Two weeks ago, the CERCOPAN camp staff visited our host village, Iko Esai, for an evening a way from camp.  Whilst having a quiet drink in the local bar two members of the group returned having seen a small puppy in bad condition hiding under a broken umbrella.  Upon inspection we realised this puppy was in a very awful state and close to death.  She was covered in wounds and blood, and was responding very little to the activities going on around her.  The CERCOPAN staff acted quickly, finding and speaking to the owner and arranging for the puppy to return to our camp to be cared for.  She was carried carefully in a jacket for the difficult 30 minute motorbike ride to camp, through rain and flooded rivers.

Upon arrival to camp we were able to better assess the condition of the dog and begin work on improving her welfare.  The poor thing was covered in sores and a vast number of parasites including ticks and fleas.  She was also painfully thin and extremely dehydrated.  She lay quietly as we treated her wounds and cleaned her up.  Four of us sat around her, all armed with a pair of tweezers, picking off the vast number of ticks, many of which had congregated in her ears.  The conversation with her owner had revealed that she was taken from her mother whilst still nursing and thus had grown weaker and weaker due to lack of food.  Over the coming days she was fed mainly on milk and biscuits.  We have built her up to more solid foods including rice and her now favourite dish, fish.  Our veterinary nurse came to visit her, treating her for endoparasites, such as worms, and giving us helpful advice on her further care. 

She has grown in strength over the last weeks and we get more and more excited every time she achieves new goals.  When she first arrived she was too weak to stand but in a few days we saw her little head peeking out from over her box as she stood up on her own for the first time.  She took her first steps, although wobbly, and is getting more and more inquisitive about her new environment.  She frequently tries to jump out of her box now (something we only allow when there is a volunteer to keep an eye on her) and is forging a friendship with our older camp dog, Simon, who has been particularly lonely since the passing of his camp companion Jami.

Since her vast improvement we have negotiated with her owner and come to an agreement that she will be better as a camp dog where we can continue her much needed care.  We have not decided on her official name yet although there have been many suggestions including; Wormy, Patchy, Ticky Waka Waka and Samo (local language meaning ‘Thank You’.  However, the most commonly used is Ticky, in memory of her first night and the long hours spent using tweezers…………