Animal welfare feature & images by Meg Hilbert Jaquay, Co-Founder, Uniquely Paws Ltd
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Welcome To The Eye Magazine Directory
Animal welfare feature & images by Meg Hilbert Jaquay, Co-Founder, Uniquely Paws Ltd
One of the most tangible intersections of animal protection and public health lies in the realm of zoonotic diseases – those that can be transmitted between animals and humans.
Take rabies, for example – a lethal virus often transmitted through the bite of an infected animal. By protecting domestic animals from rabies, we not only shield them from a dreadful fate but also create a robust barrier against the transmission of this fatal disease to humans through bites, and we do not want one more person dying of a rabies bite in Uganda. Animal vaccination programs, a cornerstone of animal protection, serve as a proactive defense mechanism against these zoonotic threats. But it’s not affordable for the 1Million+ domestic animals here in Uganda, but there is a solution.
Have you seen the new, yellow dog collars in your neighbourhood yet? This new initiative, created and funded by Uniquely Paws Ltd, a non-profit based in the USA, and run by our very own Meg Hilbert Jaquay and Sue Williams, is called The Yellow Collar Initiative. For every dog that receives a rabies vaccination in Uganda, they receive a yellow collar, each with a unique registration number on it, indicating that the animal has received a rabies vaccine, in which district the dog lives (1 is for Kampala, 2 is Wakiso, and so on), and the year they first received their collar.
These collars are made in Uganda by Leopards Branch in Lubowa.
(You can see George here, one of Meg’s dogs, with the first rabies collar of its kind in Uganda: Photo courtesy of Meg Jaquay)
Well, fortunately or unfortunately, Meg has been the recipient of over 200 “over the wall” puppies in her compound in the 10+ years she has been living in Uganda, in fact 19 in one month.
(VetConekt veterinarians perform free spay and neuter at Uniquely Paws sponsored Kawaala Free Community Clinic February 2024: Photo courtesy of Meg Jaquay)
So, seeing this as a bit of a crisis in her neighborhood, she raised money to sponsor a free community spay and neuter clinic in her area, in partnership with the Uganda Society for the Protection and Care of Animals(USPCA), and within months, the number of puppies abandoned at her gate reduced to nearly zero, so something worked. Then, she met Sue as a volunteer from the USPCA, and both being from NY, they realized their interests and passions around women’s rights and animal welfare deserved a larger platform, and so Uniquely Paws Ltd was formed in 2022. And to date, Uniquely Paws clinics have served 2,563 animals, and performed 425 spay and neuter surgeries. For every female dog who is NOT spayed, there is the potential for that mama dog to give birth to 40 puppies in 2 years.
But raising money to just sponsor these clinics was not enough of a program to attract funding. It needed more community involvement so that it was more of a Circular Economy model…all inputs are sold and the profits go back into the community.
So Meg, managing Southside Farmers Markets Craft Popup markets for several years knew of very many craft groups, many of them women artisans, so they decided to engage these women to make animal-themed items for sale. It all started with a quilling ornament, to now Uniquely Paws has over 100 different products for sale. Sue, who is based in the USA, takes many of the items to craft markets around the Northeast and Mid Atlantic states and the proceeds are sent back to Uganda to sponsor the free community clinics. And Meg has them for sale at her office in Kawempe, or at the various craft markets held around Kampala throughout the year.
(The abstract dog-face quilling ornament being produced by Beauty for Ashes, Jinja: Photo, courtesy of Meg Jaquay)
Then Meg and Sue were introduced to the concept of “One Health”, which encapsulates the recognition that the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems is interlinked. An eco-health approach acknowledges that a disturbance in one element of this triad ripples through the others. So, in January 2024, in partnership with KCCA District Veterinary Office (DVO), Uganda Small Animal Practitioners Alliance (USAPA), VetConekt, Uganda Animal Welfare Coalition (UAWC), and Makerere Veterinary College, Uniquely Paws formed a new team under a program called Uganda Rabies Eradication and Animal Welfare Initiative. The critical roles this coalition now plays is two-fold: stop the mass poisoning of our roaming dogs by holding free spay and neuter clinics; and provide free rabies vaccination services to all community dogs and cats towards the Rabies Free 2030 Initiative in Uganda, in conjunction with Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) rabies free worldwide initiative.
(Alex Ochieng from USPCA, Sue Williams from Uniquely Paws and Dr. Kassim from VetConekt at a Uniquely Paws sponsored clinic in 2023: Unknown Photographer)
Taking awareness to the next level is the education component of the Uniquely Paws program. Our cherished companions, dogs and cats, serve as sentinels for potential public health threats. Regular veterinary care, responsible pet ownership, and disease surveillance within domesticated animals contribute to early detection and containment of emerging health risks. Moreover, the human-animal bond cultivated through responsible pet ownership has positive implications for mental health and community well-being.
Empowered communities are more resilient in the face of health challenges, fostering a ripple effect of positivity.
(This dog’s smile turned to a frown a few minutes later as his owner brought him for the first castration surgery of the year at the Uniquely Paws sponsored Kawempe Free Community Clinic, February 2024: Photo courtesy of Meg Jaquay)
(Young girl “shading” in her coloring book at the Uniquely Paws sponsored World Rabies Day 2023 free community clinic in Kansanga : Photo courtesy of Meg Jaquay)
An informed community is a resilient community. So before World Veterinary Day in April 2024, this coalition will start tracking all animal care services across the country on the GARC online tool. It will allow the coalition to see the gaps in serviced areas, and the hot spots of potential rabies threats. With this data, the Coalition can target areas in more need and organize more free community clinics in conjunction with local leaders.
And last but not least, Animal protection efforts invariably involve educational initiatives on responsible pet ownership, which is why every child who brings their pet to a clinic receives a free coloring book to teach them how to take care of their dog or cat. By nurturing a culture of awareness, we equip individuals, especially the children, to make informed choices that contribute to public health on both personal and collective levels.
As we embrace the interconnectedness of all living beings, let us champion animal protection not merely as a moral imperative but as an indispensable pillar for the well-being of present and future generations. It is, indeed, an investment in a healthier, more harmonious world.
(Two Kawempe community members and their dogs thanking Uniquely Paws for sponsoring the Kawempe Free Community Clinic, February 2024: Photo Courtesy of Meg Jaquay)
