65th Sterilization Day

Sunday, September 22, 2013 - 47 animals were sterilized today by
Dr. Andrés Tello, our wonderful veterinarian, plus he removed a tumor from one dog and operated on the eye of a cat.

Dr. Tello sterilized 30 dogs and 17 cats. Of the dogs, 27 were female and 3 were male. Of the cats, 8 were female and 9 were male. (We had a LOT of BIG dogs at this clinic, and surgeries always take longer for them)

I had recently suggested that if only eight people would commit to donating $25 per month each, that amount would largely help to keep my deficit from increasing. Al Jan (Texas) said he'd be the first to commit to $25 per month and he again donated this month. Also, an anonymous donor contributed $275 for this clinic, which is $25 for each of the 11 clinics in a year. This person didn't want to remember to contribute $25 per month, so contributed it all at once, and suggested that perhaps other people might consider doing the same.

The community owes a big thanks to people who get animals to our clinics. They greatly help us reach our goal of reducing the suffering of dogs and cats due to overpopulation.

Mary Ann and Walter White have rescued puppies, had them sterilized and found homes for them. They also bring dogs and puppies of their neighbors to the clinics, and they pay for the surgeries.

Also, several people have told me that they never see more than one or two dogs at the feeding station near Romero's, and Mary Ann will try to get them to a clinic to be sterilized.

Clay and Marukel Conn often round up dogs belonging to indios or other very poor people and bring them to the clinics. Clay and Marukel are not able to pay for the surgeries for most of the animals, but they are helping the community and the animals by getting them to the clinics. They also care for the animals overnight after their surgeries. They brought 10 dogs and 2 cats to the September clinic. Of these animals and another few, I ended up paying for five cats and 10 dogs at this clinic. (Four of the cats belong to one of our volunteers, and I always pay for sterilizing the animals of our volunteers.) Nevertheless, thanks to generous donations this month there was $25 in excess of expenses. (See the list of expenses and contributions below.)

A very nice email received after our August clinic - Dr. Tello properly spayed this dog after a vet had left one ovary in her:

"Just a note to thank you for all that you do for the precious animals, and arranging for our dog to be spayed again...although I saw Dr. Tello and he was busy, please thank him for me and for those four-leggeds that cannot speak our language. You have done a great service for Panama, and it seems that it is rubbing off on the Panamanian people...and even though I do not have the stomach for the guts of the organization, I will help from time to time with the monetary part, and please know that I much appreciate what you do."

About 10 days before this clinic, some people had asked me to come by their house and look at a tumor on the tummy of their dog. I told them to bring the dog to the clinic so Dr. Tello could remove it. Also, the hair of the dog was terribly matted all over, containing feces and urine near the hindquarters. I told them to clip off all these lumps of hair. They didn't. After Dr. Tello removed the tumor, we sat the young man down with his dog and scissors and had him cut off the horrible stuff. It took him about an hour! Perhaps the good news is that he then asked Jose, my employee, about giving the dog haircuts in the future! (Jose does a great job and charges $15.)

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. No one except the doctor receives any payment. Every penny goes for the animals.

Cristina Espinosa did a good job with registration. She just had her 14th birthday and is the daughter of my employee, Jose Espinosa. Cristina has been our registrar for at least two years.
Don Binder and Jahir Costello weighed the animals, administered the anesthesia, shaved and prepped the animals, and gave the pre-op injections of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory, put mineral oil in the eyes of the animals so they would not dry out, and performed 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. He also takes my car to pick up and deliver animals when necessary. Then Jose and I go to the clinic site on Mondays following the Sunday clinics to clean and organize for the next one.
Rosemary Rios and Maria Cristina Montenegro assisted Dr. Tello, gave post-op injections of B-12 and antiparasite. They dressed the incisions, took the temperature of the recovering animals, tattooed the ears of female dogs, gave flea and tick treatment, generally checked the well being of the animals, and performed whatever other tasks were necessary.
Helping them and pitching in wherever necessary was a new volunteer, Lisa Dahlmann from Germany. Lisa will be in Panama for 11 more months. She speaks excellent English. Lisa is volunteering through CAFS at FUNDICCEP in Panama. She learned very quickly and did a great job at the clinic.
Alejandro Espinosa, the youngest son of my employee Jose Espinosa, cleaned and sterilized the instruments.

Again, 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: Marianne Brown for a delicious main dish, Mary Ann White for dessert, Don Binder for drinks, and Amanda Rankin for a fruit plate. I took homegrown organic naval oranges for the doctor and volunteers.

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

And also many thanks to those clients at the clinic who donated more than my costs. Those donations, plus generous donations from other sources, prevented any out-of-pocket expenses for this clinic.

Income and expenses:

$ 715.00	contributions by guardians/owners
40.00	cash donation by "anonymous" (local)
275.00	cash donation by "anonymous" (local)
75.00	cash donation by Carolyn Price (Concepcion)
25.00	cash donation by Al Jan (Texas)
$1,130.00	Total Cash Contributions

At this September 22, 2013 clinic Dr. Tello sterilized 30 dogs and 17 cats. With my average costs for sterilizations of $25 per dog and $15 per cat, expenses were $1,005 plus $100 for rent of the building, equals $1,105. After contributions of $1,130 there was a reduction of my out-of pocket expenses by $25 - leaving a current deficit of $1,808.66. That's the smallest deficit I've had in a LONG time. Thanks again to everyone!

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!

The group can still chat and have a good time while doing very important work! Left to right is Maria Cristina Montenegro, Dr. Tello, Jahir Costello, and Lisa Dahlmann.

For other pictures taken during the clinic, click HERE.

Here in Volcan, our small group has been responsible for sterilizing 2,191 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 2,320 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
skype US telephone: 281-725-6198
skype: muffiemae

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