Warning: Some pictures maybe upsetting

EVER wondered why your dog or horse behaves in a certain way? Well, now’s your chance to be given an insight into their minds and pick up tricks and tips to change their behaviour.

The Wadswick Country Store near Corsham is hosting an Equine and Canine Behaviour Evening on Tuesday, January 24.

The event has been organised to raise funds for The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust (GHDT), a small UK-based charity which has been working in The Gambia for over 20 years to improve the welfare of working equines and provide education to equine owners. 

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust helps to relieve the suffering of horses and donkeys The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust helps to relieve the suffering of horses and donkeys (Image: Freelancer)

Event organiser Ali Scott said: “In recent years the charity has expanded their work to help other species, including dogs, cats, cattle, monkeys, camels and even crocodiles, due to the lack of other organisations available to help and the immense animal suffering seen.

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust is helping people in Gambia to understand how to care for their petsThe Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust is helping people in Gambia to understand how to care for their pets (Image: Freelancer)

“The charity is also very committed to supporting the local communities and regularly encounters the tragic circumstances of human loss, some of which is contributed to by dog-mediated rabies.

“Rabies is one of the most neglected tropical diseases that predominantly affects poor and vulnerable populations who live in remote rural locations.

“Rabies is a vaccine-preventable infectious viral disease that is spread to people through bites or scratches, usually via saliva.

“Once a person is infected with rabies it almost always results in death, unless the individual receives post-exposure prophylaxis (vaccine and Immunoglobulin) before symptoms begin to appear.”

Worldwide there are 59,000 human deaths each year due to dog-mediated rabies, 21,476 of which are in Africa. One person dies from rabies every nine minutes, according to the World Health Organisation.

“The aim of this event is to raise funds and find major donors for a new Education, Vaccination and Neutering Project within The Gambia, which aims to reduce dog-mediated rabies, and thus save human lives.

“The project also aims to provide evidence that attitudes and behaviour towards dogs can change, even in cultures where there is a long-standing fear and persecution of these animals.”

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust checks a dog with LeishmaniasisThe Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust checks a dog with Leishmaniasis (Image: Freelancer)

The event on January 24 will be presented by fully-qualified clinical animal behaviourists Anna Saillet, Ali Scott and Jenny Baxter.

It will be held at the Wadswick Country Store on the Bradford Road at Corsham. Doors open at 6:45pm for a 7:15pm start.

Tickets at £12 each are available on EventBrite. Click here to purchase.

For any questions, please email Ali Scott ali@thedogproject.co.uk.