Photos from Hyde Park Veterinary Clinic's post MEET BALU!
On Dr. Jensen’s recent World Vets Nepal Project in Kathmandu she met Balu. He is a street dog living right outside the back gate of the Kathmandu Guesthouse where she stayed. He had ingratiated himself to a very nice lady who has the jewelry shop across the street from the hotel and she considers him “her dog”. He hangs out in her shop and welcomes customers throughout the day, and when the shop closes in the evening, he patrols around the narrow streets nearby with 2 of his sisters. It is easy to spot that they are related because all 3 have short “Bassett Hound” legs.
While chatting to the jewelry shop owner, Dr. Jensen’s team explained that they were in Nepal participating in a large scale spay/neuter project for street dogs. One of the technicians had the great idea of offering to transport Balu to the clinic location to be neutered, and the shop owner was so excited and thankful that she cried. The next day they stopped at the shop on their way to the bus stop and picked up Balu. Christina, the lead technician, carried Balu all the way to the bus stop (he has never been on a leash before) and loaded him into the seat next to her. He calmly road with the team on a bumpy, lurching bus for 45 minutes to the clinic location. He then spent the day with them working his way from premed to induction, to surgery and then to recovery. He even helped celebrate one of the trip members birthday at the end of the work day. He received lots of extra attention and cuddles throughout the day and then was loaded back on the bus to travel back home. After a full day spent with this lovable guy, the team couldn’t help but give him a nickname. They ended up calling him “Stuart” for the rest of their stay.
They delivered him back to his person and checked in on him daily for the next week whenever they passed by the jewelry shop. He made a speedy recovery and the shop owner had a huge smile on her face whenever they stopped by. Dr. Jensen’s team all felt fortunate to have been able to meet the shop owner and Balu/Stuart during their week in Kathmandu ... See more