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Sunday,
August 24, 2014 - 30 animals were operated on by
Dr. Andrés Tello, our wonderful veterinarian.
Dr.
Tello sterilized 15 dogs and 14 cats, plus he removed a tumor from an already
sterilized female dog. Of the sterilized dogs, 13 were
female and 2 were male. Of the cats, 10 were female and 4 were male. In
addition to sterilizing, Dr. Tello also removed two huge tumors, one from
a female dog and two tumors from a male dog. (The male dog has to return in
September for removal of still another tumor.) Sadly, one female dog that had been "dropped off"
at Raquel and Fred Tejan's and despite everything they did to try to save her, she had to be
euthanized today..
Dr.
Tello also cauterized a small melanoma from the tummy of a dog. He says
that melanomas are very serious for people but much less so for animals.
Dr.
Tello operated on "only" 30 animals because the two tumor
removals took over an hour each. The male dog not only had a
venereal tumor, but another type of tumor as well. Dr. Tello removed
those, but the dog has to come back in September to remove still another
tumor on the other side of his penis.
This
male dog belongs to Amilcar Arauz, who was number 2 on the list. Early in
the day Union Fenosa was working on the nearby electrical plant and we had
NO electricity until about 1:00 p.m. We had enough light in the building,
but electricity to cauterize wounds and remove tumors was an absolute
necessity. Amilcar brought his generator and allowed us to use it until
electricity was restored. He even refused my offer to reimburse him for
the gasoline used by his generator for several hours. He's a really nice
man.
In
addition to spaying the female dog with a tumor, removal of the tumor was
a very complicated surgery. Dr. Tello used 25 double stitches (a total of 50). Some
people don't like to see pictures of serious surgery like this, so I did
not include them in my regular Picasa web album (link below), but if you
want to see an example of Dr. Tello's expertise with this very serious
type of surgery, click
HERE.
He
also spayed my newest "adoptee." A couple of weeks before the
clinic I was walking and encountered what is probably a yellow Lab. She is
young and had never even had a first heat. From wounds around her neck and
on her rear haunches, it was obvious that she had been tied on concrete and left to
starve to death. I'm glad she broke free. She was very friendly and not at
all afraid of me. None of the neighbors knew where she supposedly
"belonged." (If they had known, I would have immediately filed a
denuncia against this cruel person and no way would have he/she
gotten this dog back. Under the new law, the penalty for this kind
of abuse is $500 plus community service.)
I called my employee to bring my car to take her to my
house. I'm sure she would have starved to death within another week or
two. Now she is healthy, energetic, and she's a wonderful, loving dog.
Her name is "Sweetie," very fitting
for her. She weighed only 25 pounds at first, just skin and
bones. I fed her three times a day, mostly ground beef, and
she gained 20 pounds in 20 days. She fits in with my pack very well. Here
are some pictures of Sweetie....at first, and then after just a few days.
She continues to gain weight and her wounds have healed..
A
good reason for sterilizing dogs and cats while they're young is that it's
much easier on the animal. When Sweetie woke up from the anesthesia, my
employee took her home. I told Jose that she might not want to eat until
the following day, but he said she immediately ate a huge bowl of food and
was then ready for vigorous play with the rest of my pack.
At
this clinic Dr. Tello even sterilized a young male kitten that weighed less than
one pound.
We
had no-shows of 2 female cats, 2 female dogs, and a male dog with a
tumor....probably a good thing for us, because it was a VERY long day. We
were all exhausted. After I got home after 6:00 p.m., I still had a couple
of hours of post-clinic tasks that have to be done immediately following a
clinic.
Because
the two tumor removals took such a long time, many
people had to wait
for a long time and we thank them for their patience. Our appointment
schedule is not an exact science at best, but when Dr. Tello finds unexpected things,
he naturally takes the time to help the animal. It will wreak havoc on
our schedule, but our first concern is
for the health and safety of the animals that are entrusted to us.
Our
next clinic, #76, will be on September 21st. We already have 28 on the
list for that date, which includes two tumor removals. So anyone
who wants an appointment needs to call right away.
Be
sure to click the link below for the Picasa web album of pictures taken
during this clinic.
I now have a personal PayPal "Donate" button. You can use
this "button" to donate. If
you already have a PayPal account, you can just log in and specify to send
money to "friends or family" at my email address, muffiemae@gmail.com.
If you don't have a PayPal
account, you can use a credit card.
Your contribution is not tax deductible. But be
assured that every penny goes for the animals. On my web page created
after each clinic, I give a complete accounting of income and expenses.
(See "Income and Expenses" listed below.) Except for our
wonderful
veterinarian, neither I nor anyone else
connected with the clinics receives any pay or financial benefit. I rent
the building where we hold the clinics, and I buy all the anesthesia,
medications, instruments, supplies, and equipment. I have no offices, no
salaries, no advertising. Every penny goes for the animals.
This
is a project from my heart, and I pay the deficits from my own
pocket.
Again,
other than contributing cash or depositing to my personal bank account,
donating to my personal PayPal account (muffiemae@gmail.com) is the
best way to help
support this important project if you
don't need a tax-deductible receipt.
Thank you in
advance for
future financial help, and thanks to everyone who has donated in the
past.
Volunteers:
Claudia Flores substituted for Cristina Espinosa for the second time because Cristina was
sick. Claudia did a great job.
Don Binder weighed animals, gave the anesthesia injections, plus many
other tasks.
Elcy Morales, Jahir Costello and Yiniela Rodriguez helped weigh
the animals and and 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, 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, Maria Cristina Montenegro, and Francia Pinedo 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, administered flea and tick treatment,
generally checked the well being of the animals, and performed whatever
other tasks were necessary.
Alex Rios lcleaned
the surgical instruments and placed them into the cold sterilization
solution, and he also helped care for the animals after their surgeries.
Paul Schneider is from Germany
for a volunteer project in Volcan, and he is living with Francia Pinedo.
He came with Francia to observe and help wherever necessary.
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: Susan Lovett for the main dish, Don Binder for drinks and
dessert, ad Amanda Rankin for fruit. I
took organic oranges from my trees for everyone to take home.
Please forgive me
if I have neglected to mention any volunteers or contributors! And
many thanks to the people at this clinic who donated more than my actual
cost for the sterilization of their animals.
Also
thanks to Kit Cooper who donated a rolling backpack, some sheets, and
various other items for the clinics.
Income and expenses:
| $
441.00 |
contributions by guardians/owners
|
|
25.00 |
cash
donation by Al Jan (formerly from Texas, now in Panama) |
| 25.00 |
*Raquel and Fred
Tejan (Cordillera) |
|
20.00
|
Jim and Julie Alexander (Porterillos) |
|
9.41 |
**Clean
Water Store (10.00 minus .59 PayPal fee)
|
|
23.97 |
Cristina
Opper (Albany, GA) - ($25 minus 1.03 PayPal fee) |
| $
544.38 |
Total
Cash Contributions |
*Raquel
Tejan donated $40, but I credited $25 because I gave Dr. Tello $15 for the
euthanasia. (The euthanasia medication is tightly controlled, very expensive, and very
difficult to get.)
**Clean
Water Store, http://www.cleanwaterstore.com.
I recently ordered an ultraviolet sterilization system from them. Their
prices are good and customer service is excellent. They have a huge
selection of products and information. Check their web site. I thoroughly
recommend their products and customer service. They even
read my own web site and were kind enough to donate for the clinics. Thank
you!
Kit
Cooper (from Nicaragua/Florida) also donated a rolling backpack, some
sheets, a heating pad and other miscellaneous items. Thank you, Kit, and I
really enjoyed meeting you!
Note:
The $441 contributions by guardians/owners were for spaying and neutering
only. An additional $194 charged by Dr. Tello for removal of tumors and
other additional procedures were paid to him direct, and therefore that amount is not
added to the $441 listed above, nor is that amount included in my expenses.
At
this August 24, 2014 clinic Dr. Tello sterilized 15 dogs and 14 cats. With my
average costs of $25 per dog and $15 per cat, expenses were $585 plus $100
for rent of the building, for a total of $685. Income this month was
$544.38, leaving a deficit of $140.62, leaving my current out-of-pocket
expenses at $1,579.92.
My
heartfelt thanks for the generous donations of those who have contributed
in the past and who will contribute in the future! We need and appreciate your help! Love and thanks to everyone!
For
other pictures taken
during the clinic,
click
HERE. Click on the
first image to
enlarge it, then you
can advance through
the
rest of the pictures.
--------------
Right: Jerry Longbons made this wonderful cabinet and he and his
wife Lynn donated it for the clinics! We used it for the first time
during this August clinic.
This wonderful cabinet is definitely for MY
benefit as well as the volunteers, so big hugs
and thanks to Jerry and Lynn Longbons!.
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I can label
the contents of the drawers and will
hear fewer "Dottie, where is.... and "Dottie, I
need...."
that I normally hear about 47 times a day
during a clinic!
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Here in Volcan, our small group has been
responsible for sterilizing 2,628 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.) Added to the
129 animals that Spay/Panama (from Panama City) sterilized in in Volcan
in February of 2005, we have sterilized 2,757 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--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
to ANYONE except Dr. Tello. If any of my dogs has a problem that I and my
employee can't solve ourselves, I call Dr. Tello and arrange to meet him
with my dog at the border of Panama/Costa Rica.) I also arrange to take
injured dogs to him that I find in the street.
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
US telephone: 817-349-6345
skype: muffiemae
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