Image Caption:
AMRRIC Intern Brooke Kennedy at Acacia community as part of a vet program.
Whilst COVID-19 has caused great complications for AMRRIC in the past month, the team was able to visit several local Town Communities to deliver much needed veterinary services. Whilst the communities of Acacia, Amangal, Knuckey Lagoon and 15 Mile are within close proximity of Darwin, many of these communities during the wet season can be blocked off due to flooding. To ensure that these communities have access to veterinary support and animal education, AMRRIC schedules these programs at the start of the year, avoiding the rainy season and ensuring that communities can be accessed.
AMRRIC visited the four Town Communities of Acacia, Amangal, Knuckey Lagoon and 15 Mile, to deliver veterinary services from November to early March 2020. Ongoing support and delivery are kindly made possible thanks to the generous funding from Yilli Rreung Housing Aboriginal Corporation.
AMRRIC works collaboratively with the Ark Animal Hospital to deliver the services to each of the Town Communities. Due to the consistency of the program and the team members, strong relationships with both owners and animals have been developed in each of the communities. The team look forward too much anticipated catch ups during their visits to each community. Such interactions include the much loved and locally famous buffalo, Acacia Girl. Acacia Girl is a wonderfully happy and friendly Buffalo, who has been living at Acacia since she was a baby. She is currently well over 400kg, loves a good scratch and can do a zoomies like a small Jack Russell. Acacia girl is a regular visitor to the surgery, receiving her annual health check and antiparasitic medication.
Visits to each of the communities give residents the opportunity to have their animals’ health checked, desexed, wormed and treated for external skin parasites. In total, across the four communities 17 dogs and 1 cat were desexed, 25 health checks for minor aliments carried out and over 150 antiparasitic treatments given to dogs and cats.
AMRRIC together with the Ark Animal Hospital look forward to future visits to these communities and the remaining Town Communities awaiting their service. Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic has cause disruptions to our program delivery the team remain in close contact with the residents of these communities and will continue to do so over coming months. Whilst restrictions remain in place prevent entry into most communities, AMRRIC is working hard to make our services accessible online, over the phone and through the help of many wonderful service providers. We are grateful for the wonderful relationships and friends we have developed within communities over the years and are thinking of everyone at this complex and challenging time
