TOHA'S GETTING WHEELS!

We have just learned that TOHA (the dog, see previous posts) will be getting a doggie wheelchair to help her get around following the amputation of both her hind legs. She had to have this radical surgery to save her life after sustaining grievous injuries from being cruelly tethered at a dogmeat restaurant awaiting slaughter. She is the TOHA mascot and will need her wheelchair to play her role in helping us to stop animal cruelty in Timor-Leste. Her life story says it all... and with her wheels we hope she will become a familiar figure around Dili, raising awareness of animal welfare issues wherever she goes.

The wheelchair comes complete with a snazzy "licence plate" so that people will know they are looking at Timor-Leste's most famous dog

TOHA's wheels arrived just in time to be included in a huge shipment of veterinary supplies which is on its way to a San Diego Naval base to be loaded on a ship headed to Dili via the South Pacific. The shipment, funded by the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, will arrive in June for use during the World Vets mission to Timor-Leste.

Thank you World Vets, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation and Handicapped Pets for making this happen.

Don't forget that raffle tickets are now on sale for the prize draw at the TOHA Launch Party and Fundraiser at the Venture Hotel on March 2nd from 6pm to 9pm!

email tohatimor@gmail.com for further details

It's party time!

TOHA LAUNCH PARTY AND FUNDRAISER

Wednesday, March 2nd, 6-9pm

Venture Hotel, Lecidere

Join us for a drink, some music, and a PRIZE draw. Entry is free to all, but raffle tickets will be on sale for $5. H.E. the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry will make some brief opening remarks and TOHA Vet Dr Antonino do Karmo will give a presentation about TOHA’s plans to protect animals in Timor-Leste.

 For further information, contact: tohatimor@gmail.com / Ann Turner: 7393879

We are raising funds to finance the many different aspects of TOHA's current and future work: 

  

• · Public education
• 
  
• · Veterinary treatments and preventative care
• 
  
• · Animal rescue, shelter and re-homing
• 
  
• · Control of feral domestic animals
• 
  
• · Prevention of animal—human cross-infectious diseases
• 
  
• · Changing attitudes to cruelty: working with Timorese youth
• 
  
• · Promotion of Timorese livestock industry
• 
  
• · Legislation to prevent cruelty to animals

 If you are a company owner and would like to donate goods and services to offer as raffle prizes, please let us know! We already have some great prizes, including:

• A Hewlett-Packard printer donated by Sancar
• Dinner for two at the Esplanada Hotel
• Hairdressing voucher from Robbie
• Voucher for Pilates lessons from Colleen Coy
• A "Discover Scuba" PADI Diving course from FreeFlow Diving
• Timorese handicrafts items from Women's Woven Art
• Lunch voucher from Nautilus Restaurant

Raffle tickets will be on sale soon and we will list sales points here in a day or two.

Thank you for your support!  

A terrible case of cruelty - A mascot for TOHA

A knock at midnight.... Dr Antonino opens the door to find a friend with a grievously injured dog. She had been cruelly tethered at a "RW Fahi" (dog meat) restaurant in Dili awaiting brutal slaughter and somehow managed to struggle free. She limped on her front legs - dragging behind her the rear limbs that were reduced to gangrenous, worm-infested stumps - to a nearby house, and there her luck changed. Her rescuer knew about TOHA and that's why she was taken to Dr Antonino at the TOHA shelter.

There was no option other than amputation of both hind legs so Dr Antonino took a deep breath and carried out the surgery immediately. The dog survived. In fact, she soon revealed a gentle and loving character, allowing Dr Antonino to pick her up and cuddle her as she recovered from the surgery.

The plight of this dog summed up all we are trying to do with TOHA. We are against "dogmeat" restaurants, against inhumane slaughtering, against cruelty, against keeping livestock in squalid conditions. We are for compassion, for empathy, for gentleness, for respect, for animal welfare - whether pets or livestock.

So this dog has been adopted as the TOHA mascot - and of course, she has been named "TOHA". She will live at the shelter and become a "spokesdog" for the organisation; living proof of the brutality we are trying to eradicate, of the essential good and forgiving nature of our canine companions and of the value of each and every creature's life. Now, we will have to find a way of fitting prosthetics to TOHA so she can get around and help us in our work to spread our message to the Timorese people.

After the surgery with Dr Antonino 

My name is TOHA 

lHau nia naran TOHA, hau agora hela iha Raicotu. Hau la hatene semak hau nia nain antes. Ema kesi hau nia ain to'o kotu, husik lalar hobur to'o iha ular. Hau nia ain tesi tiha ona mas hau kontenti tamba agora hela iha fatin seguru ida. Hau nia hahan la falta nomos hetan atensaun husi VETERINARIO.