Since 2017 we strive to support Rwandan communities by providing free services to  owned dogs in Musanze District, such as rabies vaccination and surgical castration, in order to both protect the population against rabies  and as a population control measure.

In some rural areas, dogs (both female and male) are at times castrated by the owners themselves. Those procedures include scarring bitches’ vaginas by using hot irons, or the use of rubber bands on male dogs’ testicles. Those procedures are not only exceptionally cruel, they are also unsafe as they can result in the dead of the animal caused by infection, or their inability to urinate afterwards. Additionally, they do not affect the internal biological and physiological system of bitches, which will still get in heat, hence attracting male dogs. In some cases, they will remain able to mate and remain pregnant, and simply become unable to give birth, leading to further health-risks. When such dogs are brought to NVVH-run castration events, we will still provide additional surgical castration so to remove the reproductive organs, which contributes to greatly improving their welfare by erasing the chance of pregnancies which cannot be brought to term.

Since the inception of this project in 2018, about 2000 doses of rabies vaccine were administrated to different dogs, most of which were then additionally castrated or spayed.

A considerable number of maltreated dogs were rescued and linked to responsible people who can be able to take care of them.

During the field activities we provide the following services:

• Vaccination
• Spay/castration
• Microchipping
• Deworming tablets
• Treatment when needed (including minor or major surgeries accordingly)

To improve our ability to keep track of the project outcomes and for future follow-ups, we have started tattooing neutered in 2023, allowing us to identify their Sector of residence and the location in which the operation took place.