Generous Ocean Grove vet’s international mission

AN OCEAN Grove veterinarian has taken his talents abroad for the past five years, but with international flights grounded he is now calling on the community’s support.

Dr Charles El-Hage has become a much-loved character around Ocean Grove, according to colleagues, but even more impressive is his work to support animal charities in Lombok.

Five years ago, Dr El-Hage pioneered the World Spay Day event on the Indonesian island to help support local veterinarians with the out-of-control stray dog population.

“Anyone would do the same thing; I can help people and they are worth helping,” he said.

Usually specialising in equine practices, Dr El-Hage started the foundation on the back end of completing a horse project on neighbouring Indonesian islands.

“After I finished there was a volcano, so I had to go to Lombok and I met these wonderful people,” he said.

“Someone had mentioned the Lombok Rotary Club, so I went over there and talked to them about the wonderful projects they were running, mostly involving people who were undernourished and young girls.”

Dr El-Hage and the Rotary Club identified a need to combat the increasing issues stemming from the uncontrolled canine populations. Often overshadowed by the out-of-control dog breeding that occurs in Bali, Lombok experiences its own demand to rectify this issue.

A large population of stray dogs creates concerns for the animal’s welfare as well as amplifying the risk of rabies. In order to control the numbers without causing any harm, ‘spaying’ or desexing is used to control the canine population.

As a Melbourne University lecturer, Dr El-Hage would take teams of students over to assist at the desexing clinics while also providing much-needed training to local veterinarians.

“I live with perpetual guilt that I should be able to do more for the people who want to help and the people who need help,” he said.

“I could not get enough positions for all the people who wanted to help, it has been a really touching to see the beautiful people over there and beautiful people over here work together.”

Unable to go over and help out, Dr El-Hage has put together a fundraiser to assist with the ongoing problem and allow Rotary to continue its work.

“When you have an aid program it is important that you continue to support it and not just fly in and fly out and forgot about them when times are tough,” he said. “It shows we have not forgotten about them.”

Fifty Australian dollars allows one dog to be desexed, greatly improving the management of the stray dog population on the island.

The GoFundMe page has $780 donated from members of the community with a target goal of $1,200 to be achieved.

All funds raised through this campaign will go towards the Lombok Rotary Club who fund these clinics, while Dr El-Hage continues to support vets and students on the island remotely.

“They have become friends and I want to let them know that I am not fair-weather friend,” he said.