The Tribune

THE Bahamas Alliance for Animal Rights and Kindness (Baark) recently teamed up with Renew Bahamas for a one-day mobile animal sterilisation hospital (MASH) clinic at the Harrold Road Landfill site.

The group also held numerous classroom education sessions and teamed up with Potcakes of Andros for a three-day MASH Clinic in Nicholls Town.

Since forming in 2009, Baark has worked to reduce the number of homeless animals on our streets through sterilisation programmes such as trap-neuter-return (TNR) and providing subsidies for low-income families with owned pets.

Following the 2014 outbreak of distemper, Baark has also provided free vaccinations for dogs before their spay/neuter surgeries.

In January, Baark was welcomed by Renew Bahamas to trap, neuter and return dogs that reside on the landfill.

Laura Kimble, president of Baark, expressed her excitement about the clinic.

“I visited the area years ago, and was pleasantly surprised to see vast changes, improvements and organisation of the landfill. The team at Renew Bahamas is supportive of the feral dogs, and giving hope to the future of the Bahamas regarding our waste disposal.”

Waste Not Limited kindly donated the use of their facility to be set up as a MASH clinic for the day and local vets volunteered their time to perform the surgeries.

Fifteen dogs and one cat were trapped, neutered and returned.

Michael Cox, COO, said: “We want the dogs to be healthy as it is inevitable that dogs will find their way here, so the best solution is to work with a local animal welfare like Baark, so the numbers do not continue to grow and we can maintain a healthy feral dog population.”

Julia Jordan, a clinic volunteer, shared her experience.

“The dogs are like a family, when we released the ones we had trapped back to the landfill after they had recovered from surgery their family members ran up to them, happy to see them back. It was such a rewarding experience to be a part of,” she said.

In February, the Baark education team met over 150 children in preschool and grade one of Claridge Primary and The Della & Stanley Wilson Preschool.

Shelley Hardman, Baark’s education coordinator, explained what each session entails.

“After the students spend time learning how to be safe around dogs, why we spay or neuter our pets and how to be responsible pet owners, they enjoy meeting the dogs individually and practicing how to meet dogs safely,” she said.

Also in February, volunteers and local vets traveled to Nicholl’s Town to team up with Potcakes of Andros headed up by Rick Goodlander.

More than 100 spay and neuters were performed.

“It is encouraging to see the change in the mindsets of people,” volunteer Stephanie Kesten said. “When we started coming to Andros a few years ago to provide free spay and neuters, people were not interested, now they are seeing how much healthier their dog or cat is and we have so much support from the entire community.”

Baark does not receive any government funding but relies solely on donations from supporters and their own fundraising efforts.

The group will be hosting its second ‘Carnival Night’ held at 1er Cru on April 30. Attendees will enjoy delicious food, music and an array of games.

Baark’s goal each year is to provide 1,000 free or subsidised spay/neuters.

To make an appointment or for more information people can call Baark at 427-SPAY (7729).