Shaun Opperman's tenure at Battersea spans more than 30 years, during which he has overseen the treatment of countless dogs and cats, many arriving as strays or surrendered pets. We are thrilled to have Shaun leading our upcoming Veterinary Study Tour Lanka In anticipation of the trip, he has kindly answered some of our burning questions.
I started at Battersea as a surgical locum, quite by accident as it happens, but found myself becoming steadily more attracted to the idea of shelter medicine as a distinct discipline and career path – it was very much in its infancy at the time. I am also a keen soft tissue surgeon and there was always a steady throughput of interesting cases to deal with in that regard. The facilities were certainly rudimentary when I started, and I suppose part of my ambition was to improve the kennel and cattery environment for our animals, and also the veterinary clinic side, to be able to provide the best veterinary care for some of the most disadvantaged animals in society.
Most vets would probably say no, in the sense that you never know what is going to walk through the door that day. Often, animals that arrive at a shelter have suffered from significant neglect, needing intensive care from the outset. Alongside this, we have to quickly assess their temperament to be able to care for them safely and to find the right homes for them.
The most obvious obstacle is the diagnostic side as we are dealing with patients that can’t talk to us! This is a particular challenge in a shelter, where a large percentage of our intake are stray dogs and cats. Not having an owner attached means that we don’t have any background or clinical history to rely on, which are usually such important parts of the diagnostic process.
Too many to mention, but we did have a stray dog that turned up with a wooden kebab skewer sticking out of its flank. He must have swallowed the entire kebab! The food part will have been broken down and digested, leaving the skewer to slowly work its way out of the stomach, somehow bypassing all the internal organs, only to emerge from the abdomen and through the skin. How the dog managed to avoid nasty peritonitis, I’ll never know. He certainly seemed remarkably untroubled by the situation!
Battersea has been supporting organisations in Sri Lanka over recent years to improve health and welfare outcomes for dogs and cats. On day two, we are due to visit the Animal Wellness Trust, which was founded in response to the growing stray animal population and the critical lack of veterinary care and welfare infrastructure in the country. To date they have helped over 4000 animals, through their rescue, rehoming, and neutering programmes. Whilst I have never visited, I have a particular interest in this charity, as Battersea is supporting AWT to work towards becoming a good practice shelter model, by providing expertise, funding, and training. A key focus is on establishing their clinic, SOPs, a digital system for their animal records, and implementation of shelter management principles, including piloting rehoming programmes. AWT will then move to developing a dog population management programme within the communities surrounding Bandaragama, to first address high levels of puppy abandonment.
The elephant sanctuary would have to be an anticipated highlight for me.
Getting to meet new, like-minded colleagues on our travels, whilst seeing first-hand how our Sri Lankan colleagues strive to improve welfare outcomes for animals in what I expect are often challenging circumstances. Plus, the food!
You can find further details about this tour here.
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