20th Jun 2012
A.C.E. (Animal Care Egypt) - Luxor
I met Kim Taylor who was pleased to show me around her animal hospital centre where I met several of her volunteer helpers, workers and vets.
It all started with a visit by Kim Taylor and her aunt Julie Wartenburg. In 1998 They started to look for an area to rent and in 2000 they opened their charity not far from where it is today. The centre has grown with great success to where it is today and is world known.
Julie fund raises in England while Kim runs the centre here in Luxor. Kim has a passion for all animals which began at the age of fifteen when she worked for a veterinary practice near to her home in England. She also worked for a local stables.
The new Hospital Centre
After a benefactor left £90,000 to the charity a new purpose built building and area was created and in 2008 the new centre opened. This is a magnificent place that has all the facilities needed for such an animal care centre. They include – Paddocks for Horses and Donkeys, Dog and Cat Kennels, Stables, Shower cubicles, an outside animal clinic area, two inside clinic rooms for large animals and two inside clinic rooms for small animals, a temperature controlled medicines room which has a safe for dangerous drugs, a sterile room for bandages, dressings, equipment and so on, this also includes X-Ray and Endoscope equipment. There is also an impressive class room and a shop where you can buy Te-shirts, dog and cat collars and souvenirs; which brings in much needed revenue.
Outside Clinic Area
There is a very nice purpose build outside clinic area where people can bring their animals in for inspection by a vet. While I was there I watched as a vet attended the needs of a donkey that was just brought in with a problem to its rear leg. The owner said to me that he thinks his donkey had something stuck in its leg, possibly a nail or sorts. There was also a lovely goat ready to get some attention.
Shower Cubicles
Shower Cubicles
It was a pleasure seeing the local guys giving the horses and donkeys their showers, I am not sure who was enjoying it the most. The woman here is a volunteer. It is a great facility.
Stables
Stables
I was shown around the stables where there were many horses and donkeys in various stages of treatment, all had various dressings. The animals were very well cared for and the stables were very clean; which is a must for the healthy recovery of the patients. There were many people working in the stables. some cleaning, some caring. It is a great environment seeing so much being done for the animals.
Paddocks
Paddocks
There is a sad horse that has problems with its front feet (the licking horse). It will be well cared for here. I love this picture of the water bottle, I guess it is to cool the horse down.
Dog Kennels
Dog Kennels
There were two dogs, they looked very happy and healthy, so perhaps they are at the end of their treatment or were there being looked after while their owners were away.
Staff
The centre is run by 4 full time Vets and 4 full time Egyptian men that are paid a salary by the charity. There are also many volunteer workers, some part time some full times, some are ex-pats and some come here from the UK specially to help out and stay here anything from one week up to a month or more. The centre is currently running at a cost of £7,000 a month. A.C.E. Is well known and vets from all over the world come here to give their help and support and leave with a great experience.
All treatment for animals is free of charge. Only with the working animals do the owners have to pay a fee, i.e. Kaleshes or Ridding.
Interview with Kelly
I met up with Kelly Bailey who lives on the West bank here in Luxor. Kelly volunteers three days a week. This is what she said – It has become an obsession. I started here last September and was not sure if I could handle it, I thought I would get too upset. You do see some horrific things and I cried of course, we all do sometimes but the thing is you learn very quickly and the way to handle it is that with most of the animals that come in, it is not as bad as it first looks. There is lots of blood and the animals are stressed but the vets here are super duper and we have vets from all over the world here, the teamwork and the knowledge and the way they work together is wonderful; it just amazes me. So if you think of that and that most of the animals (not all) but a large percentage go back out and their fine. So you just have to think of that.
Some people come in to visit us and they wont even come in beyond the terrace, they get upset and are in floods, I say to them its not going to be bad, you wont see anything upsetting, we will keep you away from those areas.
Interview with Vet Dr. Matta.
Dr. Matta is a full time paid vet by the charity, he is a great man to speak to, I liked very much his positiveness and his outlook on the work done here at the centre. He told me that every six months they have visiting vets come here to help and gain experience. The stables handle around 100 animals a month that stay in for various lengths of time and 500 to the daily outside clinic area. Although all animals are treated here at the centre, we will go out to someone in an emergency if the animal is unable to come in.
Classroom
I was very impressed with the classroom. It was well laid out and had a projector screen and lecture aids. It is open 4 days a week – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and takes around 50 children daily. There is a takeaway envelope for the children to take back to their schools, it contains posters and information on how to care and look after animals, in putting posters up on the walls of their schools is a reminder of them being here and hopefully of what they have learnt.
It all starts with the children, to be educated in the health and care of animals, that they feel pain just like us, that they need water just like us, that they need shade from the sun just like us. It has to be good, the way forward for people to have respect for their animals.
I have never seen anything better than this centre. I most certainly would recommend to everyone to visit this outstanding place of excellence. Please do not worry about what you might see, it is not as bad as you might imagine. What you do see is a wonderful team of people giving the very best of treatment to so many needy animals. I am so pleased that these animals have such a great place to be brought to for help.
It all starts with the children, to be educated in the health and care of animals, that they feel pain just like us, that they need water just like us, that they need shade from the sun just like us. It has to be good, the way forward for people to have respect for their animals.
I have never seen anything better than this centre. I most certainly would recommend to everyone to visit this outstanding place of excellence. Please do not worry about what you might see, it is not as bad as you might imagine. What you do see is a wonderful team of people giving the very best of treatment to so many needy animals. I am so pleased that these animals have such a great place to be brought to for help.
Kim and her staff will welcome any visitors to the centre but it is advisable to phone first on 002 - 01003 999 716. Anyone that can offer their services are more than welcome as being a charity they rely on the generosity of people like you and me.
Here are some guidelines given out by ACE for you to remember when looking for a Kaleche (horse drawn carriage)
DO NOT overload - maximum 3 people and adult driver. Go no faster than a trot – any faster can damage the horse’s legs and could also cause it to full. If the horse looks thin, lame or badly treated then move on to look at the next horse.
DO NOT let the driver use his whip, there is no need for this.
DO NOT travel from east to west bank, this is too far in the heat for the horse and it could die from exhaustion.
DO insist if you get out at some point that the driver finds shade for the horse. Horses do suffer from sunstroke, so avoid the midday sun.
www.ace-egypt.org.uk
Well done to these two amazing ladies - Kim Taylor & Julie Wartenburg.