In an initiative aimed at the welfare of Dehradun’s stray animals, local veterinarian Dr Mithila J Singhal is conducting a free canine first aid workshop in the city on Saturday. The workshop is open to anyone who wants to help stray animals but lacks training and knowledge of what to do in various common medical emergency situations. According to government estimates, Dehradun has about 30,000 stray dogs. These animals are completely dependent upon help from compassionate individuals and NGOs for their survival.
Talking to The Pioneer about Saturday’s workshop, Dr Singhal said, “I get many animal lovers who want to do their bit for strays but are unable to do so because of lack of knowledge. Vets are mostly not able to make field visits to respond to medical emergencies of strays because of their clinic commitments or government jobs. If animal lovers know the basics they can at least provide some relief to the distressed animal by consulting the vet over the phone. And in many cases timely and correct first- aid can be life-saving.”
Elaborating on what the workshop will cover, the vet informed, “The three-hour workshop will cover handling an emergency; pain, fracture and burns; basic bandaging; poisoning, heat stress and CPR, signs of shock and assessing the dog. Also, motor vehicle accidents, controlling bleeding, handling distressed animals, fight wounds and choking and communicating effectively with the vet.”
To attend the workshop one has to register by calling or sending a WhatsApp text on 6396772984. The location of the workshop will be EVA Vets clinic on Canal Road.
Sharing her observations about the situation of strays in Dehradun currently, she said, “In my personal opinion, the condition has improved since I arrived in Dehradun in 2012. There is almost a ten-fold increase in the number of individuals working for animal welfare in the city. From having only one shelter back then we now have around five shelters for stray animals run by various individuals, most of them being women. Sterilisation drives are being carried out regularly. However, we do need to work on the challenges too that include not having even one full time ambulance for strays and monitoring of NGOs and shelters.”
Friday, 19 February 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
