(top) Dr. Park of West Foothill Animal Hospital donated over $4,000 in vet medical supplies to the Kathmandu Animal Treatment Centre through Hope Partnership Nepal.
(bottom) HPN Board President, Carmen Berry presents Dr. Park with a plaque of appreciation. This is just one of the successful efforts that occurred during our first Friendship Trek 2009 - June 18 through July 5, 2009. (right) Staff members grab their favorite dogs to pose behind the table of donated medical supplies.
The Kathmandu Animal Treatment Centre
A story of success
When Carmen and Carolyn first visited Nepal in 2004, one of the most distressing and evident sign of extreme poverty was the thousands of stray dogs that lived throughout the Kathmandu Valley. Dogs were wandering through piles of trash looking for food, huddling in doorways, many of them suffering horrible mange and other diseases or injuries. These sick and possibly infectious dogs lived in and around the homes of family, outside where children play. It was heartbreaking to see both the sick and dying animals as well as to recognize the potential health hazards to the community. Some 200 people die a terrible death from rabies every year in Nepal. At that time, it was estimated that 20,000 plus stray dogs lived within the city of Kathmandu, and 35,000 street dogs in the Kathmandu Valley.
Unbeknownst to Carmen and Carolyn, Jan Salter was across town establishing the Kathmandu Animal Treatment Centre. Jan based her plans on the model in Jaipur, India called ’Help in Suffering’ that had managed the difficult dog problem. Jan was convinced it was possible to create a dog friendly city in Kathmandu as well. The foundation was registered as non-profit, charitable animal welfare organization in June 2003 and formally opened on 9th May 2004.
KAT is dedicated to the humane management of street dogs in Kathmandu, Nepal. The Centre’s mission is to create within the Kathmandu Valley a dog friendly, rabies-free, non-breeding street dog population through an Animal Birth Control program. KAT uses humane and effective methods in treating dogs in order to create a city where cruelty is eliminated.
The plan is simple and very effective: Address a specific neighborhood by picking up stray female dogs and injured or sick dogs of both genders at the beginning of each week. The dogs receive whatever treatment is warranted and the female dogs are spayed. KAT staff members meet with people of the neighborhood to educate them in dog care, helping to lower the fear some Nepalese feel toward these animals, and encourage individuals to feed and care for the dogs upon their return to the streets.
Fast forward five years to 2009. Prior to our team’s arrival, Carmen and Carolyn did their best to prepare their team mates for the tragic site of street dogs. As we were driving from the airport to the hotel, someone asked, “So where are all the dogs?” To our amazement, there were only a few dogs in sight, all of which looked healthy and relatively well fed. While Jan assures us there remain portions of Kathmandu Valley still teeming with stray dogs, she and her team have been extremely successful in achieving their goal. In just five years there is a visible difference in the appearance, standard of living and disease control due to the efforts of KAT.
Check out what they're doing on their web site at Kathmandu Animal Treatment Centre. If you'd like to donate to KAT, go to our Contact Us page, give us your info and note in the message box that your donation is for KAT. We will wire your donation directly to KAT.
(left) KAT founder, Jan Salter, with KAT's mascot, Mango, a rescued street dog. (middle) Rod Burke, an HPN volunteer, plays with one of the residents of KAT. (right) KAT staff wash a dog suffering from with mange, an easily treatable but highly contageous condition. He will soon be feeling so much better!
Hope Partnership Nepal / 1003 Lakeview Terrace, Azusa, California 91702 / 626-616-9129
