Animal SOS Sri Lanka
1291. Kim Cooling
Kim Cooling, from London, is the founder of 'Animal SOS Sri Lanka', one of the few sanctuaries in the country supporting its population of three million stray dogs.
In the past ten years, ‘Animal SOS Sri Lanka’ has saved thousands of street animals. The sanctuary, located in southern Sri Lanka, is currently caring for over 1700 destitute dogs and 62 cats, many of whom are disabled or victims of abuse. The charity provides free neutering and care for the animals, rabies vaccination programs in the villages and animal welfare education. Just this past year, ‘Animal SOS Sri Lanka’ has provided over 20,000 treatments for disease and 11,500 vaccinations for dogs in Sri Lanka, as well as feeding more than 1,600 animals a day. Kim hopes to expand the reach of the charity, to help even more animals.
In a personal letter to Kim, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
“I know you do this with no thought of praise or reward, but allow me to offer my own recognition of how you are providing life-saving veterinary care and rehabilitation to thousands of stray and suffering animals in Sri Lanka.”
Kim said :
“I am delighted to receive the Points of Light award. ‘Animal SOS Sri Lanka’, the UK registered charity I founded, has always been a labour of love for the street dogs and cats that suffer immensely and have lonely, painful deaths. Ten years on and after much blood, sweat and tears we have saved thousands of precious lives through our work in Sri Lanka and paved the way for a better future for street animals. We nurse animals back from the brink of death every day of the week. We never give up on them and they are so grateful for that. We also provide local employment opportunities to 40 villagers, many of whom were directly affected by the 2004 Tsunami. However, we have so much more to do and so many more animals desperately needing our help. My dream is to expand our vital project to other areas in Sri Lanka where sick and injured street animals have no access to help whatsoever. I hope that one day we have the resources to realise this dream.”