42nd STERILIZATION CLINIC IN VOLCÁN

(Para la versión en español,
haga clic aquí)

Sunday, August 21, 2011 - 26 animals were sterilized today
by Dr. Andrés Tello, our wonderful veterinarian, and another dog had
surgery for three serious hernias. 


We sterilized 17 dogs and 9 cats. Of the dogs, 14 were female and 3 were male. Of the cats, 9 were female and none were male. 

We had 42 animals scheduled and 16 did not keep their appointments without bothering to cancel. For the first time, I called everyone of the "no shows" on Monday and told them they were welcome to bring animals in the future but they would not be given an appointment. They will just need to come and wait - and hope we have time for them that day. People who don't call to cancel their appointments rob other people of the opportunity. I already have 11 animals on the schedule for our September clinic, and those could have come to this clinic. I will continue to call "no shows" after each clinic, and the word will eventually get around that if people want an appointment, they better either keep it or call to cancel.

We had made a 7:30 appointment for a hernia removal in a dog. (The male dog had already been sterilized.) A few of us, not knowing about the hernia, had already gone to a lot of trouble and expense for this dog and his owner. The woman was terribly upset that the dog could not poop or pee. She had already spent $145 on local vets, who all just prescribed antibiotics and a diuretic for the dog - which, of course, did no good at all. Mary Ann White and I finally took the dog to the border to Dr. Tello. The owner's sister went along. Dr. Tello saw the hernia in the anal area and said the dog needed surgery. We called the owner, and she did not want Dr. Tello to take the dog with him. She actually wanted him take the dog to his clinic right then, and for us to wait at the border while he did surgery, wait while the dog recovered from anesthesia, and wait while he brought the dog BACK to the border. We quickly determined that we were NOT going to do that.

So we made an early appointment for her at the clinic and she brought the dog for surgery. Dr. Tello found two other hernias in addition to the huge anal hernia. He spent well over an hour operating on this dog. All's well that ends well, but the woman threw away $145 on local vets plus the cost of all the medictions she was told to buy.

We have such a wonderful group of volunteers! They not only volunteer their time, they also often contribute food and/or money for the clinics. 

It would be great if more people would get involved or contribute. If a few people donate just $25 per month of a tax deductible donation, each contribution would sponsor the sterilization of one dog at each clinic.

A link for donations through PayPal is below. However, if you donate via PayPal, it often takes a long time for the funds to reach me. (See income and expenses below.) If you are local to Panama, please consider donating directly to me. If you're not able to donate in person, I can give you information about how to deposit to my bank account. Thank you!


Please donate! Your PayPal tax-deductible donations for Chiriqui go through Spay Panama's Animals YES in the USA and are eventually forwrded to me. Please send me an email if you donate by PayPal so I can thank you personally! 

Donors and amounts are reported on my web page for each clinic. Income and expenses are listed on each clinic web page. Thank you for your help! Your contribution helps make Spay/Panama-Chiriqui services possible.  PLEASE BE AWARE that if you donate through PayPal, I cannot credit your donation on my web page until I actually receive the funds. If you have donated through PayPal and your donation has not been credited on my web page, please contact me.


Anyone who is local to Volcan, PLEASE talk with your friends and neighbors, explain the importance of proper sterilization and tell them about our clinics.  My goal is to sterilize at least 30 animals during each clinic. Our next clinic will be on September 18, 2011. 


MANY thanks to our wonderful volunteers and contributors. Without their help and dedication, this important work simply could not be done.

And - I am in heaven! Mary Ann White AGAIN took the blankets and dishes home from the clinic to wash! I don't have words to express my gratitude!

Jacky Suñe handled registration.
Don Binder, Mary Ann White, and Anne Bakke all pitched in to administer the anesthesia, shave and prep the animals, and give the pre-op injections of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory, and put mineral oil in the eyes of the animals so they would not dry out. 
Jose Espinosa, my permanent employee, helps weigh and tag the animals, provides transportation for animals when necessary, and helps with various duties. Jose and I go to the clinic site on Mondays following the Sunday clinics to clean and organize for the next one.
Rosemary Rios assisted Dr. Tello, gave post-op injections of B-complex and antiparasite. She and our excellent new volunteer, Zabrina Serrano, dressed the incisions, took the temperature of the recovering animals, tattooed the ears of female dogs, gave flea and tick treatment, and generally checked the well being of the animals. 
Anne Bakke had performed cleaning and sterilizing of the surgical instruments before. But two of my employee's young children, Alejandro and Cristina Espinosa, were new volunteers today. After Anne trained them, they would hardly let her near the instruments! So Anne pitched in wherever she was needed in other areas.  

We had a great team of volunteers today and everything ran very smoothly!


Thanks to Kate Stamm for a big pot of delicious potato soup plus cornbread, to Dorreene Reynolds for a fruit salad, and to Becky Barends for the soft drinks. I thought we had no  donation of dessert this month, so I bought a cake. But then Mary Ann White brought banana pudding. (Yummm!) Mary Ann also brought potato salad. We had plenty of food!

Please forgive me if I have neglected to mention any volunteers or contributors! 



Income and expenses: 

$  352.00

contributions by owners and/or guardians

      40.00      cash donation by Iris Pinero 
     100.00      cash donation by anonymous
      20.00      cash donation by Dirk de Veer
$   512.00  TOTAL CASH CONTRIBUTIONS

At this August 21, 2011 clinic, we sterilized 17 dogs and 9 cats.  With my average cost of $22 per dog and $11 per cat, expenses were $473 plus $100 for building rent, for a total of $573.  With contributions of $512.00, there was a deficit of $61.00. Therefore, my accumulated deficit is $3,946.69.  (I began the clinics in March of 2006 but it didn't occur to me to keep financial records until October of 2006.)

I very much appreciate any and all contributions. They are welcome and needed! 


Lots of great pictures were taken during the August 21, 2011 clinic. To see the rest of the pictures, click HERE. 

When you click on the first picture, it will enlarge and then you'll see the narrative at the bottom of the picture. There are arrows at the top to advance the pictures.


Here in Volcan, our small group has been responsible for sterilizing 1,330 animals to date. Added to the 129 animals that Spay/Panama (from Panama City) sterilized in in Volcan in February of 2005, we have sterilized 1,459 dogs and cats! 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.

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 -  6780-2565 or muffiemae@gmail.com
skype US telephone: 281-725-6198
skype:  muffiemae

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