102nd STERILIZATION CLINIC IN VOLCAN

(Para la version en espanol,
haga clic aqui)

February 19th, 2017

48 animals were spayed/neutered by Dr. Andres Tello,
our wonderful veterinarian. He also performed several exams
and removed a venereal tumor from a female dog.

16 dogs and 6 cats were either last-minute cancellations or no-shows, which is deplorable. To date we have sterilized 3,799 dogs and cats.


Dr. Tello sterilized 21 dogs and 27 cats. Cats, cats, cats! Of the dogs, 15 were female and 6 were male. Of the cats, 19 were female and 8 were male.

We had a long but fairly uneventful day.  One female dog had a venereal tumor. Two animals, a dog and a cat, had to be put down. Mayelis Estribi brought the feral cat that had been hit by a car. His spine was damaged and the sight of his foot was gruesome.  If you are brave, click HERE to see the pictures of the cat.


Our  three "clinic mascots" visited us still again. One had a hematoma in an ear and Dr. Tello lanced it to let the blood escape.

We managed to capture another local male dog and neutered him. After he was awake, we released him. 


Andrea Gonella feeds numerous dogs in the Cuesta de Piedra area and brings them to be sterilized. A female had been abandoned in the area not long ago. She had a nasty wound around her neck and was in heat. By clinic day, Andrea knew she was pregnant. Dr. Tello spayed the dog and aborted nine puppies. Thankfully, no more puppies for her!


We will implement a new procedure in the future. Dogs or cats to be sterilized that have other issues (in heat, pregnant, tumors, hernias, amputations, etc.) require more time. When those animals are interspersed during the day, people who have animals for sterilization only have to wait too long. Therefore, animals with additional issues will be scheduled toward the end of the day. (Thanks to Andrea Gonella for the suggestion.)


Ruby McKenzie, who started Amigos de Animals spay/neuter clinics in Boquete, sent me a video of their recent clinic. They do a great job! See the video HERE.


Our next clinic will be on March 19, 2017. Please call for an appointment right away. The clinics fill up rapidly. 


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 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 Rodriguez and Kimberly Castillo assisted Dr. Tello and gave post-op injections of B-12 and antiparasite. They dressed the incisions, applied flea and tick treatment, tattooed the ears of female dogs, and generally checked the well being of the animals. Kimberly also cleaned the surgical instruments. 
Alex Rios helped with the above tasks. He also cleaned the teeth of three of my dogs. 

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 Susan Lovett, Don Binder provided drinks  and dessert, and Amanda Rankin for fruit. I took cucumbers and peppers from my organic garden.

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


Income and expenses: 

$  880.00*

contributions by guardians/owners

      25.00

Al Jan (Volcan)

      15.00   calendar sales (thanks to Patricia Chan)
$  920.00  Total cash income

*Note: The $880 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 February 19, 2017 clinic Dr. Tello sterilized 21 dogs and 27 cats.  With my average costs of $25 per dog and $15 per cat, expenses were $920 plus $100 for building rent, for a total of $1,020. Income this month was $920 leaving a deficit of $100. Therefore, my current out-of-pocket expenses are $426.38. 

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!


People waiting on the porch of the clinic.

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 3,799 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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