Embark helps 7,000 dogs

Embark, the community animal welfare initiative of ODEL, said that it has with the support of partner organisations, assisted 7,183 stray dogs since its inception in March 2007.

The program, which leverages ODEL's intuitive skill at fashion retail to raise funds for the cause and promote care for street pooches, said 2010 was its busiest year to date, with multiple projects and campaigns generating wider community participation.

In the 12 months ending December 2010, Embark had sterilised and vaccinated 1802 stray dogs, provided vaccines for another 831, rescued 155 injured animals off the streets, provided special treatment to 803 more and found homes for 88.

This brought the cumulative number of dogs sterilised and vaccinated to 4,306, and the number of dogs vaccinated to 1,547.

Special treatments had been provided to 909 street dogs and 207 injured had been rescued.

The number of strays re-homed by the program stood at 214.

"These dogs would have been exposed to disease and injury and would have been suffering on the streets if not for the efforts of Embark," said Trustee of Blue Paw Trust (BPT) Dr. Nalinika Obeyesekere.

The Trust works with the objective of conducting humane dogs and rabies management programs in a professional and scientific manner, balancing human and animal needs and welfare.

"The Trust has provided veterinary and technical expertise to Embark on many of the program's sterilisation and vaccination campaigns, and we appreciate and value what the Embark team is trying to achieve," she said.

Manager of the Tsunami Animal People Alliance (TAPA), a non-profit organisation dedicated to reducing rabies and dog bites in the disaster zone and refugee settlements through a combination of vaccination and sterilisation, Dr. Roshan Fernandopulle, said: "The Alliance has interacted and worked with Embark because we share a common cause.

The dedication of the team and the sustainability built into the initiative are commendable."

"Without sterilisation, new generations of animals needing vaccination will continue to be produced.

Sterilisation and vaccination provide humane animal population control that reduces rabies and dog bites, mitigates the threat of mass killing of animals, and improves the welfare of both the people and the animals," he explained.

Activities conducted by Embark encompass several elements that contribute to better management of community animals.