Sunday, October 31, 2010

OCTOBER NEWSLETTER 2010

IN THIS ISSUE:
1. A visit from World Society for Protection of Animals - and a workshop in Trinidad where the representative of WSPA  was a featured Speaker.

2. Our Manager - attended a workshop in St. Maarten on Animal Welfare in Education and we hope to include this information into our School Programme.

3. Important story: This is a story of two dogs: one named Chelsea and one named Lassie.
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1. A visit from World Society for Protection of Animals - and a workshop in Trinidad where the representative of WSPA  was a featured Speaker.
 In October  Jennifer Azofefa, a  WSPA representative paid us a visit from their head office in Mexico.  We are an Associate of the World Society for the Protection of Animals.  She spent a day with us at the Shelter and held an informal Meeting with the Manager and Committee Members. 
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Vet, Paul Crooks, Jennifer, Clare, Manager,
Mary Chairperson and Lois Committee member

Some of our members  went to a workshop in Trinidad,  organised by the AWWGTT (Animal Working Group of Trinidad and Tobago, on the "Humane Dog Population Management" where Jennifer was one of the Featured speakers.   A lot of information was gleaned from that workshop which wehope will help us with the stray dog population in Tobago.
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2. Our Manager - attended a workshop in St. Maarten on Animal Welfare in Education and we hope to include this information into our School Programme.
In October, Our Manager, Ms. Clare Joseph, attended a workshop in St. Maarten on a Humane Education Programme.   We will incorporate her ideas into our on-going education Programme and continue to empower students to realise they can apply the concept of respect and kindness towards animals, in their own lives. Our main story would be Chelsea and Lassie the two dogs from Turtle Beach We are looking for assistance in getting them to their new owners in UK.
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3. Important story: This is a story of two dogs: one named Chelsea and one named Lassie.
This is a story of two dogs: one named Chelsea and one named Lassie.
Chelsea and her mother Princess lived on Turtle Beach.   They were favourites with tourists who visited the Beach.    In October 2009 they were picked up by the TSPCA in Tobago, at the request of tourists, who paid to have them spayed. I released them back on the same beach two weeks after their operation to live out the rest of their lives. All the vendors on the beach knew and loved them also..   Henry had made leather collars for them. 
A few months later the Manager of the nearby hotel asked me to pick up both dogs as they were becoming a nuisance barking all night.   We came to an agreement and I picked up Princess and left Chelsea.   Princess was adopted from our Shelter. Many tourists have come and gone and all have fallen in love with Chelsea. One visitor in particular named Lesli, who took the attached photos in April 2010.    She  kept in touch with Tobagonians who gave her information on Chelsea.


Check out how gentle Chelsea is with the Leatherback
 turtle as she returns to the sea after laying her eggs.

Now Lassie comes into the picture.   In early October 2010 another group of tourists fell in love with Lassie and collected money to have her spayed.   They met with the Manager of the Hotel who agreed to allow Lassie to return to the beach and become a companion to Chelsea.   So I picked her up and spayed her.

Lassie
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Subsequently  I met with the Manager, who informed me that he did'nt want any dogs on the beach and that included Chelsea. He said she was attacking the staff.   Chelsea had made herself familiar with the Hotel and went by the Pool and other areas and the staff were ordered to remove her so she resented them.   She is a gentle dog and had to have a reason to attack the staff.   I picked her up once again and she is now at the Shelter. Unfortunately, there is a tendency to poison dogs when they become a 'nuisense' and I was afraid that would happen to Chelsea.

So Chelsea and Lassie are both now at the Shelter.  
HOW CAN WE HAVE A HAPPY ENDING FOR THESE LOVEABLE DOGS!??!  

Lesli heard via FACEBOOK that Chelsea was gone from the beach and contacted me through our support address :  support@ttspca.com.

She would like to adopt Chelsea.   Chelsea will have to be micro chipped, given a rabies vaccine and tested for rabies in a Laboratory in the UK, kept in Tobago for six months, then she can be sent to the UK.   All these procedures cost money, the fare alone to the UK for a dog is approximately tt$16,000. 

If any visitor to Turtle Beach, Tobago, who would have met Chelsea and maybe Lassie wishes to make a donation to the address on our website we will use it to help Chelsea and Lassie go to England.   There is a possibility that the Tourist who told me about Lassie may adopt her.
We are keeping our fingers crossed.