100th STERILIZATION CLINIC IN VOLCAN

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Wow! What a wonderful celebration we had for our 100th clinic, which brought the number
of sterilized dogs and cats to 3,707. (And after having days upon days of heavy rains, we 
again had a nice day for the clinic--overcast, but no inundating rains.

Organizing the celebration was a lot of work and preparation--and during the process I sometimes wished I had not thought of the idea at all. But I'm glad I did and everything turned out perfectly.

I want to give credit and appreciation to those who made this milestone event such a big success! I've made a separate "thank you" page. Please click HERE to read about the wonderful people
who contributed to the organization of our special event.

David Dell provided video of the event, but because he is having some computer problems the link
for the excellent videos will be delayed. I will post a separate email giving the link when the
video is ready. Many people have no idea what actually goes on in our clinics but the video will give them a better idea. (David and Lydia were also surprised at all the work and long hours involved in each clinic.) Thank you, David, for the excellent video and camera work! 

Within my web page below, you'll see a link to my usual Flickr album.

 

November 20, 2016

45 animals were spayed/neutered by Dr. Andres Tello,
our wonderful veterinarian, plus he performed 10 other procedures:
 exams, extracting teeth, removing growths from an already sterilized dog, etc. Three of my own dogs were among the 10 extra procedures. With one, he removed a growth from underneath her chin and recommended a
medication for another condition she has. With another, he removed a growth on her gum in her mouth.  


At this November 20, 2016 clinic Dr. Tello sterilized  25 dogs and 20 cats. Of the dogs, 19 were female and 6 were male. Of the cats, 17 were female and 3 were male. This brings our total of sterilized dogs and cats to 3,707.


We never know what will be necessary at a clinic, so thank God for the expertise of Dr. Tello. One small dog was in heat and she bled profusely during spaying because of the distended veins. Dr. Tello stopped the bleeding but said she needed a blood transfusion. 

He had just neutered a white male dog ("owner" unknown) that has decided to join our local "mascots." Dr. Tello withdrew 120 cc's of blood from a vein in the dog's neck and then injected the blood into the leg vein of the small dog. After that, she was quickly awake and doing very well. Surprisingly, blood of all dogs is the same. There is no need to match types. Dr. Tello said the 120 cc's of blood taken from the male dog would be replaced within a week or less.

This male "blood-donor dog" is very friendly, apparently is never tied up and seems well fed. We released him when he was fully awake.  Indeed, even after his "blood donation" plus having just been neutered, he was running around like nothing had happened to him. When Jose and I went to the clinic on Monday, the day after the clinic, the "mascots" and this white dog came running to greet us.  So evidently we now have THREE clinic mascots!

I've mentioned before about our "mascots" -- the two neighborhood dogs, one male, one female, that wandered nearby about four months ago and we sterilized them. They are not skinny, obviously have owners and are well taken care of--except they were not sterilized. Now they are. They love us, consider themselves our mascots, and come to visit during every clinic. In fact, it's difficult even to keep them OUTSIDE of the building during a clinic. On my walks, my route takes me by the clinic building and the "mascots" always come running to greet me. (And now they have begun to accompany me all the way back to my house.)

The other white male dog that we "captured" and sterilized at the October clinic is still at my house. Jose and I are giving daily treatments for his ear infections. This poor dog, we now call Freddie, is badly traumatized.  He had a huge bloody wound around half of his neck (which has now healed). He had evidently been tied with a wire and had worked at it for weeks trying to get loose, thus causing major wounds to his neck. When we've completely recovered "Freddie" from every issue, I MUST find a forever home for him. No way would I release him near the clinic because he would no doubt return to his "owner" who would tie him with a wire again. So please...contact me to come meet Freddie if you'd like to a adopt a best friend. (Freddie loves to "shake hands.")


And remember: 


I am humbly grateful that with helping these animals, I have found my life's purpose!


Now, just a couple of notes of appreciation received after our November clinic:

Good Morning Dottie and the whole crew from the clinic!  Bill and I just want to thank you again for the wonderful service that you provide for the animals of our community.  Our little Ellie Mae is doing well and has a great appetite this morning and is back to her happy self.  We will now concentrate on finding a home for her where she have a long and puppy-free life!  We enjoyed the wonderful food at Fanny's and appreciate the recommendation and directions.  Thanks again for everything.  Regards, Penny and Bill


An email from someone else: Thanks for everything, Dottie! As always, your clinics are excellent.


Our next clinic will be on January 22, 2017. Please call for an appointment right away because the clinics fill up rapidly.  We already have 34 appointments for January! And remember, we do not have a clinic in December.

We had 5 no-shows at this November clinic, and a few people brought fewer animals than they had scheduled. 


You may click the PayPal "Donate" button below to help the animals. It is to my personal PayPal account at muffiemae@gmail.com and your contribution will not be US tax deductible. Please specify your payment is for "friends or family" so that PayPal will not charge a fee and every penny will go for the animals. If you don't have a PayPal account, you can use a credit card.   

Except for our wonderful veterinarian, neither I nor anyone else connected with the clinics receives any pay. I rent the building where we hold the clinics, and I buy all the anesthesia, medications, instruments, supplies, and equipment--and provide transportation for those who need it. I have no offices, no salaries, no paid advertising. Every penny goes for the animals. This is a project from my heart, and I pay the deficits from my own pocket. 

Thank you in advance for future financial help, and thanks to everyone who has donated in the past.


Volunteers:

Francia Pinedo handled registration. Francia did a great job, as always!
Don Binder weighed animals and gave the anesthesia injections. He, Amanda Dettloff,  and Elcy Morales  gave the pre-op injections of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory. They also put mineral oil in the eyes of the animals so they would not dry out, and performed whatever other duties were needed. 
John Gould helped carry animals to and from surgery and did whatever else was necessary.
Jose Espinosa, my permanent employee, also drives my car to provide transportation for animals when necessary. Then Jose and I go to the clinic building the following week to clean, bring home blankets to wash, and organize for the next one. 
Stephanie and Jenni Rodriguez assisted Dr. Tello and gave post-op injections of B-12 and antiparasite. (Welcome back, Jenni! She has been absent for several months because she was pregnant. Her baby is now five months old.) They dressed the incisions, applied flea and tick treatment, tattooed the ears of female dogs, and generally checked the well being of the animals. 
Alex Rios helped with the above tasks.
Dee Braden cleaned and sterilized the surgical instruments.
And we had a new volunteer, Kimberly Castillo. She is 15 years old and a student at Francia Pinedo's school. Kimberly learned quickly and did a great job! We look forward to Kimberly being a permanent volunteer!

As always, we had a great team of volunteers and everything ran very smoothly! 


We had a lot of delicious food for the doctor and the volunteers! Thanks to everyone who contributed: The main dish from Paula Knapp, Don Binder provided drinks, Roseanne Bateman brought a delicious platter of fruit, and Amanda Dettloff created a special (and delicious) cake for the celebration of our 100th clinic! (Pictures of her creation will be on my Flickr web album.)

And thanks to Patricia Chan (Spay Panama) who sent 2017 calendars for our volunteers.

Please forgive me if I forgot to thank anyone who donated or contributed.


Income and expenses: 

$  875.00*

contributions by guardians/owners

      25.00

Al Jan (Volcan)

     388.10  PayPal by Eneida McKeown ($400-$11.90 PayPal fee) (Fort Worth, Texas)
        5.00  Dee Braden (Volcan)
      60.00  anonymous (Volcan)
      20.00  Will Polly (Volcan)
      20.00  Judy Odom (Boquete)
      15.00  Vicki Lansen (Paso Ancho)
      15.00  Jan Atlkins (Volcan)
      10.00  Roseanne Bateman (Volcan)
$ 1,433.10  Total cash income

*Note: The $875 contributions by guardians/owners were for spaying and neutering only. Payments for other procedures were paid to Dr. Tello separately. Neither those payments nor the charges for other services are  included in the income and expenses.


At this November 20, 2016 clinic Dr. Tello sterilized 25 dogs and 20 cats.  With my average costs of $25 per dog and $15 per cat, expenses were $925 plus $100 for building rent for a total of $1,025. Income this month was $1,433.10 leaving an excess of $408.10. Therefore, my current out-of-pocket expenses are $478.39. I can't remember a time when the deficit has been so low, so blessings and many thanks to everyone who donated! 

My heartfelt thanks for the generous donations of those who have contributed for this clinic, who have contributed in the past, and who will contribute in the future! We need and appreciate your help! Love and thanks to everyone!


Be sure to see all the photos taken during the clinic! See my Flickr web album HERE

Click on the first picture to see the captions and advance through all the pictures.

 


Here in Volcan, our small group has been responsible for sterilizing 3,707 dogs and cats to date. (And this number does not include the extraordinary surgeries that Dr. Tello has performed at our clinics...removal of tumors, amputations, etc., nor the clinic we performed in Davila in which 35 dogs were sterilized.) 

There are many more to go, but we are making progress!  Our goal is to sterilize at least 75% of the dogs and cats in the Volcan area, and thus almost completely solve the problem of homeless dogs and cats, and the terrible venereal disease suffered by so many dogs--but thankfully, we see a lot fewer venereal tumors than we did in the past!.

Remember: In 7 years a female cat and her off springs can be the source of 420,000 kittens.  In 6 years a female dog and her off springs can be the source of 67,000 puppies. Unless your dog/cat is totally confined and unable to continue the population increase (AND the spread of venereal disease), please do the humane thing of having them sterilized!

For the health and safety of your dog/cat, however, have the sterilization performed by a competent vet who is experienced in early sterilization (eight weeks of age and up) and small-incision surgeries, and one who closes with stainless steel sutures....like Dr. Tello, who we are so fortunate to have operate at our clinics. (I do not trust care of my dogs or injured dogs that I find in the street to ANYONE except Dr. Tello.)

Thanks to everyone who participated in our clinics today, and to those who had their pets sterilized. Always remember that TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Dorothy Atwater -  6517-8752 or muffiemae@gmail.com
skype:  muffiemae

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