Saving the animals...
From 3A
like to see the animal cruelty bill passed so that there will be hefty fines for people who mistreat animals and fines for people who abandon animals like garbage. “I would love to see clubs being formed in schools, animal welfare clubs that teach children the proper way to take care of their animals and the proper way to be kind,” she said.
She noted that as a child she always thought she was different as many children her age did not have the same passion for animals and she believes that there are children who might feel that way but feel that there is something is wrong with them. Clubs in schools will help them to find likeminded children, which for her is important.
“But we [society] have come a long way but we have a long way to go. When we started the foundation, it was said it was impossible to foster an animal and now we have 14 foster homes. It was said it would have been impossible to raise money for spaying and we did four spay projects in the last two months, spaying around 30 animals. People contact us on Facebook and say they would like to contribute, and we have volunteers, whose families assist us,” Lam explained.
The work is not without its hazards. Lam has had various skin conditions because of her work, and she was bitten twice. The emergency room is familiar to her because she is allergic to animals and would often have breathing problems for which she has to seek medical attention.
“But nothing would stop me,” Lam maintained when asked if she would consider cutting back on the work she does.
Since 2017 the foundation has not only fostered cats and dogs but also a baby otter, a mongoose, two ocelots and sloths. They have been in contact with the Wildlife Commission which has given assistance.
Whenever there is some difficulty, she calls veteran animal rights activist Syeda Manbodh, who would walk her through the steps to be taken.
While two years ago they hardly got calls from members of the public, Lam said today they receive about 100 calls a day coupled with several Facebook messages all from people who are concerned about the treatment of animals.
The foundation also received a boost when the Humane Society International, a big animal welfare group, visited Guyana and invited its members to a workshop and trained them how to effectively trap, neuter and release animals. With this training the members will now go around to the marketplaces and other public areas where animals are found and spay them on the spot.
Family and job
Lam is married and has two children, who are ages 17 and 11. She said she was lucky to be married to an animal lover like herself and today the family has one dog, seven cats and seven kittens she is currently bottle feeding until they are old enough to be adopted.
She shared that all members of the foundation have their families and jobs to juggle.
She thinks she has found a good balance because from Monday to Friday she focuses on the animals and on the weekends, she focuses on her business, Book A Bounce Party Services, which does party and event planning. “It is pretty hectic, but I love doing what I do because I love children. So, it is not a job for me, it is actually fun for me to go out and work,” Lam said. She said she does not regret her decision two years ago to invest in the business because now she has more time and more money to rescue animals. She revealed that her pet food bill can be as much as $25,000 a month.
Lam’s passions will intersect later this month as Rosewood Foundation is planning a Halloween fair, under the theme ‘Pet-Tacular,’ in Bel Air. Anyone who is interested can visit the organisation’s Facebook page for tickets and directions.There will be prizes for best costumes and all proceeds will go to the foundation’s work.