Dr Janey Lowes will cover the equivalent of almost 15 marathons in 22 days to raise US$2 million for a purpose-built veterinary hospital, rehabilitation centre and national training facility. A British veterinary surgeon who has spent 12 years caring for Sri Lanka’s street dogs will run the length of the island this October in an attempt to raise US$2 million for a new veterinary hospital, rehabilitation centre and training facility. Dr Janey Lowes from Barnard Castle, County Durham, is the founder of UK-registered charity WECare Worldwide, will set out from Point Pedro at Sri Lanka’s northernmost tip on 9 October.
She plans to cover 620 km (385 miles) in 22 days, passing through Anuradhapura, Kandy and Horton Plains before finishing at Dondra in the south.The challenge amounts to more than a half marathon every day for three weeks – nearly 15 marathons in total – through heat, humidity, steep terrain and tropical weather. Lowes is a vet, not a professional endurance athlete. She says the run, called the Dog Jog, is her most extreme response yet to a need she confronts every day.
“I’m suffering so that street dogs don’t have to”
“For almost 12 years I’ve dedicated my life to Sri Lanka’s street dogs,”said Dr Lowes. “I’ve watched them recover from horrific injuries, celebrated countless second chances, and worked alongside an amazing team who share the same dream: that EVERY street has access to high standard veterinary care.
“We’re all burnt out and working far beyond our capacity, but it’s still not enough – we’re constantly turning animals away, despite having a hospital that’s bursting at the seams. Our humble hospital has changed so many lives over the years, but it’s time to dream bigger for the dogs who still desperately need us.
“I haven’t run since school so training has been tough, especially on top of a full-time vet job in the tropics – 34 degree heat, 85% humidity, and crazy monsoon rains are no joke! However, feeling exhausted, losing countless toenails, and being unable to sit on the loo are nothing compared to the suffering we see daily. If a dog can survive losing a nose, having its leg torn off by a train, or being eaten alive by maggots, I can get through this. I absolutely hate running and am yet to experience that elusive runner’s high, so this has been tough but I’m suffering so that street dogs don’t have to.”
A permanent answer to an urgent problem
WECare Worldwide estimates that around three million dogs live on Sri Lanka’s streets. Many face road injuries, infected wounds, and preventable disease, while access to neutering, vaccination and emergency treatment remains limited in the majority of communities.
The charity currently provides free treatment from a converted nursery school in southern Sri Lanka and takes veterinary care into communities through its mobile Capture-Neuter-Vaccinate-Release (CNVR) programme. Since its creation in 2014, WECare says it has delivered more than 35,000 rabies vaccinations, 25,000 neutering procedures and 6,000 emergency treatments.
The planned development will bring together a purpose-built emergency hospital, a dedicated rehabilitation centre and a veterinary training centre. WECare expects the two clinical facilities to help around 3,000 additional animals each year, including dogs that currently fall outside the most critical emergency cases but remain too sick or injured to survive without care.
The training centre is designed to multiply that impact. Sri Lanka has around 1,900 registered veterinary surgeons and no nationally recognised veterinary nursing qualification. WECare plans to help develop the country’s first such qualification, deliver three levels of practical training for veterinary surgeons and provide free workshops and continuing professional development. Its target is to upskill more than 200 veterinary professionals each year.
“This project isn’t just about helping the dogs in our area,” adds Dr Lowes. “We’re constantly receiving reports of sick and injured animals in communities far away from us that we just don’t have the resources to attend to. Sharing our skills and knowledge with the island’s wider veterinary community is the best way of helping these dogs from afar.”
Animal welfare and public health
The campaign also carries a public-health message. Rabies remains endemic in Sri Lanka and is almost always fatal once symptoms appear. The World Health Organization says dogs cause 99% of human rabies cases globally. Sri Lanka reduced recorded human rabies deaths from 377 in the mid-1970s to 31 in 2021 through measures including dog vaccination and post-exposure treatment, but sustained vaccination, surveillance, dog-population management and community participation remain central to eliminating the disease.
Despite their already huge efforts, WECare still sees multiple rabies cases every month, showing how vital this new facility is to continue reducing rabies transmission in dogs, which will, in turn, benefit the human community.
A story built for live coverage
The Dog Jog will create a 22-day story across Sri Lanka, with opportunities for live and recorded interviews, route updates, training and challenge footage, street-dog case studies, veterinary access and local community voices. Dr Lowes is available for UK and international television, radio, podcast, print and online interviews before departure and from the route, subject to connectivity and clinical commitments.
Support the Dog Jog: Janey’s fundraising page and and keep up to date with Janey’s progress at www.thedogjog.co.uk
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