Te Are Manu is the only vet clinic in the Cook Islands. And we want to serve the community of the Cook Islands, not just Rarotonga. We hope to be able to visit as many of the Pa Enua as we are able at regular intervals, writes Te Are Manu Veterinary Clinic services vet Dr Michael Baer.

A combined team from Te Are Manu and the CISPCA were lucky enough to visit Atiu from 18 to 25  November.

Air Rarotonga accommodated our travel and freight requirements, for which we are so grateful.

The support they provide has made all our work in Aitiu, Mangaia and Aitutaki this year possible. The service we received from them was fantastic. Good thing I wasn’t navigating though, I wanted to land at Takutea

Takili Talagi-Tairi was amazingly helpful, he had our clinic location organised, at the Atiu Island Council Agriculture nursery. Island EO, Maara Tairi, unfortunately for us, had to attend a meeting in Rarotonga, departing as we arrived. But we couldn’t have proceeded without his support. Jude Isaia was a great help coordinating and assisting in the lead up. Without their local knowledge and their practical input, we would have been lost.

After settling in at our accommodation at Taperere Lodge, which was fabulous, we headed to the nursery to do some work. Friday afternoon and after a good few animals desexed, and a few health checks done, we were free to go exploring. And there is so much to explore. For those who have been, you will know, for those who haven’t, you should. We had a great weekend looking around the island. Thanks to SuperBrown for the vehicle.

From Monday to Thursday we repeated the pattern, working until the flow of animals stopped, then more exploring. We enjoyed a great lunch at Areora Café, and were well-fed throughout our stay thanks to Papa Nooroa and several others. Thank you all.

The exploring was great fun, our highlights were looking for and finding the Three Grottos, enjoying the beaches, swimming and fishing at the harbour. Great kina. We were also lucky enough to be in Atiu when Marumaru Atua arrived, and watching the digger launch the barge under floodlights was exciting. Thanks to Ben Isaia for taking us on the Anatakitaki Cave Tour, showing us around the caves and introducing us to the Kopeka. What an experience.

We did manage to desex 29 dogs and 31 cats during our stay. By the end of the our trip we had provided health checks to 4 sick dogs and a couple of cats. We had implanted microchips into all of the dogs so they can be reunited with owners if lost. Atiu has joined Rarotonga and Mangaia and now has its own section on the national microchip database. Our welfare guru, Mata Nooroa Jr, a great asset to our team, provided practical advice on animal care, feeding and housing. His long experience performing the role of Welfare Officer for the SPCA in Rarotonga was the key to this and we appreciate that he agreed to join the TAM team on behalf of CISPCA.

We would like to thank everyone in Atiu for supporting this clinic. It was a pleasure to provide our services, and we hope to do so again soon.

The generosity we received was overwhelming. Every day we were treated to generosity beyond our expectations, be that monetary donations, doughnuts delivered at breakfast, juice and fruit during the day, sacks full of fresh nu, or an umu for dinner. We received some amazing donations and great food. We cannot thank everyone enough, your kindness is remembered.

We also thank the Island Council and Mayor, and the Executive Officer, the Ministry of Agriculture, and especially Takili. Thank you, Jude from all of us. From me, thanks go to Sarah and Mata and Natalie, for making everything we did happen. To the people who helped with travel plans and logistics, thanks for your unsung help. And to Lorraine, Megan, Klara and Tony, who kept the operation in Rarotonga on track, thank you.

This is the second Pa Enua visit for Te Are Manu this year, not counting our monthly visits to Aitutaki.

We hope to make these visits a regular event, but we could not dream of doing so without the cooperation of the Island councils and communities. Let us know if you would like us to visit your home Island and we will do what we can to make it happen.

Meitaki ranuinui!