Harborough Mail reporter organises vet clinic for hundreds of Sri Lankan street dogs – but she needs your help treating even more

Along with treating some 50 street dogs the charity also rescued three puppies from the side of the road, which have since been rehomed in the UK and Amsterdam.

An animal lover and Harborough Mail reporter is heading on a volunteer trip to Sri Lanka in a bid to improve the lives of street dogs in the poverty-stricken country.

Laura Kearns first visited Sri Lanka in 2018, but was left devastated at the plight of dogs living on the streets.

Since then the 34-year-old from Warwickshire has self-funded a volunteer trip and become trustee of a charity called Lucas Helps Dogs to support the some six million street dogs in Sri Lanka.

Laura during a recent spay and neuter clinic

It funds spay and neuter clinics, rabies vaccinations, emergency treatments and aims to educate locals in animal welfare.

She was driven to help even more after rescuing a street dog who had been attacked with a machete and found gravely injured on the beach.

Laura drove to Germany to collect the dog, Kandy, who now lives with her.

Journalist Laura said: “Sri Lanka is such a beautiful country but I was left devastated by the number of street dogs, many injured and some even dead.

One of the pups helped by the charity was injured in a forest fire

“Every day dogs are born into a life of misery on the dangerous roads, where drivers aim for them, disease is rife and food and water is scarce.

“I knew after visiting that I couldn’t turn a blind eye to the suffering I saw and alongside working full time I spend pretty much every spare minute trying to raise money to support these dogs.

“While the charity pays for emergency treatment to help injured and disabled dogs, we really want to help the situation overall so are determined to spay and neuter as many street dogs as possible. Rabies is also prevalent over there, with children and dogs dying of the disease in recent months, so we ensure every dog we treat is given a rabies vaccination.”

Laura runs the charity alongside two friends and in January 2022 the trio carried out their first spay, neuter and vaccination clinic in a part of the island called Ella.

They funded the treatment of 50 animals and an emergency treatment for one dog who had an exposed bone in his paw.

Since returning home they have spent nearly every weekend fund-raising at local fairs by selling items they make, including leads, collars, bracelets and dog treats. They also custom create leads and collars which can be ordered online.

This year the charity has continued supporting dog rescuers in the country by paying for eight emergency treatments, medication, 60 rabies vaccinations and helping rehome Sri Lankan dogs to a new life abroad.

And while their overall mission was to raise enough money to carry out a clinic for 500 dogs when they visit the country in January 2023, the economic crisis in Sri Lanka has sent costs soaring and means they will have enough for only half that number.

Street dog Hope enjoys playing with a coconut

Laura said: “We completely fund transport, travel and all other costs ourselves and ensure all the money we raise goes to helping the dogs.

“We’ll be volunteering in Sri Lankan shelters and carrying out checks on dogs along the road who otherwise get no medical care. Our main reason for visiting though is to carry out a mass spay and neuter clinic in Ella to try and keep the dog population down following our work earlier this year.

“We have spent nearly every weekend at festivals and fairs up and down the country raising awareness about what we do and the plight of street dogs in Sri Lanka. Between us we’ve driven some 4,000 miles getting to events.

“While we have done amazingly well, the vet bills in Sri Lanka have nearly doubled due to petrol and medication costs which has vastly reduced the number of dogs we can treat.

“It’s devastating after working so hard all year that we might not reach our target, and now we are desperately trying to raise as much money as we can. The cost of neutering and vaccinating one street dog is now around £25 – double the previous cost – and it is the only way to reduce the number of dogs on the street and more being born into a life of misery.”

And as well as selling products they also take many of their handmade items to Sri Lanka and donate them to dog rescuers and for shelters to hand out to locals, who otherwise use rope or wire as collars and leads which can result in horrific injuries.

One of the dogs the charity has supported

Along with the spay and neuter clinic and donating items, Laura and the team will also be taking over running a small shelter on the south coast, which is home to nearly 100 disabled dogs and cats, in order to give its team of volunteers a much-needed break.

Laura added: “There’s very few animal lovers in Sri Lanka and the ones who do care for them really do have their work cut out.

“It will be great to go and do what we can and make a difference, and we plan to continue this work in specific areas to bring down the dog population before moving to the next area where stray numbers are out of control.

“We are doing our best to help as much as we can, and appreciate any support to continue our work changing the lives of Sri Lankan street dogs for the better.”

Visit www.lucashelpsdogs.com to donate, for more information or to order a handmade lead or collar.