Veterinary Care and Spay-Neuter Services Provided to Roaming Street Dogs in Sierra Leone - June 2026

In June 2026, Compassionate Paws International completed a spay-neuter clinic for dogs in Freetown alongside a team of international veterinary specialists and recent paravet graduates from Njala University.

Compassionate Paws International 2026 Spay-Neuter Clinic Team

The event took place across five days, and focused on the spaying of female dogs, which are far fewer in number due to high rates of abandonment.

Dogs were either brought in by our catching team who were out in a vehicle, or by people from the surrounding areas who brought their dogs. We don't differentiate between owned and unowned dogs because our research shows that 89% of people let their dogs roam in the street, where they are part of the reproductive pool and are vulnerable to disease.

Each dog also received a rabies vaccination, anti-parasite treatment and any other necessary treatment.

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In total, the team completed 86 surgeries which included:

• 54 female spays

• 29 male castrates

• 1 wound stitch-up

• 1 aural haematoma

• 1 cat castrate

Additionally, 42 further dogs attended for a check-up, rabies vaccine and anti-parasite treatment. The team were also able to save two dogs from very severe cases of mange, and a malnourished 3-week old puppy with a high parasite burden.

The below image shows a dog who attended our clinic, and the same dog three weeks later after taking the treatment given. Her owner had not known where or how to seek treatment before, and she had walked over two hillsides to our field clinic when she had heard that we were there.

We would like to thank all those that took part in making it a successful week, including the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) and Freetown City Council. Thank you also to the following people and organizations for their extremely kind donations: Birmingham Dogs Home, Hawthorne Lodge, the Lewis family, who donated in memory of their son, Patrick Lewis and his dog Hendrix, North Tyneside Vets for Pets, Philadelphia Adult League Softball (PALS), Taylor Vets and Willows Veterinary Centre.