A London vet nurse is jetting off to strife-torn Sri Lanka next month to work for an animal charity striving to care for the country’s three million street dogs.
Holly Brown, who is a surgical nurse at Linnaeus-owned London Vet Specialists (LVS) in Belsize Park, will be spending a month on the Indian Ocean Island working in an animal hospital for the UK-based WECare Worldwide Charity.
She said she was excited by the challenge and is looking forward to making a meaningful contribution to a cause she has supported for years.
Holly said: “I am taking a break from my work with LVS to volunteer abroad for WECare, a charity I have followed for years and watched grow.
“I will be assisting in the hospital as an emergency care nurse as they have a lot of emergency surgery cases.
“I will be triaging emergencies, performing lifesaving first aid, monitoring patients during procedures and post operatively.
“I’ll also be helping the in-patients and carrying out any other tasks in the hospital that need to be covered.
“It’s a well-run hospital and I feel I can really help make a real difference there with my experience at the Royal Veterinary College and at LVS.”
Dog lover Holly was attracted to the charity by its incredible dedication to helping Sri Lanka’s millions of street dogs.
She explained: “In Sri Lanka, it’s estimated there is one dog for every six people and a lot of them are street dogs that are in need.
“I am an avid dog lover and have two dogs myself, called Bella and Limmy, so feel this charity is a fantastic cause.
“A colleague of mine also works there from time to time and always has positive things to say.
“I like that they have a lot of projects going on, such as vaccinating against rabies and neutering clinics plus an emergency hospital and education programmes for the local community.
“I also love the charity dreams big as well, with their hospital and staff growing all the time. They are the only veterinary hospital on the island but aim to one day be covering the whole of the island.
“I have only done part time charity work before, for the RSPCA as a dog walker, but I’m looking forward to getting out of my comfort zone, and really helping the vulnerable animals and the charity team as much as possible.”
WECare was set up by UK vet Dr Janey Lowes in 2014 when she saw the plight of the street dogs while on holiday in Sri Lanka.
Realising the dogs had no access to high standard veterinary care, she decided she couldn’t turn her back on them.
So, Janey moved her life to the island to live her calling and since 2014, WECare has grown from a one-woman-band to a dedicated team of 30 individuals, working together to help, treat and educate.
The charity has a core team of permanent staff but admits it wouldn’t be able to run without amazing volunteers like Holly.
Holly is flying out on August 2 and returning on September 3 and is urging anyone who wants to support WECarer to visit the charity’s website and donate via its dedicated page.
LVS is a multidisciplinary veterinary referral facility which offers expert care in anaesthesia and analgesia, critical care, cardiology, dermatology, diagnostic imaging, internal medicine, neurology, oncology, ophthalmology and surgery.
