Expat Janice Girardi - her path to President of her own successful jewelry manufacturing company, and to her commitment to the humane treatment of animals in Bali, Indonesia

Recently American news channels featured yet another heart-rending story illustrating what we already know about canine intelligence and compassion. Firefighters, responding to the call of a house on fire, lost their gps signal that night in the snow-covered backcountry. As they were trying to get their bearings, they looked up to see a dog suddenly appear in the middle of the road. The dog began running, looking back to see if the truck would follow. The driver followed the dog, which led them on a series of turns, ending at the house on fire.

For those of us in the West, especially the United States, a story showing how a dog saved a house from burning down in the dark of night is just more evidence of how great dogs are. For folks in the East, such as Bali, Indonesia, this would be news to them. They are only just now learning how valuable and smart a dog can be. This is not unique to the Balinese, in their defense. This is a common throughout the Eastern world. But there is someone in Bali working with a mighty passion to change the centuries old mindset about the treatment of animals in general, and dogs specifically. That person is Janice Girardi, an expat from California.

This is the story about an amazing woman who by wits alone built a small but successful jewelry production business (now with over 200 employees) and an animal rescue in a foreign country, where English is not the native language, where men still wear sarongs and where harvesting rice is the mainstay of life. It is a place where women are seen but definitely not heard, and especially not tall, feisty, head-strong American women with a cause.

When Janice was 20 years old, she left her California home in search of travel adventure. Back in the 1970's, this was a very gutsy move for a young woman to do alone. Janice explored places like India, Afghanistan and Laos, getting acquainted with the culture, art and ways of the East. By the time she was in her forties, (including 16 years in India studying the silent meditation of Vipasanna), she made her home in Bali, and started a small jewelry production enterprise.

Like many entrepreneurs the world over, Janice never worked at a regular job and never worked for anyone else. She had always been her own boss. Bringing herself up by her bootstraps, she says she took it 'one step at a time'. She learned the ins and outs of business licensing, certification, property rental procedures and ownership issues in a foreign country. She learned about business operations, manufacturing, quality assurance methodology, sourcing, jewelry design, implementation and profit margins. Her employees could only speak Bahasa, so she learned Bahasa.

By the 1990's, Janice Girardi Jewelry had become well-known in the industry. Her business grew. She built her own house outside of town.

Today her jewelry line is sold to major boutique accounts throughout the world such as Sundance, Territory Ahead, Sea Glass Jewelry and Red Envelope. All sterling silver and stones, Janice draws her design inspiration from the beauty of Bali.

However, a new passion was about to take hold, one that did not involve gemstones. It involved the sad, mistreated and starving dogs Janice saw each day to and from her drive to work.

She began loading her car with food and medical supplies, and coaxing fearful and injured dogs to eat. She'd feed about 30 dogs a day this way. She also began trying to rescue them and caring for them, taking them to a local vet, and watching over their recovery. The more she did this, the more she realized she should set up an organization that will augment her effort.

Janice always helped other NGO's, so helping animals was already in her nature. The problem in Bali was not that the Balinese were inhumane. In the East, animals, particularly dogs, are simply not seen as family members, the way Westerners view pets. When parents struggle to feed their children, feeding a dog or getting medical attention to an injured animal does not take priority over family. So, dogs are usually left to fend for themselves on the street, hence the term 'Bali street dog'. In point of fact, an organization in nearby Australia called Bali Street Dog Fund helped augment Janice's initial efforts.

By 2008 Janice had established a full-fledged animal clinic, an education center and a 24/7 rescue ambulance, the first and only of its kind on the entire island. Although BAWA accepts donations of money and supplies, this represents only a small portion of the money needed to support BAWA's mission. Janice donates the lion's share of financial support directly from her own pocket.

Both entities are run simultaneously from the second floor of Janice's offices on Monkey Forest Road in Ubud. At this time, about 20% of the floor space is designated for BAWA use. The rest of the building is dedicated to Janice Girardi Jewelry. Additionally, she has a manufacturing site where the actual casting and finishing of jewelry is done, and a clinic on the same street, just outside Ubud, where animals receive medical care. Adoption, spay and neuter and temporary sheltering is handled at this clinic as well. All services provided at the clinic are free. Janice has been known to personally take calls from the 24/7 emergency hotline. 'People are always at me to slow down, to calm down, but I am relaxed. It's just if I am doing something, I am doing it.'

When rabies hit the island and people began dying of dog bites, Janice and her BAWA organization went into high gear. BAWA was and remains the only non-profit on the entire island to be doing rabies vaccination.

But first she had to convince the government that mass killing of dogs with strychnine darts would not stop rabies, nor was it humane. She contacted WSPA which helped by offering support and over 40 thousand rabies vaccinations, hypodermics and syringes. Additionally, with the help of the Southeast Asian office of the Act Now Children's Fund, Janice sponsored a three-day international rabies seminar in January 2010 held at Bali's capital, Denpasar.

World-renown rabies authorities added scientific heft to Janice's campaign to vaccinate, not cull. Men, women and children alike continued to die a painful and avoidable death by rabies, and rabies continued to spread throughout the island. From the time of the first reported case in November of 2008 through April 2010, the death count rose precipitously to 42. To add to this needless tragedy, hospitals and emergency centers could not keep enough anti-rabies vaccine. Then there was the lack of education on what rabies was, and how it was spread. People mistakenly thought that breed dogs could not get rabies, or if a dog has a skin problem, it must be rabid. Janice began publishing pamphlets distributed in the community and at schools on how to identify a rabid dog, and what to do if bitten.

But through Janice's single-minded determination, by the end of May of 2010 most of the dogs in the province of Gianyar (a highly populated region) were finally vaccinated. This represented over 49,000 dogs. BAWA was subsequently authorized by the government to continue its vaccination program to other regencies and as of this writing, may receive authority to vaccinate the entire island.

The successful vaccination of Gianyar Province was a personal triumph for Janice and meaningful progress for the health and safety of the people of Bali. In Bali, as in other parts of the Eastern world, a street dog normally wears no collar, because no one owns the dog. By tying a red collar around the dog's neck, BAWA 'marked' a dog to indicate it had been vaccinated. As if to underscore the success of BAWA's efforts, street dogs sporting red collars started popping up all over the streets of Ubud and beyond.

To watch this woman in action, juggling daily the needs and demands of both entities is a remarkable lesson in personal commitment and motivation. Janice never loses sight of her goal to ensure the health and welfare of the animals of Bali.

One day Balinese tv news will feature a flinty, lean Bali dog leading a rescue truck to a burning house. When they do, we will have Janice Girardi, our expat from America, to thank.

Janice Girardi Jewelry www.Janicegirardijewelry.com

Bali Animal Welfare Association www.bawabli.com

World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) www.wspa.org.uk

Bali Street Dog Fund www.balistreetdogs.org.au

Act Now Children's Fund www.actnowchildrensfund.org

Leigh Parks spent six months in Ubud, Bali, where she worked as a volunteer at BAWA Headquarters on Monkey Forest Road. She is an American expat and lived in Bangkok prior to coming to Bali.