Donations

Not only do we get money, drugs, and animal food donated but the locals also like to support us by giving us the occasional human food supply which we enjoy very much. The locals here are very generous and will often give of themselves if they know someone is in need. Some examples of things that have been donated just since I've been here (about a month now) are bunches of bananas and lychee, lettuces, tomatoes, papayas, and other fresh produce. We have also had cakes baked for us which come in many varieties including Banana, Chocolate marble, and just today a delicious fruit cake. Also, while  I was out earlier this week, I was told we had a visit from some government officials from New Zealand who dropped off two bottles of sparkling Sauvignon Blanc and some chocolates for our Christmas dinner. We are truly blessed.


At this point I would also like to thank the local fish market "4 Sail fish" for donating all the food that we had been feeding Petey our petrel. This fish was a great aid in nursing the giant bird back to health so we could release her into the ocean where she belongs.

Young Local Helpers

For the past month we have had a couple of locals who have been helping out here at the clinic on a regular basis. They have been so helpful to us in our day to day operations that we would like to thank them by putting their faces here. In order for you to get an idea of how much they help I'd like to describe what they do. A lot of our patients at the moment are suffering from fish poisoning which knocks out their neurological system. They cannot lift themselves up to get food or water or even to defecate. This means that we have to spend extra time with each one to make sure that they are hydrated, well fed, and clean. These helpers not only do all these chores in the mornings and afternoons, but they also help feed the other patients and clean out the other in-patients cages. They also entertain the animals while we clean out the cages. It is hard to find time to provide this kind of interaction with the animals when there are so many patients in the clinic and so few hands. Many of the fish poisonings have made vast improvements and have been able to go home sooner because, I believe, they have had the extra attention from these individuals. Thank you Arie, Chloe, and Indie for all your help.



This is not exactly the most desirable job at the clinic but it needs to be done twice a day, 365 days a year. With few hands it can take upwards of three hours to get everyone fed and cleaned before we can even start operating. Of course with less inpatients it would take less time also, but we don't really have any control over the number of animals who need our services and this, so I have been told, is our busy season. We really appreciate any help we can get whether from people volunteering their time or from donations of canned food. We are going through our canned food supply quickly at the moment due to the high number of  kittens (28 at this point in time). Monetary donations are also very welcome. With this number of patients, we often run out of the supplies needed to care for the fish poison victims as well as those suffering from other ailments.

Please also remember that all the people who come to work for EHF, whether they are Vets, Vet students, or Vet nurses, are volunteers and come here at their own expense. They work with the animals every day and without their help this clinic would not exist and there would be no services for animals on Rarotonga.

Enjoy the pictures! The first picture is of Arie (local volunteer) and Michael (Vet student from NZ) with a now healthy fish poisoned dog named Lolly. The second picture is of Louise (Vet from England), Indie and Chloe (local volunteers), Jessica (Vet from England), and Michael again standing in front of our main inpatient area.

Dec 23rd, 2009

Well, we asked for high winds and we got them. The wind picked up shortly after we dropped Petey off in the ocean and she hasn't been seen floating around by the local fisherman who have been checking on her. This is good news. Hopefully she got her sea legs back and is off to where she can find others.

Dec 15th, 2009

Today Petey was released five miles out into the ocean close to an artificial reef where other birds float on the water thanks to Wayne Barclay and his boat Reel Time. We have stuffed Petey so full of food she was really starting to make a mess of her enclosure. We are hoping that she will fly off on a strong breeze, but she could sit there for a couple of days before doing that.

Petey looked really happy to get out into the water. She jumped out of her cage and started flapping before she even hit the water. Then once she was in she started drinking the water and swimming about. We passed by her in the boat creating a few waves to see what she would do but she didn't take off. Only time will tell. Wayne said he would check on the bird as he goes fishing in that spot regularly. So if in a few days Petey is still floating around we will have to bring her back and find a home for her here.

Good luck Petey!

Petey Updates

Dec 2nd, 2009
Well, Petey is definitely bringing more attention to the clinic as proven by more and more people coming in to visit him. The local newspaper wants us to call if we plan on trying a release any time soon and would like us to update them. We're also having a few problems with the X-ray machine so we haven't yet been able to rule out lead poisoning. Meanwhile Petey has stopped eating and is still underweight.

Dec 10th, 2009
We finally got the x-ray machine working and have now x-rayed Petey to find out that there is nothing inside that may be the cause of poison and we have also found that Petey is in fact a girl. In the past few days we have also been in contact with a local, Gerald McCormack of Cook Islands Biodiversity and National Heritage, who has been trying to find a way for Petey to go to New Zealand to get the care she needs there, but he has hit a brick wall (figuratively speaking) as a bird like this has never been imported into NZ. However, getting in touch with someone who looks after albatross and other Great Petrels in New Zealand, Gerald has informed us that when being released it is a good idea to release from either a cliff or from the middle of the ocean on a windy day. Since there are no suitable cliffs in Rarotonga we are going to try and release Petey into the ocean after feeding her full for a couple of days. We are told that Petey may sit around for up to two days before he takes off but we are assured that someone will check up on her if she doesn't fly away over the following days.

Petey the Petrel

Dec 1st, 2009
Here's Petey, a giant, we think Southern, Petrel that has been with us now for about a week and a half. He was brought to the Esther Honey Vet Clinic by a tourist who saw that he was unable to fly or walk away when approached on Muri beach. Since then we have been trying to build his strength so he can go back to where he came from. We have already tried three times to release Petey but he doesn't really do much. Everyday we feed him mackerel out of a can as well as fresh fish scraps from the local market. He seems pretty comfortable around the cats and dogs that we have here, probably because he's bigger than most of them. He walks around outside his enclosure quite happily spreading his giant wings while we clean up the mess he has made. Rob, one of our volunteers, as well as Max, the soon to be missed clinic director, have become good friends to Petey as he has been gaining more and more strength and venturing further from his enclosure. They take turns looking after him, while the rest of the team helps feed and clean the other animals.
Petey and Rob made it to the front page of the Cook Island NEWS today which has got people talking around the island. We have had quite a few visitors today coming just to see Petey and a local in town asked how he was doing. We don't usually get these types of animals coming into the clinic, but it's a great change of pace and everyone seems to enjoy having him around. Max will be leaving this weekend, and Rob will be leaving a few days after that. Hopefully Petey will be back in the air before they leave since they have built such a relationship with him. We had a Herald petrel last year which eventually flew away from the top of Hospital Hill which we kept for a few weeks until it regained strength.
The vets believe that Petey might have neurological problems caused by lead poisoning of a possible fishing weight being swallowed. If this is the case then he may not fly again and we will have to look for alternative solutions for his ongoing care. Tomorrow they are going to X-ray him to see if they can find anything. We're all hoping for the best.
Thanks for continuing your support for the clinic, for without your donations and without the volunteers that come and help we would not be able to help Petey or the many other animals, mostly cats and dogs, that come to us with serious problems. Petey is enjoying himself at the moment but the diagnosis doesn't look good.
(Image is of Rob, one of our volunteer vets, holding Petey at the beach 50 yards from the clinic)