While most New Yorkers avoid pigeons, Yvonne Lim spent her childhood in Brooklyn feeding pigeons with broken wings. She would leave food out for stray cats. No animal in need was to be turned away.

But Lim was not allowed to have any pets. Instead of letting her love for animals diminish, she got creative.

Lim, a senior wildlife sciences major at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, remains steadfast in her desire to help animals. This summer, she took her passion to an international level by participating in the College Veterinary Service Loop Abroad program in Thailand to work with dogs and elephants.

“One of the biggest benefits of the program is that students get to be with a veterinarian for two weeks in a small group, so they get to ask questions,” said Jane Stine, managing director at Loop Abroad.

The first week of the program was spent at the Animal Rescue Kingdom dog shelter in Chiang Mai, which is home to more than 100 rescue dogs. Lim was able to gain hands-on experience as she practiced techniques like drawing blood, which most students do not learn until their second year in veterinary school.

The second week was spent in northern Thailand at the Elephant Nature Park, home to about 60 elephants. Lim stayed in a suite at the sanctuary with others from her Loop Abroad group.

Lim said they had to take bucket showers and there was no hot water and added that because of the humidity in Thailand, “cold showers were a good wake-up call.”

Assignments at the park included preparing food for the elephants, bathing them and cleaning up their feces.

“They enjoyed it,” Lim said of the elephant baths, “but then they would roll in mud right after.”

For one assignment, Lim had to monitor the diet of a 70-year-old elephant named Saza, who Lim said “acted like a cranky old lady.”

“When she got thirsty, she would quickly walk across the field to the hose and I had to chase her,” Lim said. “It was difficult trying to dodge other elephant herds and water buffalo in order to keep track of her.”

Lek Chailert, founder of the Elephant Nature Park, told Lim and the rest of the group about the abuse and mistreatment elephants face.

Upon leaving the Elephant Nature Park, Lim recalled seeing elephant trekking, a harmful yet popular activity where tourists pay to ride on an elephant’s back. She noticed one elephant had blood dripping down its face and said she believes that you can tell how an elephant feels by looking at its eyes.

“A lot of people either know and choose to ignore it or don’t know,” Lim said of the abuse. “You can’t blame them for not knowing.”

Lim’s message, simply put, is to be kind.

“Animals have as much a right to life as we do; we don’t want them to suffer,” she said.

Lim said she hopes to attend veterinary school and eventually work with small or exotic animals after graduating from SUNY-ESF in 2016.

“I will work with animals; I’ll find some way to make a living out of it,” Lim said.

Published on September 13, 2015 at 8:45 pm

Contact Taylor: tnwatson@syr.edu