From May onwards, we have been introducing you to all the people who work hard to make the GSPCA philosophy of universal friendship and animal welfare a reality, featuring one person a month.

Dr Rashmi Rao is a veterinary surgeon with a varied background and experience. After graduation she spent two years in the Animal Husbandry department of Kerala, working for the upliftment of lower classes through the development of livestock farming - piggeries, dairy, poulty, sheep and goats included.

Field work is therefore something she carries out with aplomb - she is as at home surrounded by stable dung as in an aseptic hospital OT.

One of the few young vets in this country who has spent much of her career with animal welfare groups, she worked with the ABC ward of the Bombay SPCA for a year (following her Kerala stint) and then ran their mobile veterinary dispensary.

Gauri, Bhano & Rashmi in surgery

After marrying fellow vet Dr Kiran Rao, she moved to Goa, and worked for four months with the Goa Animal Welfare Trust and seven months with People For Animals, sterilising stray dogs for them, sometimes as many as 20 a day. She has performed over 1000 sterilsations so far. She has always been a regular volunteer with the Goa SPCA, and joined us officially in March this year. She now runs our shelter hospital at Torda, besides dealing with all the medical and surgical cases, and performing stray animal sterilisations.Here is what she has to say about her work,

"Only people who have pets/care for animals can
understand how special they are and how important their well being
is. They are more than just animals, they become a part of our
families, a friend to a lonely human...a part of our lives! That's the
main reason I became a veterinarian...to help and care for
the creatures who mean so much to me and bring so much joy into
our lives. Being a vet helps me care not only for animals who
have a home and are loved by compassionate kind hearted people, but
also so many out there who aren't so lucky...you would surprised
to see how many pets/animals are abused, neglected and abandoned by
their owners....that hurts me a lot. What brings meaning to my
working with animal welfare organisations and animal rights
groups...is that I can make a difference to some lives!
.
There are many challenging bits in my life as a
veterinarian. It's a real challenge to understand the pain of a
speechless animal, to diagnose a disease, to treat him. There have been
times when an animal would not respond and then look into my eyes
with great expectation....I had a lot to give, to help him from
his pain. It's also a real challenge to overcome the sheer strength of
the helpless animal, make him feel that I am there to help him and
not to hurt him, make sense from whatever he has to say, maybe through moans, through barks, know what it is that's hurting the animal and ultimately relieve him of his pain."