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Sunday,
July 21, 2013 - 40 animals were sterilized today by Dr. Tello sterilized 20 dogs and 20 cats. Of the dogs, 15 were female and 5 were male. Of the cats, 12 were female and 8 were male. We had 50-plus animals scheduled but the owners of 15 animals were no-shows who had not bothered to call and cancel. That's the reason that I always overbook. We call EVERYONE a day or two before each clinic to confirm their appointment. (Even so, if everyone came, we would stay until Dr. Tello had operated on all of them.) Therefore, due to all the no-shows, we were able to attend to numerous people who arrived without appointments. Still another dog had a broken back and had to be euthanized. And Clay Conn, bless his heart often rounds up and brings either street animals or animals that belong to poor people who have no transportation and no money. I most often end up paying for those surgeries myself, but that's my choice. Every dog/cat we can sterilize prevents the births of many homeless ones who would suffer terrible lives....and who would continue to breed more who would suffer terrible lives...and on and on. One of the dogs Clay brought had suffered a badly damaged rear leg (hit by a car?) quite some time ago and even the bone in her leg was infected. Dr. Tello said the owner could give the dog antibiotics daily for three weeks but even that might not help, and he would need to examine the dog again at our August clinic. If the infection was still present, he would need to amputate the leg. Clay said the owner was an old woman who had no resources. He explained the situation to her, and she chose that we euthanize her dog. I paid Dr. Tello for the injection and medication, although he didn't even want to accept payment for it. But I know that the euthanasia medication is almost impossible to get in Panama, and that it is VERY expensive. (I have managed to keep some on hand myself for emergencies such as an animal with a broken back that I find on the street..) One cat brought to be spayed had been pregnant but had two dead kittens inside. They were mummified and Dr. Tello said they had been dead for at least a month.. If Dr. Tello had not operated on this cat today, she would have died. One woman, Marta Ruiz, had an appointment for her male cat to be neutered. During the clinic, long past time for her appointment, she called to say she had no transportation but still wanted her cat to be neutered. I sent Jose in my car with a crate to bring the cat to the clinic. When he arrived at the woman's home, she said she had changed her mind. HUH? Why did she even call and ask for transportation in the first place? That was a big waste of time, effort, and gasoline. Another adventure during the clinic: someone had brought two cats. One was put into a crate, but the door to that crate was not closed properly. When a volunteer moved the crate, the door came open and the cat escaped outside. Two volunteers chased the cat for several blocks. The the cat climbed to the top of a tall pine tree. The good news is that about two hours later, someone from MIDA saw the cat climbing down from the tree, our volunteers captured the cat, and it was then successfully sterilized. A side note not regarding this July clinic: I had taken my recently rescued male dog (Gus) to the June clinic for Dr. Tello to examine and Dr. Tello determined that he needed to remove the entire hip joint. (For the non-squeamish, see the link for pictures on my web page for the June clinic.) There is usually a long recovery period after removal of a hip joint, but just one month later Gus is walking on that leg with hardly a limp. (When he runs, he still uses three legs.). I have another dog, Reggie, that needed that same operation. Reggie is big dog, 80+ pounds. He limped for 5 or 6 months after the surgery, but now you'd never know he'd ever had a problem. I was treating Gus for mange as well, but by now he is free of mange. Another happy dog-member of my family! Please donate! Your PayPal tax-deductible donations for Chiriqui go through Spay Panama's Animals YES in the USA and are eventually forwarded to me. When you click the donate button below, it will specify that your donation is for Chiriqui. 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, either in Panama or in the US. Thank you! I can give you a tax-deductible receipt for your US tax return. 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. MANY thanks to our wonderful volunteers and contributors. Without their help and dedication, this important work simply could not be done. And by the way, with the exception of Don Binder who is a dedicated volunteer, all the rest are Panamanians. No one except the doctor receives any payment. Every penny goes for the animals.
At this July 21, 2013 clinic Dr. Tello sterilized 20 dogs and 20 cats. With my average costs for sterilizations of $25 per dog and $15 per cat, expenses were $800 plus $100 for rent of the building, equals $900. After contributions of $900.19 there was a reduction of my out-of pocket expenses by 19 cents - leaving a deficit of $2,158.91. My heartfelt thanks for the generous donations of those who have contributed in the past and who will contribute in the future! I very much appreciate any and all contributions. They are welcome and needed!
Here in Volcan, our small group has been responsible for sterilizing 2,106 dogs and cats to date. Added to the 129 animals that Spay/Panama (from Panama City) sterilized in in Volcan in February of 2005, we have sterilized 2,235 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 - 6517-8752 or muffiemae@gmail.com Back to Clinics Page Back to HOME PAGE |
Cristina Espinosa did a good job with registration. She is only 13 years old and is the daughter of my employee, Jose Espinosa. 