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.

TOHA: Inspiration in Action: VOTE NOW!!

Inspiration in Action - Your vote really, really counts! Vote now!

After all of our efforts campaigning for World Vets in the Heska poll, they pulled ahead into first place for a few days. But now.... they have slipped back into second place! So if you haven't voted yet, please do so and ask all of your friends to help, too. Share it on Facebook, tweet it on Twitter, email it to your lists and help World Vets win $25,000 so that they can help us here in Timor-Leste - and in other countries that need their support so much.

VOTE NOW!!!!  With your help, World Vets can can still win! Click on this link:

http://www.heska.com/About-Heska/Inspiration-In-Action-poll.aspx

This is what they are hoping to do with the grant if they win:

Establishing a sustainable disaster response program for animals in disaster situations throughout the world.

World Vets is a nonprofit that provides free veterinary aid to animals that otherwise would never receive veterinary attention. WorldVets addresses both animal and human health issues by developing sustainable veterinary aid programs to improve animal and human populations in 24 countries. World Vets empowers local partners through collaboration, education and training. With $25,000 in additional funding, World Vets hopes to develop a disaster response program with protocols, procedures and adequate training to enable veterinary professionals to assist animals in natural disaster situations.

Vote for our World Vet friends - Help THEM to Help US!

World Vets are currently trying to help vet Antonino do Karmo obtain vital equipment (microscope, surgery table, autoclave, computer, anesthesia machine, portable x-ray machine) which they will bring to Dili next year to help care for animals in Timor-Leste. Click here to see their website appeal. 

World Vets is a nonprofit organisation that provides free veterinary aid to animals that otherwise would never receive veterinary attention. WorldVets addresses both animal and human health issues by developing sustainable veterinary aid programs to improve animal and human populations in 24 countries. World Vets empowers local partners through collaboration, education and training. 

They have been entered in a poll, which, if they win, will gain them $25,000 in additional funding to be used to  develop a disaster response program with protocols, procedures and adequate training to enable veterinary professionals to assist animals in natural disaster situations.  For more information about World Vets, click here: http://worldvets.org/

And PLEASE vote for them in the poll - at the moment they are lying in second place, so your vote can really make a difference! 

To vote click here: 

 http://www.heska.com/About-Heska/Inspiration-In-Action-poll.aspx

(The poll is being run by the Heska Corporation, which is a company  selling advanced veterinary diagnostic and other specialty veterinary products). 

Please help World Vets to help us!

Tiger needs a home

A friend of TOHA found this cat on the road in Dili, struggling for life after being hit by a car. TOHA vet Antonino fixed him up and now he has been neutered, vaccinated and de-wormed. We called him Tiger (well, it IS the year of the Tiger and he's striped). 

If you want to adopt Tiger, don't hesitate to give Antonino a call on (+670) 723 3792.

Our Mission Statement

Timor Oan Hadomi Animal is a non-profit organization focusing on animal welfare in Timor-Leste. The objective of this organization to provide voluntary services to protect animals and prevent any disease which could potentially jeopardize human life in Timor-Leste. Furthermore, we are well aware that the condition of the environment in which animals are kept in Timor-Leste is in need of radical improvement, in the case of both domestic animals (livestock) and pets. Based on our empirical research, the majority of East Timorese do not have enough knowledge and information on how to take care of their animals, in terms of animal rights, food, health and so forth. From these crucial points, we East Timorese, along with like-minded friends from other countries, are intending to establish an activity or an organization to involve East Timorese so that they will be able to pay more attention to the condition of animals in this country. We believe that through these ideas and activities, Timorese will have more mindful perspectives in animal care, especially owners of livestock but also pet owners. 

The activity of Timor Oan Hadomi will involve many people at many different levels in order to a create better environment for animal life in Timor-Leste. We would approach people at national and local level, engaging them in the process of delivering better service through our training programs, door-to-door campaigns, personal animal treatments, distribution of medicines and intensive consultations. Timor Oan Hadomi Timor constitutes an association of veterinarian doctors as well as people who are interested in providing better services for animals in Timor-Leste. Membership of this organisation will not be compulsory nor will we impose financial contributions in order to involve as many East Timorese as possible in helping us to implement TOHA's programs. It will be a worthwhile voluntary mission for all of us to make what changes and improvements we can to animal conditions in Timor-Leste. This area has received very little attention in the public arena here; however, it is one of the most important sectors in Timor-Leste; to produce quality livestock and to protect animal rights. Therefore, our first step will determine the future of the animal environment in Timor-Leste, which has been a matter of concern to those people who care about the rights and health of animals in this country.