Every stray dog has its day, but some have it in England

~ A British nurse and her friends lead a campaign to find homes for Lankan strays

Joey, Lizzy, Scruf, Emily and Poppy boarded the SriLankan Airlines flight to London on November 3. At Heathrow, they disembarked at the animal reception area ahead of being taken to the quarantine kennel where they would remain for six months before they would find a new home with English families.

A few hours prior to departure, the pups (aged three months to one year) played around in the garden, a temporary shelter that British national Kim Cooling had arranged for them, blissfully unaware that their lives were destined to change drastically. From being strays, abandoned and picked up near rubbish dumps in Colombo and Negombo, they were going to find homes in the English countryside.

Their saviour is Kim Cooling, a nurse and social worker, who works with the elderly in a British government project. A regular holiday-maker here, Kim first came to Sri Lanka 10 years ago with her husband.

"We noticed the terrible state of stray dogs in Sri Lanka and resolved instantly to provide them some sort of care," she says. Thereafter during every visit the couple fed stray dogs they came across, had them sterilized, splayed and treated for worms.

During the past three years, however, having obtained the required permits, Kim along with her friend Morag Longmuir has taken around 20 victimised dogs, which were not able to find homes here, to England.

"There is nothing set up here to accommodate them," she says, adding, "We have a friend in Somerset who finds homes for them in the countryside."

Determined to find an alternate solution to the problem of strays, Kim and Morag on their recent visit met Health Ministry officials. "They promised us some land outside Colombo," she says. They hope to set up a home for homeless dogs - a home that will give strays the very best of veterinary care in addition to treatment for the sick and those injured by road accidents

Kim hopes to raise funds locally and internationally by setting up a web site to finance the clinic, shelter and lodging for the care givers. She considers it an opportunity for Sri Lankan animal lovers to help support the forgotten stray dog population. "They suffer until they die with no hope," she says.

She thinks people here are unnecessarily fearful of stray dogs. "We have nothing to fear from them," she says, kissing and patting them gently. "All they want is some food, water and to be loved."

In England, the dogs she has already taken across have made wonderful family pets, she says, - affectionate, obedient, loyal and easy to train. Kim herself has two Sri Lankan mongrels who are totally devoted to her.

The relocation of stray dogs has been an expensive procedure for which she and her friend have had to spend from their earnings. It costs about 2,000 pounds for every dog that they take to England.

However, visiting the pups they have placed so far, it has been rewarding to see them healthy, loved and considered part of a family unit. "They remember us and we receive a wonderful welcome."

In 2000, Kim Cooling single-handedly brought a halt to the annual slaughter of hundreds of street animals in Bangkok. Today she continues to raise awareness of animal cruelty around the world.