Fundraiser this Saturday, Sept. 13 to aid stray dogs abroad

Amy Shroff has cared for animals most of her life.

As a child, she visited her father’s homeland in India and watched stray dogs roam the streets.

Those images stayed with her as she built her veterinary practice, and inspired her to create Lets Save the Strays International, a charitable, nonprofit organization dedicated to caring for dogs in underserved locations around the world.

“I wanted to do something where I could give back,” she said. What began as a self-funded project became Lets Save the Strays International.

To raise money for the nonprofit and further its mission, Shroff is hosting Pours for Paws, a wine tasting fundraiser, on Sept. 13 at the Weston Community Center, 20 Alphabet Lane, from 4 to 8 p.m.

Shroff has a long history of caring for strays. After India, she volunteered in Thailand, the Philippines and other countries before focusing on Myanmar, “because that is the area of greatest need.”

“The goal of [Lets] Save the Strays International is to go where no one else goes,” Shroff said. “There is need everywhere in the world and I’ve helped all over the world in many different projects, but I want to focus on Myanmar because it’s the poorest country in southeast Asia and it has the second highest incidence of rabies deaths among children.”

Working in the cities of Mandalay and Yangon, Lets Save the Strays employs local veterinarians, nurses, assistants and dog catchers, while volunteer feeders provide food for the street dogs.

“The goal,” Shroff said, “is to help local Burmese people solve their own problems.”

Employing a program called track, neuter, vaccinate, release (TNVR), dogs are vaccinated, dewormed, treated for infectious diseases, and then given flea and tick medications. Their ears are also notched so the locals know the dogs are safe to touch.

Between the two cities, Let’s Save the Strays is spaying and neutering about 600 animals a month, Shroff said.

“One dog can give rise to over 65,000 dogs in her lifetime if all of her progeny produce,” Shroff said. “They give birth to multiple litters a year, so the population can and does grow pretty quickly.”

To date, they have helped about 30,000 animals. With added funds, she hopes to help even more.

And it’s not just about the dogs. Let’s Save the Strays trains and mentors veterinary students, giving them the surgical skills needed to spay or neuter dogs, while also helping them understand humane care for animals.

“There is only one veterinary school in Myanmar and they don’t have any surgical training,” Shroff said.

When the students graduate, they can join the nonprofit.

Let’s Save the Strays also educates children by giving presentations on rabies and teaching them how to behave around stray dogs and recognize dog behaviors, she said.

Occasionally a dog is adopted, but Shroff said that is not the goal of her organization.

“Stray dogs, if they are safe and fed and healthy, live really happy lives on the street. It’s a warm country and they’re free and they live in groups,” Shroff said. “If they are not fighting and starving and constantly having to nurse puppies, they live as community members. They are well cared for and monitored.”

More about Pours for Paws

Pours for Paws will be held 4 to 8 p.m. Sept. 13, at the Weston Community Center, 20 Alphabet Lane.

Tickets are $65 and include unlimited wine tastings and appetizers.

There will be a wine pull, where for $25 participants can “pull” a wrapped bottle of wine that could be valued at $100.

A VIP Bubble Tent with champagne and chocolate will be open for people who become regular donors. It will also feature an artist giving henna tattoos.

There will also be a paddle raise, during which attendees will be given a numbered paddle and asked to raise the paddle if they want to donate $30 to spay or neuter one dog; then $100 to vaccinate 100 dogs. The number will continue to increase until they reach their goal.

An international market and a chance for higher donors to win a set of Boston Red Sox tickets will round out the offerings.

Shroff hopes to raise $35,000 at Pours for Paws. About 95 cents of every dollar goes to provide life-saving care for the animals. Workers in Myanmar are compensated, while board members from the U.S. are all volunteers.

“If we have the ability to stop suffering in a country that needs it so desperately,” Shroff said, “we should.”