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Last year during my SPVS Presidency I was invited to spend a week with the Mission Rabies team in Malawi, to see how the vaccination and neutering drives work.  It was an amazing week and fantastic to see how much of a difference Mission Rabies makes to the welfare of both animals and people by protecting the animals (mostly dogs and cats) against rabies by vaccinating them.  For me, as a vet, it was great to see how 'doing the basics well' had such a positive impact.  It was inspiring!

Over 99% of cases of human rabies are caused by an infected dog bite. Once symptoms of the disease develop, it is always fatal.  Every year, millions of healthy dogs are inhumanely killed for fear of this deadly disease. However, this doesn't halt the spread of rabies, which
causes the deaths of around 61,000 people a year – the majority of which are children under 15.

Rabies is a terrible disease but it is completely preventable and
vaccinating dogs against rabies has been proven to stop the spread of
the disease to people and saves the lives of humans and dogs.

In October I'll be leaving behind my 'cosy' Hertfordshire veterinary practice in exchange for 2 weeks of long days walking (and sometimes running I expect!) through the streets and countryside of beautiful Goa with other volunteers and talented dog catchers to vaccinate as many dogs as we possibly can and by so doing, improve the lives of them and the people in the area.

I'm really excited to be doing this - I'm covering all the costs of the trip myself and using my holiday to take the time away from work (though I suspect I may need another holiday afterwards!).  My veterinary surgery, Mimram Veterinary Centre, will be donating some supplies to help towards the project and I'm hoping to raise another £500 to support the work of Mission Rabies.

I'd be extremely grateful for any sponsorship and I know that Mission Rabies and the dogs and people they help will thank you too.

For more information about the work of Mission Rabies see:  www.missionrabies.com

Thank you!  Steph

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