How A Wayland Vet Is Saving Dogs, Cats Across The World With 'Simple Concept'

WAYLAND, MA — After Wayland veterinarian Amy Shroff sold her successful Waltham practice about a decade ago, she wanted to commit herself to helping stray animals.

Shroff knew from her own experience — her father is from India — that nations across Asia struggle with stray cats and dogs, which are often subject to abuse and extermination because they carry diseases like rabies. The animals also often get maimed or killed by cars, or suffer from diseases like distemper — rare in America. First, she tried working on adopting the animals, jetting them across the globe to new owners in the U.S.

"That quickly became something that was not tenable," she said, naming factors like cost and import restrictions.

The solution, she found, was much simpler and local (and familiar for any Bob Barker fan): using vets located abroad to trap, neuter, vaccinate and release stray dogs and cats — called "TNVR" for short. The practice prevents animal and human disease, and reduces stray populations to manageable levels.

"It’s a ridiculously simple concept, but it works," she said.

Shroff founded the nonprofit Let's Save The Strays International to leverage donations from the U.S. to perform relatively cheap veterinary care abroad. Today, the nonprofit works with local vets and volunteers in Tula, Russia, Mandalay in Myanmar, the Philippines and Chiang Mai in Thailand.

The nonprofit's work goes especially far in countries like Thailand and Myanmar, where the cost to neuter an animal can be as little as $25 compared to hundreds of dollars in the U.S. Vaccines on par with ones available in the U.S. go for $3 to $5.

Shroff says her work in Myanmar is especially important. The nation, which is in the midst of a civil war that began after a 2021 coup d'état, follows a policy of poisoning and killing strays with strychnine to control disease. Many similar nonprofits refuse to work in the country without a promise from local leaders to end the poisonings, but Shroff says TNVR can help save animals and humans from disease like rabies to help them avoid inhumane treatment.

The work also helps keep the animals with the humans who care for them. Although dogs and cats might be labeled "strays," there are networks of humans who feed and care for the animals. The nonprofit's work helps keep those bonds intact.

Shroff just returned from a multiweek trip across Thailand and Myanmar, and is in the midst of a Valentine's Day-themed fundraiser where donors can send cards to their sweethearts in the name of saving a stray. The goal is to raise $10,000 to prepare for the nonprofit's next TNVR blitz across the continent.

Shroff does want to expand to other locations across the globe, but wants to see stray populations fall by close to 90 percent before starting work in another location. The nonprofit is also helping train volunteers to perform sterilizations and give vaccines — opportunities that help spread the TNVR concept.

"It’s pretty amazing how well it’s done," Shroff said of her local vets. "We're trying to bring care where there are no resources."

To find out more about Let's Save the Strays and its ongoing fundraising campaigns, visit the nonprofit's website.