A fond farewell

Hey Esther Honey Foundation supporters, Marg here! If you follow our blog consistently, you’ll recognize me from the few posts I wrote while Jess was away on holiday back in January. As I wrap up my last week at the Clinic, I feel compelled to write a final entry and share some reflections on my experience as an Esther Honey volunteer. First, can I just say how time flies! I can’t believe it’s already been almost five months since I stepped off the plane at the Rarotonga airport. Since then, I have gained much invaluable veterinary-related insight and knowledge from the volunteers and staff around me. I have also developed a genuine respect for the hard work Esther Honey does every day in ensuring the health of the Rarotongan animal population despite the never-ending challenges of being a not-for-profit organization with very limited resources.

As a free animal clinic relying completely on the generosity of others in donating funds, supplies, and/or time, we learn to use what resources we have wisely, and often find ourselves devising treatment strategies that really put our knowledge and innovativeness to the test. Although it is difficult to not always have the capability to do what we would like, it has been inspiring to see what a difference we can still make for animals that just 17 years ago had absolutely no veterinary care available to them.

As someone with aspirations to become a veterinarian, I know that I will always remember the incredible vets that I have encountered at Esther Honey—Individuals whose compassion for animals and love of adventure has led them to leave paid jobs to volunteer on a remote island in desperate need of their help. If that doesn’t demonstrate a truly committed veterinarian, I don’t know what does!

Thank you Esther Honey for providing me with such a life changing opportunity, and to all of you supporters out there, whether it be through “liking” us on Facebook, volunteering , and/or making donations— keep it up! I can tell you from firsthand experience that the Esther Honey Foundation is well worth the investment. : )

Yours truly,

Marg

P.S. If any future volunteers want to get in touch to learn more about life as an Esther Honey, please don’t hesitate to get in touch: margueritekissel@gmail.com

Meet Tiny, Tipsy, Teddy, Tinker and Tabitha as well as Milly and Molly.
This adorable litter of kittens are absolute favourites here at Esther Honey. Their mum was bought in to the clinic just days before being due to give birth, so Tiny, Tipsy, Tinker and Tabitha were all born right here.
A few of us were even lucky enough to witness the whole event; a rather special moment in anyone’s books.
Mama Cat is such a good mum that two days later, when an orphaned stray came in and his only chance for survival was a real mum, she happily accepted Teddy as one of her own. Not even the introduction of Milly and Molly 10 days later phased her (though she does now eat about six meals a day).

The kittens grew at an alarming rate, opened their eyes a good few days before they were supposed to, and proved to be an incredibly healthy robust litter. With the nursery full and the two young ones still too small to be put in any of our other cages, poor Mama Cat is stuck in the tiny ‘bird cage’ all day but doesn’t seem the least bit bothered at having seven playful mischief makers clambering all over her.

We try each day to give her a break by having a ‘kitten party’ on the lawn with the bigger lot which you would think Mama Cat would appreciate, but she supervises very closely from her spot and after 20 minutes gives us a meow to let us know its time for the kids to come home.

In another few weeks, Mama Cat will be spayed and sent home and all the kittens will join the nursery kittens waiting for a loving home.
But in the meantime, it is a delight to watch and cuddle these genuine Esther Honey kittens!

A busy week!

Of course, with our expert surgeon Lucinda leaving us last week, we suddenly get all the incredibly interesting complex surgeries! So with a little (ok, a lot) of stressful moments in the theatre this week, our new team is in full swing.
For example, last night our CocoPutt evening was put on hold by a puppy that had been hit by a car. Despite the incredible shock the puppy was in, we decided we have no choice but to open her up and check for internal bleeding or other injuries. As it turns out, on top of her fractured leg, she had an avulsed spleen, a ruptured liver lobe and a punctured lung! A few hours in surgery later, her injuries got the better of her. Please please please keep your puppies away from roads until they are old enough to know some road rules.
The hospital is full to bursting with fish poisoning cases, some of which are very severe and others hopefully a few days from heading home. Such brave little things they are. Jasper, a huge Rottweiler cross is so ill that he can’t move himself, swallow or lift his head; but he still wags his
tail whenever someone approaches.
Also worth a mention is Tiger, a rather grumpy old lady cat who came in last week with a 6 x 6cm machete wound to her flank. A complicated stitch up and some serious pain relief later, Tiger’s wound looks amazing and she should be fit to go home in the next few days.
The social life has been a little quieter than normal as we recover from months of keeping up with Lucinda, but Hash House Harriers, Zumba, Island Dancing, CocoPutt and Monday Trader Jacks traditions have yet to be let down!
Here’s hoping for a calmer week from here!

Happy Birthday Gregg!

A nice calm week here at the clinic. With surgeries on the minimum for a few weeks, life has been a bit unusual. We welcomed Max, a new vet who joined us for a few weeks so that I won’t cry too much when Lucinda leaves tomorrow night! We will surely be having a few of her favourites – long island ice teas – to celebrate that occasion, so here’s hoping we all survive that! However Hovis is in heaven with Max being prone to letting her sleep on his chest on the sofa and not even notice her snoring!
It is also Gregg’s birthday today so a lunch time party is on the cards (shhh, he doesn’t know yet!).
Our lovely trio of puppies have all left us now. Panda, the most sweet thing you have ever seen, went to a lovely family who were keen for a boisterous fun dog. Nina and John – Lucinda’s favourites –each went to locals that we know well and will be able to regularly check up on their progress.
Readers will also be delighted to know that Mango came in to be spayed this week! She is even more beautiful that when she last visited, and just as cuddly (though not the least bit impressed with needles…). But all went smoothly and now she can enjoy the proper free life of a girl not worrying about boys (would that we were all so lucky)!
Our raffle was drawn on Thursday (wow – the stress!) and 10 lucky winners took home prizes they were all very impressed with. For all those who didn’t win a prize, we still thank you immensely for supporting Esther Honey!

Visit Heaven. While It's Still On Earth!

Back to reality (well, as much as a tropical island can really be reality) after four AMAZING days in Aitutaki. What was meant to only be a two day trip to assess the island situation, health check a few cats and see a few ill pigs, I just couldn’t make myself leave. The incredible generosity of the locals ended with my flights being changed from underneath me, being put up in luxury and fed and entertained all weekend!
But other than sunbathing by the pool and doing a cruise of the famously stunning lagoon, I promise I also got some work done!

We started super early with a radio appearance on the morning talk show, where I had a chance to briefly discuss the Esther Honey Foundation’s projects and plans. It was important to try to encourage the locals into neutering their cats since, unfortunately, many of them are very reluctant. A few misconceptions and traditions were addressed, and hopefully we will see many more of them pro- desexing when we next get there for a major Vet Trek.
There were a few minor issues with some local cats; an eye problem, a urinary infection plus quite a few losing their hair. After this I got right into the pig scene. One lameness, some worms and a few cute piglets later (I’ll not mention the incident where I nearly got tackled by a 120kg sow!), I was even asked for my opinion on one of the local lagoon turtles!
Happy snaps were few and far between with no assistant, and owners restraining animals, but I did manage to get some fantastic shots of the lagoon. For anyone considering a visit, I can agree with the advertising slogan: “Visit Heaven. While It’s Still On Earth.”

Spay Day Open Day

Great fun was had by all at the ‘Esther Honey Party’
(otherwise known as our World Spay Day Open Day) on Saturday. Somewhere in the
realm of 50 children were entertained by Gregg’s games, Marg’s face paint, the
boys’ salad and BBQ bananas and my specialty; cookies and ice cream. To be
fair, all the sugar was thoroughly worn off before being sent home, with
skipping and soccer and tug of war. There were certain points in the water
fights and beach activities that I was pretty sure Gregg was one of the
children also, but we let him enjoy it seeing as it was one of the hottest days
of the year.
We found a home for one of our lovely stray dogs, Bonnie,
and raised some vital funds. More than anything, we educated locals and
tourists alike regarding animal welfare and Esther Honey’s role here in the
Cook Islands.
The heat the last few days has been a little insane and some
of the animals are struggling. Our electricity bill is going to be somewhat
scary this month, with the air conditioning in the theatre needing to be run
for all the poor kittens. Even our clinic cat Craig had a few episodes of
panting; enough that spraying him with water seemed the kindest thing to do…
Personally I suspect he enjoyed the attention. The rest of us have to sweat out
feed and clean the best we can. February is almost over, and the cooler weather
should arrive soon.
Mum with new bubs is doing very well, and has also been
sweet enough to foster a tiny orphan stray bought in yesterday. It never ceases
to amaze me just how good the mums here are!

Sounds like it was an interesting week while I have been away; animals near death making miraculous recoveries, haunted abandoned hotel visits, big birthday parties (see photo – amazing!), and more!

The weather has been somewhat difficult to work with; a near miss with a cyclone (so I’m told, I’m not sure I believe them it was more than a storm) and I have come back to rain rain and more rain.

Luckily, the clinic has been quiet (touch wood).Our three Massey boys who have entertained us for a month leave next week, and we will find ourselves with fewer volunteers. If anyone would like to come by to help with animal care we can always use an additional set of caring hands!

In other news, we have a little over two weeks left of raffle ticket sales, and are keen to sell as many as we can before March 1st. Make sure you check out the awesome prizes and get yourselves some tickets before time runs out on our website!

More news soon.