Esther Honey Foundation
Esther Honey Foundation
Volunteer Veterinary Services
Volunteer Veterinary Services

EHF Home
About EHF
EHF Vet Clinic
EHF VET TREK
Volunteer Info
Support EHF
News & Articles
 
 The Esther Honey Foundation Animal Clinic

AMC Clinic sign
EHF's All Volunteer Staff Treats more than 2,785 Patients Annually

                                                
Clinic Services & Team Responsibilities
    surgery Aitutaki II-11                                                                 
             EHF Animal Clinic Monthly Report
     Veterinary & Community Education Services                        September/October 2011

 VETERINARY SERVICES

 - Clinic drugs, supplies & equipment: The US  team purchased,     solicited and organized transport for clinic drugs supplies & equipment
     valued at: $8,516.26 USD
 - Volunteers:
The US Home office recruited  veterinarians 15,
      vet nurses 1, vet students 7, Assistants 3, Administrator 2     
Total: 26
      Local volunteers:
Antoine, Poe Tiare, Asstarill Astarlii Mark & Tom

 - Number of Animals Treated: 496
(including 25 non-cat or dog)
 - Number of Animals Spayed/Neutered: 74
 - Number of Animals Rehomed: 50
 
- Number of meals served to sick, injured & homeless animals:  2,742

- EHF VET TREK® AITUTAKI II:
      
 32 animals Treated
GT
                                             
                                                 


               ►
EDUCATION SERVICES
:
   open day

     
 ► Saturday Market Tabling                                                                                                                                                      
      ► Created & Distributed 200
           "About EHF"  flyers.

     ► AITUTAKI School  Presentations       
          - Vaitau Primary School presentation x 2 – 45 kids 5-12 yrs old
          - Vaitau Primary School presentation x 3 – 45 kids 5-12 yrs old
          - Araura Primary School presentation 30 kids 9-11 yrs old 
  

OPEN DAY & WORLD ANIMAL WEEK Celebration (70 Children & 60 Adults attended)
The first official Esther Honey Fun Day was a huge success. Dubbed "The Esther Honey Party" by the local kids, they all informed us days in advance that they were coming, and were bringing all their friends! So Eilidh got practicing her face painting, some amazing gingerbread cats/dogs were baked, the clinic was scrubbed from head to toe and Gregg made some amazing kids games. In the end, the kids had a blast, the parents were really impressed with the clinic, and some very generous donations were made. Check out the photos on Facebook!   Can't wait for the next one :-)

        
                                                                                CI News Logo Tiny

                               New Practice Manager at  Esther Honey Foundation Animal Clinic

Jess New Practice Manager  New practice manager at pet clinic Rarotonga’s pet population is in even safer hands with the arrival of veterinarian Jess Moore-Jones who has taken up the new role of practice manager at the Esther Honey Foundation Animal Clinic in Nikao. Moore-Jones is now working alongside Esther Honey’s clinic director Gregg Young and the nine volunteers at present. In a few weeks Moore-Jones’ work will begin in earnest when the clinic’s volunteer numbers drop to two (When the rest of the team is on a EHF VET TREK to Aitutaki).

She says at present her supervisory role is almost superfluous due to the calibre of those helping out at the clinic. This week has presented Esther Honey workers with feral cat trapping and spaying, puppies with fish poisoning and a horse needing an eye removed. Moore-Jones is a New Zealander who studied veterinary medicine in Western Australia and has spent the three years since working throughout the world. From fully-equipped clinics in the United Kingdom and Denmark to more make-shift operations in Thailand, Greece and Ecuador, she has worked on some interesting and challenging cases. Moore-Jones says one of the most memorable was saving a cat in Australia which became impaled on the steel pole of a garden trellis. “I was looking towards the management side of being a vet and this came up. How can one resist the tropical life? It was pretty impossible to turn down.”
 
Moore-Jones arrived in the country a week ago and has since been exploring Rarotonga from her base at the Nikao clinic. She has visited the island once before – in 2000 – for a family reunion with her uncle and former New Zealand High Commissioner to the Cook Islands Rob Moore-Jones. Since then Rarotonga has changed a lot but is still a beautiful, friendly place, Moore-Jones says.
 
“The island itself is just amazing – I can’t believe the community support that we get – everybody’s so friendly. A lot of time we are getting paid in starfruit and bananas because that’s what people can afford but they are more appreciative here that you are doing the best you can than in the UK where you’ve got amazing facilities and people think you still haven’t done enough.”
 
Without an x-ray machine at Esther Honey veterinarians have to be innovative and work harder to properly diagnose and treat animals, she says. “You have to question what’s going on sometimes and have to be better in terms of actual medicine, rather than rely on tests.”
 
Moore-Jones is on a 12-month contract which may be extended. She is impressed with Rarotonga’s active social scene and has already been running with the hash harriers, paddling and to local dance lessons. “Everybody is so happy to involve you in things, which is really nice. Mainly I’m just excited about meeting everybody.”
 
Esther Honey is also asking all people who have borrowed cat traps to return them to the clinic straight away. The clinic’s workers are travelling to Aitutaki in a couple of weeks to sort out the island’s wild cat population and need all the cat traps they can get.- Rosie Manins


_______________________________________________________________________________
                                                       
EHF CLINIC TEAM RESPONSIBILITIES

Feb-Mar 11
► Volunteer Positions vary, but typically include a combination of the following personnel:
  - veterinarians 
  - veterinary students,
  - vet techs/nurses,
  - college pre-vet interns
  - administrative volunteer 
  

Volunteer Position Responsibilities are detailed in the EHF Application Protocol materials. Contact EHF: Click Here 

 
Please note:
- All volunteers work under the auspices and at the direction of the US office and the EHF Board of Directors and are required to adhere to clinic policies and protocols established by the Esther Honey Foundation in compliance and in agreement with Cook Islands authorities.
 

Barry in surgeryPost SM
- It is expected that experienced veterinarians will supervise vet students and recent graduates.
 
 - All  volunteers share in the maintenance of the animals, clinic and EHF residence.
 
- All volunteers, particularly veterinarian volunters, are expected to remain on Rarotonga during the time that they are scheduled to work at the clinic unless prior arrangements are made.

Work Schedule: Volunteers volunteer from two weeks to a year.They agree to work full days, five days a week and to be available for emergencies.Maintenance and animal care responsibilities continue on weekends. Work, especially when there is an influx of fish poisoning patients, can be exhausting, but most volunteers find the rewards outweigh the demands.

Clinic Hours: The clinic is open Monday through Friday from 8-5 with the feed and clean beginning at 7AM.The work invaribly extends beyond 5 PM with evening feed and clean and medications. Saturdays, patients are scheduled for mornings appointments only. Sundays the clinic is open for emergencies,  in-patient care and clinic maintenance. Rosters allow volunteers where possible (Keeping in mind that unanticipated circumstances can intervene) to have two days off per week. 
                                                                                                                               TCTiny


Resident cat & dog are important members
         of EHF Clinic Healing Team:

“This was a complicated but exciting procedure to perform at the clinic and careful preparation and a good clinical team were required,” wrote EHF veterinarian Becky Robinson.
 “Craig, one of the clinic cats, was the blood donor and a blood transfusion was performed..."

Read More: Click Here
Adoption Services
                        
  EHF SERVED 16,501 MEALS and REHOMED 280 DOGS and CATS IN 2010
►Whether you are a local or a tourist, we need your help. Please consider dropping by the clinic with a couple of cans of cat or dog food and staying for an hour to help the clinic team with the daily AM and PM kennel activities.

►You don’t need to be a veterinarian to make a difference in lives of these dear animals. A kind heart, willing spirit and a pair of helping hands is all that is required

  
   
Floyd&FriendsSM        COOK ISLANDS NEWS  

Desperately seeking homes as clinic overrun

The Esther Honey Foundation animal clinic in Nikao is overrun with dogs that need to be re-homed – and more dogs are still arriving.

Clinic director Gregg Young says they are running out of room to house the growing number of dogs coming to the clinic that need loving homes to go to. The clinic still has Hovis who has been there for a long time.

Young describes her as a wonderful dog who won’t need much exercise as she is pretty old. The clinic just got Floyd on Saturday from Sea Change Villas where he was being fed by the tourists there for quite some time.

“So if someone owns or knows the person who owns this dog it would be great if he could go back to his home, otherwise he will be up for adoption in a week.”

Patch is another great older dog who knows how to sit when you tell him and doesn’t cause much fuss.

Starbucks is a young dog who needs lots of space to run around and someone to throw things for her from time to time.

“She’s been with us for a few weeks and has now become used to us and always comes back when let off the leash.”

These dogs all need loving homes with people who understand the needs of the dog.

Hovis will make a great companion as everyone who has volunteered at the clinic while she’s been there has fallen in love with her. - Esther Honey/MW
_______________________________________________

                 
  Max with new familyNew Beginnings in 2011
Max  EHF volunteers found Dilbert suffering from fish poisoning and dragging his painful, paralysed hind-leg as he scavenged for scraps of food. His leg was severely bruised and his tummy suffered deep wounds from being dragged across rough ground for an unknown period of time.
 
It took this darling dog several weeks to recover from the toxins, and a few more for his stomach to heal. But with treatment, love and patience from EHF’s volunteer veterinary team, Dilbert managed to make a full recovery.

Now for the best part:

Long-time Esther Honey supporters Cameron and Dorothy Robertson adopted Dilbert, renaming him Max in January.

He’s getting along with the Robertson’s other dogs fantastically and enjoys chasing chickens (not catching!)through the Taro and swimming in the sea. Now eating four times a day, he’s looking wonderfully healthy.

Thank you Dorothy and Cameron for helping to provide homes and desperately needed veterinary care for island animals like Max!

                                                   
                                                                                    2011 Raro kitties find homes too
lovely lady cutie kitten
 
Scooby is a 4 month old puppy who came to us with a prolapsed eye.
Scooby going home
Because his family brought him to the EHF clinic immediately following the trauma, EHF veterinarian Michelle Gray was able to put Scooby’s eye back into its socket.

This little fellow recuperated under the kind care of our devoted volunteers at the Esther Honey Foundation Animal Clinic for 2 weeks with this happy result:
 


A photo of Scooby going home with his loving family.

Rex Post

 SPOTLIGHT ON REX

Rex was a tough case. “He is probably 12 or 13 years old and has had a rough life." wrote Alanna, a recent volunteer.

"He came in as a stray who had been hanging around one of the schools prompting a parent to call Esther Honey to ask us to collect him." A fungal skin infection made Rex smell very bad and it was clear that he was also suffering from arthritis.

Once at the clinic, the crack Esther Honey team went into action to give this senior Raro dog the medical attention and safe harbor he deserves. Given his advanced age and health limitations, however, Rex’s outlook for placement looked glum.

"But you wouldn't believe what happened today," wrote Alanna.

"A nice couple came in and adopted him!! We couldn't believe it! We were all so happy!

Of course they understood that he may only have a few months to live.
They just wanted to give him some attention before he leaves this world."


It is clear that Rex could not be in kinder hands.     
                                                                       
       ____________________________________________________________                     
                                                EXPORTATION SERVICES

EHF has facilitated the exportation of Cook Islands cats and dogs and Bora Bora dogs to loving homes and families
 in - the US -Canada and New Zealand since 1995. Most were exported by volunteers who fell hopelessly in love
with an animal that they had cared for. Many others were exported by tourists who fell victim to the same malady.

Bora Bora's Pongo 
                    Pongo                                                                                 Ta'a
                                       

                                             
                                                      

  

   


Bora Bora's lovely Tara









 

Cali&girls
                           STUMPY (USA) Click Here:
                    The Best Dog in the World
Cali USA              
 
 EHF Community Education  
                                                
In addition to veterinary services, EHF volunteers share vital animal healthcare information and humane education at the clinic and within the community. In the Cook Islands, this information is available to the community throughseveral venues.
                            Sat MKT Banner                              karen and kids at market
   
      ► The Saturday Market                                                                                  

        ► Cook Islands Media  

EHF is grateful for the coverage of clinic activities by the island's
television station CITV and newspapers, The Cook Island News
 (*See CI NEWS articles  below)
and The Cook Islands Herald.


These generous businesses contribute to EHF's success in
 disseminating the Foundation's message that emphasizes:

 WSPA education crew

 ► Compassionate & responsible animal health care 

 ► Importance of Spay and Neuter
 
  ► Respect for all life 
 
  ► Humane Education
  


  Thank you WSPA  for your contributions to
      EHF Education programs. 
        
 


                                   ►  Community Education Presentations
                                
   Open Days 

          At tAkatemia CollageMhe Clinic                                                                         ► In thRutakie Classroom            
             mama dog fans

             St Pauls
                 ►At EHF VET TREKS
              Aitutaki sm ed       vet trek sign
     
 
                                               Esther Honey Animal Clinic in the News*

                            
                                    masthead


14 October 2011  ESTHER HONEY FOUNDATION VET CLINIC OPEN DAY TODAY  3-7pm

The only veterinary clinic in the Cook Islands, run solely on volunteers and donations, is having a kids day for World Animal Week. Great family afternoon with games, face painting, prizes, clinic tours, meet the animals, yummy food and more!

Come down and support the animals of Rarotonga, and have a bit of fun while you’re at it!
Located in Nikao, next to the golf course. Ph 22336

We look forward to meeting you there!
The EHF TEAM


 
12 September 2011 Homes wanted for dogs, cats and 12 kittens

It’s that time again! We are in kitten season and already have 12 kittens in our care.We have limited space, and accordingly we encourage everyone to get their cats spayed and neutered!

The Esther Honey Foundation offers this service free of charge.

Donations make this treatment and other clinic services possible but we don’t want to discourage anyone, whether they can donate or not, from bringing in any or all of the free-roaming cats who live around them. Please give us a call if you have any questions on 22336.

Besides the kittens, we have four great cats looking for homes who would be awesome in the house for chasing moko and rats. We are also caring for three terrific dogs, two which are younger than one year old. These dogs need a sizeable area to run around and plenty of food and water.

Come by to have a look if you are interested. We’ll be happy to introduce you. - Esther Honey Foundation



 21 May 2011        Desperately seeking homes
 
Floyd&FriendsSMThe Esther Honey Foundation animal clinic in Nikao is overrun with dogs that need to be re-homed – and more dogs are still arriving.

Clinic director Gregg Young says they are running out of room to house the growing number of dogs coming to the clinic that need loving homes to go to. The clinic still has Hovis who has been there for a long time.

Young describes her as a wonderful dog who won’t need much exercise as she is pretty old. The clinic just got Floyd on Saturday from Sea Change Villas where he was being fed by the tourists there for quite some time.

“So if someone owns or knows the person who owns this dog it would be great if he could go back to his home, otherwise he will be up for adoption in a week.”

Patch is another great older dog who knows how to sit when you tell him and doesn’t cause much fuss.

Starbucks is a young dog who needs lots of space to run around and someone to throw things for her from time to time.

“She’s been with us for a few weeks and has now become used to us and always comes back when let off the leash.”

These dogs all need loving homes with people who understand the needs of the dog.

Hovis will make a great companion as everyone who has volunteered at the clinic while she’s been there has fallen in love with her. - Esther Honey/MW

__________________________________________________
NEW YEAR’S GREETINGS
Cathy Sue Ragan-Anunsen
President and CEO The Esther Honey Foundation

PROTECT OUR ANIMALS
The Esther Honey Foundation is grateful to the Cook Islands for the community support we have enjoyed over the past
15-years. Your generous contributions have helped EHF significantly decrease the number of unwanted animals and improve the health conditions of all island animals.

But our joint effort on behalf of animals is not yet complete. We encourage everyone concerned to make a New Year’s resolution to let the newly elected officials know that the treatment and well-being of island animals is important to you,
the community and to animal-loving visitors to the island. Please ask that they lead the community by enacting and enforcing laws that will protect animals from neglect and cruelty and will benefit humans and the economy too.

With heartfelt appreciation for your valued support and best wishes for all, including our beloved animals, in the New Year,
Cathy Sue Ragan-Anunsen
 ____________________________________

    Canine census on island dogs CensusPostM

"Esther Honey Foundation volunteers are again out in the community conductinga census, counting the number of island dogs.

The purpose of the census is to confirm that the percentage of Rarotonga dogs sterilised remains at, or is greater than, 70 per cent of the entire canine population. The number critical for stabilising dog populations on Rarotonga and ensuring that the number of unwanted dogs will continue to decrease as long as EH continues to provide spay and neuter services to new animals that are born of the dogs not yet sterilised."



               Read MoreClick Here
____________________________________ 

         Letter to the Editor   Dogs bring joy 
                                                               

"I’m having a great holiday here in Rarotonga. A large part of my enjoyment has been the people I’ve met and
 watching, talking to and cuddling the friendly dogs on Muri Beach. I’ve observed many other tourists doing the same
 and see the dogs as a huge attraction as you don’t experience this at home where dogs are all tied up or shut in or
 banned from so many areas. Dog Crossing SM
 Some of us miss our dear pets at home! There are always those who will complain and see people as having exclusive rights to happiness but I believe (as do others) that the dogs have as much right to a good quality of life as we do." ►Read More Click Here 

 
RIP VSM                           Slow down for dog’s sake 
                                                                         
"The Esther Honey Foundation Animal Clinic is pleading to the public to slow down on our roads. Vets at the clinic have been working round the clock to help save an alarming number of family dogs that have been run over on the roads...."
Read More: Click Here 

           ► Is it time to erect the replacement EHF Dog Crossing road signs? Click Here


                                                                   _________________________________
 
Homeless Dogs Collage 

Cats and dogs looking for good homes

The Esther Honey Foundation in Nikao has friendly dogs, cute kittens and cats that need good homes.
Because of the large numbers of animals being cared for at the clinic, there is also a need for pet food.

The community is being asked to help support the island’s only animal clinic by opening up your home and welcoming another member of the family. Each of the orphaned animals at the clinic have their own unique qualities and even have some interesting backgrounds which the staff at the clinicare more than happy to share with you... 

                                                             
  ►Read More Click Here

_________________________________________________


 
 
DONATE

97% of EHF Expenditures Go Directly to our Animal Care Programs
Contribute to The Esther Honey Foundation:

Make a Donation 

collection foundation

EHF does not sell, rent or lend the names or email addresses of our supporters.
________________________________________________________

To Contact EHF: Click Here

Join the EHF Community: 
 


on EHF's Facebook Page

kittiesL


Top of page