113th STERILIZATION CLINIC IN VOLCAN

(Para la version en espanol)

 February 25, 2018

 A record day! 64 animals were spayed/neutered by Dr. Andres Tello,
our wonderful veterinarian. Plus he also performed several other
procedures, including an amputation that required 1-1/2 hours.
 See the explanations below.

Dr. Tello sterilized 30 dogs and 34cats. Of the dogs, 21 were female and 9 were male. Of the cats, 21 were female and 13 were male. This brings our total of dogs and cats sterilized to 4,287.  We are making great progress, especially considering that we have only one veterinarian. But of course he is THE BEST!

We had a horrendous amputation that would have been totally unnecessary except for the inexcusably incompetent treatment by a Volcan vet 18 months ago.  The dog has been in terrible pain all this time. We were appalled to see how the poor dog's rear leg and foot were badly misshapen, and his hip was even disjointed. The owners, who live in Concepcion,  apparently only recently discovered our clinics. 

They said the local "vet" had charged them $600, and she told them the dog would be fine.  And now of course, the people had no money (zero) to pay for Dr. Tello's very complicated amputation. And he found pieces of plastic--and even an 8-inch length of a bicycle spoke-- that the "vet" had put inside the dog.

Previously, Dr. Tello has performed amputations in 45 minutes. This one was so severe that the surgery took 1-1/2 hours. 

To me, the treatment of this dog by the so-called "vet" was criminal! I'm sure everyone has heard about her, but if not, you can contact me privately.

To See pictures of the dog before, during, and after the amputation, click HERE

Follow-up on March 3rd--I wanted to make sure the dog was doing okay, didn't pull out his stitches, etc. So Betsy called the owner to check. She is ECSTATIC! The dog is doing wonderfully, eating like a horse, is not in pain, and has no problem walking. Another success story!

We didn't close the clinic doors until 8:00 pm. We were all very tired, especially Dr. Tello. This time it was fortunate that we had no-shows--6 female dogs, 2 male dogs, 4 female cats. Otherwise we'd have been there until 10:00!

Dr. Tello also euthanized a cat that had advanced cancer.

The March 18 clinic is already fully booked and we are taking reservations for April 22nd. For appointments in April, call 6517-8752 (English) and 6640-3171 (Spanish).

Remember, we also offer teeth cleaning of dogs. The cost is $25.00. Please make an appointment if you want this procedure. Today Alex Rios cleaned the teeth of two dogs.

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, registrar. 
Don Binder weighed animals and gave the anesthesia injections. He and Elcy Morales and Agueda Castillo 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, shaved the surgical site before surgery, and performed whatever other duties were needed. 
John Gould helped remove cats from crates to anesthetize them (sometimes dangerous!). He and other volunteers carried animals to and from the surgical table and then to the recovery area, plus they provided help in many other ways.
Various volunteers assisted Dr. Tello and gave post-op injections of B-12 and antiparasite. Those include Stephanie Rodriguez (from David) and and Alex Rios. 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 also cleaned the teeth of two dogs today. Good job, Alex!
Elcy Morales cleaned and sterilized the surgical instruments.

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

ALSO: Many thanks to Betsy Barbeau! I have forgotten to give special thanks to her! While I've been "between employees," Betsy has very kindly assumed the job of making appointments and confirming them. Happily, I believe the situation is resolved now.

Fortunately, I bought a special "clinic phone" so that whoever is making the appointments uses that phone with its permanent number:6640-3171.

We had a lot of delicious food for the doctor and the volunteers! Thanks to everyone who contributed: The main dish by Susan Lovett, drinks by Don Binder, fruit by Amanda Rankin, and dessert by Ana Tribaldos. 

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

Income and expenses: 

$  1,120.00*

contributions by guardians/owners
        25.00

Al Jan (Volcan, for December and January)
        20.00  Craig Wynn 
        60.00  Betsy and Frank Barbeau
        20.00  Paula Ayers
        48.25  Kim Neunubel ($50 less 1.75 PayPal fee)
        10.00  Calendar sales
$   1,303.25  Total cash income

*Note: The $1,120 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 25, 2018 clinic Dr. Tello sterilized 30 dogs and 34 cats.  With my average costs of $25 per dog and $15 per cat, expenses were $1,260 plus $100 for building rent for a total of $1,360. Income this month was $1,303.25 leaving a deficit of $56.75 Therefore, deducted from my previous out-of-pocket expenses, there is now an excess of $1,861.33. Many thanks to everyone for your generous donations!

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 4,287 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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