Dought and Brandon

Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) has doubled the population of Painted dogs in the past ten years by improving the livelihoods of the local rual communities in Zimbabwe and we have decided to help them with their efforts. The Houston Zoo’s Facilities staff member, Brandon Patterson worked closely with PDC staff member, Dought Nkomo, when he visited the zoo in April.  Dought is the head of the building team at PDC in Zimbabwe, and he learned a lot of valuable skills from Brandon while he was here.  Brandon is now in Zimbabwe assisting Painted Dog Conservation with building water catchment systems and upgrading livestock parasite treatment for the rural communities around Hwange National park.   

Enjoy this note from Brandon in Zimbabwe.   

“I had a smooth trip and finally found my ride to PDC. I came out of the Victoria Falls airport with a group of people and it took a little while to find the Painted Dog Conservation vehicle.   But, it was no big deal and we were on our way. I tried to get in the truck on the right side and found it was actually the driver side. The whole driving on the left side of the road  is weird and I kept feeling like I should be driving. The country is beautiful and I noticed a lot of wild fires. They said it is common this time of year.

We made it to PDC and I was welcomed with open arms.  I was very excited to see Dought, and I finally got to meet John Huston the Agricultural specialist helping us with these projects.  

There is so much to see and it is very exciting. On the first night I found that the bats in the ceiling of the building we sleep in helped me go to sleep.  I love how they heat the water with fire here.  We have seen wild elephants, impala, kudu, eland, zebra and monkeys so far. 

Brandon working with Dought On the dip tank

We worked on the dip tank and got the roof on, but are short a couple of pieces of metal roof. The rest of the material should be here today and we will return tomorrow to complete the roof. The material is coming in this evening for the health clinic roof. This is just an awesome experience and can’t type enough to express everything.”

By Brandon Patterson

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