Report from Laura

Having recently returned from a week’s visit to a spay clinic in Italy, I wanted to write to you to highlight some of the issues which were brought to my attention and make people in the UK more aware of the problems which face vets out there. On the drive from Villa Literno to the Lega Pro Animale with Dorothea Friz (the Head vet at the clinic), I honestly thought I was being driven through a 3rd world country. Not just because of the litter scattered along the roadside (due to the Mafia’s refusal to collect it, but because of the dead dogs lying there welling in the heat, ready to burst at any moment. This sight was apparently commonplace. I had no idea that there was such a serious stay problem in Naples.   During my week’s stay at the sterilisation clinic, despite speaking only enough Italian to order a glass of Pinot and lasagne, I soon realised that unfortunately the majority of Neopolitans have very little respect for their animals and the few which were taken to the clinic were the fortunate ones.   The Lega Pro Animale was founded in 1986 by a German vet, Dorothea Friz, who moved to Italy 24 years before for a better quality of life, not knowing about the task that lay ahead of her. 30 minutes from Naples, she runs the clinic. It is a cross between the PDSA, a rescue centre and a boarding kennels, all of which is funded by donations, the income from the kennels and the small fees they charge the clients. She is quite a remarkable lady.   The shelter takes in abandoned cats and dogs, (as well as the odd rabbit and buffalo), and aims to rehome them. Dorothea still has good links with her native Germany and frequently drives dogs across the border to new homes there. Many of the strays have been dumped at the entrance gates, some in good health with name tags on, some left when their owners have gone away on holiday and others on the verge of death.   Dorothea has a policy that she will not rehome an animal without ensuring that it is fully vaccinated, wormed, microchipped and neutered, so if the dog is abandoned or lost again, it can be returned to its rightful owner.   The clinic runs a “catch, neuter and return” scheme with volunteers (often from the nearby NATO army/navy base) bringing strays in for neutering. They also offer free neutering and microchipping to locals who collect animals off the street and want to rehome them. Of course, locals abuse this and just bring their own pets in claiming to have found them, but at least they are being responsible.   The age and stage of oestrus are not an issue for the vets operating on them. They cannot risk waiting until they are 6 months old before they neuter them because by then, 2 cats could easier have produced several hundred offspring. They will neuter kittens as young as 2 weeks, even operating intra-abdominally on males before the testes have descended. All animals are tattooed near their surgery wound, with ‘SMC’ for sterilised and microchipped, and stray cats have a green spot tattooed in their ear for easy identification. What a good idea. Only recently did I see 2 bitches, from Edinburgh Cat and Dog Home, anaesthetised for spaying, only to open them up and discover they had already been spayed. Surely an extra scratch in the skin to make a tattoo the first time would have saved the dog from unnecessary anaesthesia, surgery and pain.   Spaying is performed via a midline approach; flank incisions would be considered too extreme and alien for many of the uneducated locals. Scrotal castration is carried out in both cats and dogs. Years of experience mean that Dorothea has the surgery down to a fine art, completing a cat spay in just 8 minutes. Absorbable skin sutures are used so that animals can be released the following day with no need for them to be recaptured to have their stitches out.   One of the main problems in the South of Italy is education, or lack of it. The stray problem has been going on for so long that it is normal for Neopolitans to see dogs scavenging through rubbish bins, riddled with fleas and ticks. The younger generation do not know any different. The clinic now receives more publicity as it is filmed regularly for a Sky TV programme, “Pet Hospital”, but 80% of the viewers are from the more affluent North. The problem continues in the South, where fewer can afford Sky.   Further problems arise due to the lack of education. People are not aware about the need for vaccinations or regular flea and worming control. During the week I was there, I saw several puppies and dogs suffering from Parvo, Distemper, Ehrlichia, Leishmaniasis and severe worm (Dipylidium caninum) infestations. The owners of 2 Rottweilers puppies with Parvo came to the clinic twice daily while they were put on IV fluids. On the day I left, they still had profuse diarrhoea and vomiting, with little signs of improvement. I wondered how long they would carry on with this routine – probably until the Parvo got the better of them. (These 2 actually had a happy ending; I have since heard that the perseverance of the owners and staff paid off and they survived).   Sadly Dorothea and her 3 colleagues’ efforts to control the stray population are hampered by the police interfering and local vets who believe she is taking all of their business away. They have strong feelings against her spay days and mobile spay clinics which travels to nearby towns. They can neuter as many as 100 animals in one day with 2 or 3 vets working simultaneously in her purpose built Ford transit. The Police do not think she has the right to neuter animals off the street but if they are not chipped, they do not officially belong to anyone. Surely they should be grateful that she is helping to reduce the numbers? People have even launched official complaints about the clinic’s work but by Italian law. They have been refused access to the documents so Dorothea is instigating a court case.   Dorothea is desperate to find another vet to join her team, but again, the Italians are making this difficult for her. A young German is interested but it has taken nearly a year to complete the relevant paperwork. All of her documents from University have to be translated and proofed by the Italian Embassy in Germany, and as yet, she is still not eligible to work there. You would have thought that being a member of the EU would make it easier to work abroad nowadays. Italian vets are not interested in the work, and the nursing staff is non-existent. The clinic has 3 office staff, who have been given basic training, but the majority of the time the vest operate alone or with each others’ help. Veterinary nursing is not recognised as a career in Italy.   My time at LPA was certainly an eye opening experience and it was a just a shame I could not have stayed for longer. I would like to encourage people in the UK to find out more about the incredible work that Dorothea Friz and her vets do out in Naples.   Any donations can be made through The Anglo-Italian Society for the Protection of Animals, a London-based charity. Using this service, they are not taxed as heavily, but please specify that the money is to go directly to the LPA. Donations can be sent to Susan Dale (Secretary), AISPA, 136 Baker Street, London, W1U 6DU.   For further informations you can contact Laura, the author of the article: laurathescorer@hotmail.com

 

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