A VET who ‘found a purpose in life’ caring for thousands of stray dogs in Sri Lanka is embarking on another venture – to build a hospital to help even more.
Former Barnard Castle School student Janey Lowes has secured the land but needs £1.3m to finance the project.
The 37-year-old left Barney in 2007 but has kept in touch over the years as a proud Old Barnardian.
After studying in Nottingham and Liverpool and working as a vet in Newcastle, she moved to Sri Lanka 11-years-ago after holidaying there and seeing the plight of the thousands of stray street dogs, many of which were sick and injured. She founded the charity WECare Worldwide which has now treated 27,000 dogs including vaccinating and neutering them.
Broadcaster and adventurer Ben Fogle is the patron of the charity and recently organised a fundraiser in London at which he interviewed Janey in front of a packed audience of around 250 guests.
She is also in talks with Barnard Castle School to hold a future fundraising event. “I feel really lucky to have Barnard Castle School behind me 20 years down the line,” she said. “My school days were among the best times of my life and they set me up to be able to cope with the challenges I face. Barney gave me the confidence to know that I can generally work things out.”
Five years ago Janey wrote a book – Janey The Vet – outlining her journey since 2014 when a backpacking trip to Sri Lanka changed her life.
She has also launched her own brand of pet food – WECare Pet Food – with a 100 per cent of profits going to the charity. It’s available online and on subscription.
“Now we have secured land in Sri Lanka for a hospital and to create a training centre to improve veterinary standards,” she said. “It will host a veterinary nursing programme which will be transformational.
“It will improve care for thousands of animals, also help people by becoming an educational hub for the region and allow us to scale-up our outreach programme.”
Since its foundation the charity has grown from just being Janey to employing 70 people requiring around £1m a year to continue its work.
Janey said: “We are seeing positive impacts of our interventions and people are becoming more aware of our work so the condition of the dogs isn’t quite as bad, though there seems to be just as many strays. It’s a good feeling that we are getting our message through.
“When I first started I thought it would take five years but I now realise I completely underestimated the issue and it will be more like 50.
“There is still no government funding available in Sri Lanka and we rely on public donations, which tend to come mostly from the UK. When you see all the horrible things going on in the world at the moment it is lovely that there are still people out there who love dogs and want to help us.”
She said she was also grateful to Ben Fogle for his support. “His dad’s a vet and he loves dogs,” said Janey, of Barnard Castle. “He came out to see us to make a New Lives in the Wild programme and he became our first official patron.
“When I’m in Sri Lanka I feel so far away from those who donate to the charity, although I think about their generosity every day, so it was lovely to be in London in a room with some of these amazing people.”
Janey is hoping to plan more UK fundraisers and is considering bringing her book up to date as so much as happened since it was published.
Barnard Castle School headmaster David Cresswell said: “Janey’s story is a remarkable example of the values we hold dear at Barney – character, Community and ambition. It is inspiring to see an Old Barnardian making such a profound difference to lives, both human and animal, spreading the Barney Way on the other side of the world. We are incredibly proud of all that she has achieved and look forward to supporting her in this next exciting chapter.”
Anyone wanting to help the charity should visit www.wecareworldwide.org.uk.