45th STERILIZATION CLINIC IN VOLCÁN

(Para la versión en español,
haga clic aquí)

Sunday, November 20, 2011 -  33 dogs and cats were sterilized today
by Dr. Andrés Tello, our wonderful veterinarian - plus he also spayed a monkey and removed a huge tumor from a dog's leg.


We sterilized 23 dogs and 10 cats. Of the dogs, 19 were female and 4 were male. Of the cats, 8 were female and 2 were male. 

At the October clinic, Enilda Gonzales brought two dogs to the clinic. At first she was not going to come because she said she didn't have any money but I told her to come anyway! She said she would bring the money to me later. I didn't think any more about it, but about 10 days later Enilda came to my house and brought $40 for the two dogs. Enilda is an elderly woman with a gigantic heart. She frequently brings animals that aren't even hers to the clinic and she pays for them. I am including the $40 below under "donations" for this clinic.

Following is an email from one of our dedicated volunteers: "I have to thank you for allowing me to be a part of your fine clinics.  I always feel tired but totally elated when I come home from a Sunday at the clinic.  I find this work an extremely rewarding and humbling activity."

I feel the same way, and it brought tears to my eyes to have a volunteer thanking ME for the opportunity to work their buns off all day! I value and appreciate each and every one of them more than I can say!


We had a fulfilling year in 2011 and we are looking forward to helping many more animals in 2012. Our next clinic will be January 22, 2012.


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! 

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!

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 October 23, 2011. 


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

Cristina Espinosa did a good job with registration. She is only 12 years old and is the daughter of my employee, Jose Espinosa. 
Don Binder, Mary Houkal, and Anne Bakke 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, and perform whatever other duties were needed. 
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, Dirdre Doyno, Zabrina Serrano, and Mary Ann White assisted Dr. Tello, gave post-op injections of B-complex and antiparasite. They and our new volunteer, Maria Cristina Montenegro, 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. 
Alejandro Espinosa, the 10-year-old son of my employee, cleaned and sterilized the instruments. 

Also, thanks to Walter White for providing transportation for a dog whose owner lives far in the country.

Again, we had a great team of volunteers today and everything ran very smoothly!


We had a lot of delicous food! Thanks to everyone who contributed: Kate Stamm for a crock pot of a delicious beef and pasta, Mary Ann White for a key lime pie, Don Binder for tres leches, Dana Larson for brownies and gingersnap cookies, Amanda Rankin for a fruit plate, and Marianne Brown for soft drinks.

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



Income and expenses: 

$  505.00

contributions by owners and/or guardians

        9.48      PayPal donation by Carolyn Price ($10 less $.52 PayPal fee) 
      40.00      Enilda Gonzales (for surgeries done in October)
       20.00      cash donation by Dana Larson
$   574.48  TOTAL CASH CONTRIBUTIONS

At this November, 2011 clinic, Dr. Tello sterilized on 23 dogs and 10 cats.  With my average cost of $22 per dog and $11 per cat, expenses were $616 plus $100 for building rent, for a total of $716.  With contributions of $574.48, there was a deficit of $141.42. Therefore, my accumulated deficit is $2,378.11. (Several people couldn't pay anything at all for their animals today.)

(Re sterilization of the monkey and removal of the tumor from the dog's leg: $10 each went for the clinic and those amounts are included in the $505.00 owner contributions listed above. The balance of the amount paid by those owners went to Dr. Tello and those fees are not included in the "per dog" or "per cat" figures listed above.)

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


Lots of great pictures were taken during the November 20, 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 1,429 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 1,558 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

Back to Clinics Page

Back to HOME PAGE