Being veterinary staff is hard work! It’s mentally and physically challenging, smelly and dirty at times, but we love it! It's not surprising therefore that a good number of South Moor's staff have chosen to spend their holidays volunteering for a charity called Worldwide Veterinary Service. WVS puts us in contact with charities around the world who desperately need our skills and enthusiasm to help animals in less affluent countries.

In November, after getting my vaccines, packing my malaria pills, mosquito net, surgical scrubs and dog collars for my patients, I headed off on an amazing adventure. Leaving my comfort zone on the tarmac in London, I headed to Botswana to volunteer at Maun Animal Welfare Society. MAWS was set up by an inspirational lady called Mervyn, who built a clinic and cottage on her property. Visiting vets and nurses treat strays brought in by the public, as well as locally-owned dogs whose carers are unable to afford veterinary treatment; all under the watchful eye of the highly skilled local para-veterinary staff.

The pets of Botswana have quite a free-range existence! The dogs (and cats) tend to roam in packs, only returning home at night. Many owners can barely afford to feed them, let alone vaccinate or neuter them. The main aims of MAWS are to ensure protection against rabies and pet population control, by offering vaccine and neuter clinics in the local surrounding villages. This has benefits not only for the pets, but also their human friends and the wild animal population. Wild dogs, lions and cheetahs are all susceptible to rabies and distemper. These wild populations can be wiped out by contracting disease from the pet population. Rabies is also extremely serious in humans, which can be contracted by being bitten by an infected animal.

I was met at the airport by that wonderful wave of heat you get in Africa and the smiling welcome of Carmen, MAWS Administrator. We dropped my bags at the volunteers’ cottage and then got straight to work. The facilities at MAWS are limited. We had no piped oxygen, a limited supply of drugs and frequent power cuts for which the emergency generator had to kick in. Despite this, I never felt we were short changing our patients. I treated many road traffic injuries, dogs that had been attacked by warthogs and got familiar with numerous exotic parasites.

My favourite days were the outreach days. We’d notify a local village a week in advance, then arrive early in the morning with two gazebos and everything we needed to perform neutering procedures in the open air under some trees. Crowds of locals would turn up with their dogs and we’d neuter and vaccinate them right there with an audience of local kids! I really knew we were making a massive difference to their lives.

On my days off I drove into the Okavango Delta for an amazing wildlife safari day and a dug-out canoe trip where I was lucky enough to see Lions, giraffes, elephants, cheetah, hippos and many more.

I’m already planning my next working holiday!