perspective, an un-spayed bitch will have more or less six puppies twice a year for five years. That’s 60 puppies in five years. Of those 60 puppies, 30 will be female. That’s 30 bitches, that will again have 12 puppies a year for five years, being another 1 800 puppies in five years if they aren’t spayed,” he said.

To fund his dream of helping animals from disadvantaged communities, Dr Mike wrote three books; The Lion and the Lamb – Memoirs of a Vet, The Rhino and the Rat – Further Memoirs of a Vet and The Tiger and the Tortoise – Final Memoirs of a Vet, which are available for purchase at his practice, as well as at all major book outlets such as Bargain Books, Exclusive Books, Kindle and Amazon. At the launch of his third book, The Tiger and the Tortoise – Final Memoirs of a Vet, more than R70 000 was raised for his outreach project.

With Eric and his fundraiser and marketer, Melissa Schreiber, at hand, Dr Mike hopes to sterilise animals from local townships, even offering residents a small payment for collecting animals that need to be spayed. But he can’t continue the work he set out to do when he established his foundation without the necessary funds.

“We know we have the capacity and manpower to do the work, but we need the funds to do it. A donation of R4 000 will pay for 10 dogs to be spayed. That’s R400 compared to the R1 800 the average vet charges to have a pet spayed privately,” he said.

If you would like to make a donation, email melissa@mhfoundation.org.za or visit www.mhfoundation.org.za.

Donors will also receive a full record of the dogs that they help, such as the dog’s name, the owner’s signature and what treatment or procedure the dog had undergone.