WAG Rwanda completes their spay-neuter project

Welfare for Animals Guild-Rwanda is a 2nd time Animal-Kind International grantee. With this grant, WAG Rwanda launched a community spay-neuter project during which they sterilized a total of 45 dogs between October 2024 – March 2025. The sterilizations were carried out by their part-time vet Dr. Marie Reine, along with two graduate intern vets Dr Chantal and Dr. Emmanuel, who joined WAG as interns in mid-January 2025, and three veterinary student interns (Jean de Dieu, Saidi, and Derrick) who did a one-month placement at WAG from mid-February to mid-March 2025.

Vet Emmanuel returning Sadie home after her spay surgery

Picking up their dog after sterilization surgery at the WAG clinic

Part of the project was to make the WAG clinic space more functional, by purchasing a medicine cabinet, drugs, suture materials, and supplies for sterilizations and recovery.

WAG's new medicine cabinet, well stocked with meds thanks to the AKI grant

With funds from the AKI grant, WAG also purchased a microscope for use at the shelter to help with diagnostics, particularly for community dogs with skin and ear problems.

WAG reported that the medicine cabinet, supplies, and meds "have helped immensely with our internal shelter operations as well as our community work, and will continue to be used for the benefit of the community through the continuation of free services."

Vet student interns, graduate interns, and Dr Reine prepping a dog for surgery

Local dog Simba being neutered by Dr. Chantal with vet student Derrick assisting and Dr. Reine providing guidance. Vet interns and students are observing.

Dr. Marie Reine neutering community dog

This was a new type of project for WAG and they found that mobilizing the community for the surgeries was challenging. WAG told us about some of the challenges they faced:

"We discovered that people didn’t want the surgeries for a range of reasons, such as:

·       Their dog doesn’t come into contact with other dogs /is contained all of the time so there is no risk of pregnancy

·       They want to breed from their dog in the future

·       The belief that surgery for females is not possible, or if it is possible, it is dangerous and vets cannot do it

·       They don’t see the benefits of sterilization

·       Unlike vaccination, they are not mandated to sterilize their dog so they do not feel it necessary

·       They do not know WAG, and therefore do not trust us (Do we have trained vets? Will my dog be returned to me? Why are we offering this service for free?)."

WAG's social media post about the AKI grant project

A lesson learned, WAG told us is that, "People in Rwanda listen to their government officials. We feel that as we continue to offer free veterinary services to our community, we have to have the involvement of higher up Government officials as well as a more coherent plan for in-person community mobilization from our local leaders (local isibo (street) and village leaders), not just the sector vets who are already overloaded with work."