The BIG FIX Uganda

The BIG FIX Uganda is the only veterinary hospital and animal health organization in a region of nearly 10 million people. Since 2012, we have utilized a One Health approach to improve the lives of countless animals and people in Northern Uganda. This approach includes tireless work to create and strengthen human-animal bonds through animal welfare education and our Comfort Dog Project, Africa's only animal assisted trauma therapy program. Through our efforts we unite education, veterinary expertise, and community‑driven initiatives to safeguard the health of humans and animals alike creating a stronger, more sustainable future for Northern Uganda.

Focus Areas

Animals Worked With

• Comfort Dog Project This program pairs war survivors living with untreated PTSD from Uganda's civil war with rescued dogs for a 6-month healing and training animal assisted trauma therapy program. Guardians and dogs receive lifelong support, including ongoing therapy, dog training, veterinary care, food, economic support, and other necessary resources.
• Animal Hospital We operate the only veterinary hospital serving a region of over 10 million people, providing free or low-cost lifesaving medical care, surgery, and treatment for sick and injured animals with nowhere else to turn.
• Rabies Vaccination & Field Clinics We provide free rabies vaccinations, deworming, and basic veterinary care to dogs in remote villages across Northern Uganda, helping prevent the spread of rabies and improve community health and safety. We offer the only access to rabies vaccinations in the entire region.
• Animal Education Program We deliver hands-on animal welfare education to schoolchildren and community members, teaching rabies prevention, the Five Freedoms, and compassionate, responsible pet guardianship helping shift generational attitudes toward dogs.

Our education team visits schools across Northern Uganda to teach children about animal welfare, rabies prevention, and responsible pet guardianship. Using resources like our "Great Dog Guardian" book, lessons cover concepts such as the Five Freedoms of animal welfare, helping students understand what animals need to thrive. Many students have grown up fearing dogs — often due to a history of rabies outbreaks and dogs being viewed primarily as tools for hunting or security rather than companions. Through hands-on, engaging lessons (including live demonstrations with our own trained dogs), we help shift that fear into understanding, planting the seeds for a generation of more compassionate, responsible dog guardians. Additionally, our team travels directly to remote villages across Northern Uganda to provide free rabies vaccinations, deworming, and basic veterinary care to community dogs — reaching families who would otherwise have no access to veterinary services. These visits are paired with community education, teaching guardians about responsible pet care, disease prevention, and the importance of regular veterinary attention. Together, vaccination and education work hand in hand: protecting public health while building long-term trust and understanding between communities and the animals living among them. Both programs work toward the same underlying goal: changing how entire families, communities, and generations relate to dogs— not just treating individual animals, but building a lasting culture of compassion and responsible guardianship across the region.