93rd STERILIZATION CLINIC IN VOLCAN

(Para la version en espanol,
haga clic aqui)

 

Sunday, April 17, 2016

44 animals were spayed/neutered by Dr. Andres Tello,
 our wonderful veterinarian. He also performed three
 exams/treatments and ended up amputating the tumorous toe
of a big dog. He will biopsy the toe to determine if it is cancerous.


At this  April 17, 2016 clinic Dr. Tello sterilized 35 dogs and 9  cats. Of the dogs, 22 were female and 13 were male. Of the cats, 5 were female and 4 were male.

We had still another beautiful day. We have never had a clinic day with excessive rain or wind. Spirit smiles upon us for doing this work from our hearts to help the animals!


We have now sterilized 3,421 dogs and cats. Be sure to see my Flickr Album for pictures. The link is near the bottom of this page. 


Three of the dogs were street dogs. (None were malnourished. They may have "owners" but they had no collar with identification as required by law.) 

A few days before the clinic I  had brought a female dog to my house who was in heat and we spayed her. I will keep her until the hormones leave her body, about two weeks, and then I will release her where I found her.

Then two dogs, one male and one female, wandered near the clinic. We were able to catch them and sterilize them.

One kind woman brought four of her neighbor's dogs. The neighbor couldn't afford to pay anything. The woman contributed what she could and I paid the rest.

Clay and Marukel brought three puppies that someone was going to give to Indios. We sterilized them. They found a home for one puppy that very evening.

Another man brought his female dog to be spayed. He brought her three puppies that he couldn't afford to sterilize but he wanted to find homes for them. We sterilized the puppies as well as the mother. One of the puppies was adopted that day, and Amanda Dettloff volunteered to foster the other two. (Bless you, Amanda!) These two puppies need forever homes.

Sadly, this was the last day for Natalie Emmerich. Her Peace Corps job has finished and she will return to the US. Natalie was a wonderful volunteer (and is a very nice person). We will miss her!


I saw an excellent quote that describes so many of us:

Rescuers, rescue supporters and volunteers do not walk on water. We don't wear capes and tights or leap tall buildings. We aren't better than anyone else, but we do pursue a cause that we believe makes us better than before we started. We make mistakes. We feel we can't do enough. We rant out in frustration, we lose our tempers and get snappy. We have to reject people sometimes for the good of a dog. We are not always likeable. What we do is draining--emotionally, financially, and physically. Please bear with us and forgive us our flaws, because we are doing work that is bigger than we are.

--Author Unknown


Our next clinic will be on  May 22, 2016. Please call for an appointment right away because the clinics fill up rapidly.

We had 12 no-shows at this clinic.


You may click the PayPal "Donate" button below to help the animals. It is to my personal PayPal account at muffiemae@gmail.com and your contribution will not be US tax deductible. Please specify your payment is for  "friends or family" so that PayPal will not charge a fee and every penny will go for the animals. If you don't have a PayPal account, you can use a credit card.   

Except for our wonderful veterinarian, neither I nor anyone else connected with the clinics receives any pay. I rent the building where we hold the clinics, and I buy all the anesthesia, medications, instruments, supplies, and equipment--and provide transportation for those who need it. I have no offices, no salaries, no paid advertising. Every penny goes for the animals. This is a project from my heart, and I pay the deficits from my own pocket. 

Thank you in advance for future financial help, and thanks to everyone who has donated in the past.


Volunteers:

Francia Pinedo handled registration. Francia did a great job and has agreed to be our permanent registrar.
Don Binder weighed animals and gave the anesthesia injections. He, Elsy Morales, and Amanda Dettloff (a new volunteer) 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, also drives my car to provide transportation for animals when necessary. Then Jose and I go to the clinic building the following week to clean, bring home blankets to wash, and organize for the next one. Dee Braden accompanies us to clean and sterilize the tables with cloro.
Stephanie Rodriguez, Natalie Emmerich, and Rosemary Rios assisted Dr. Tello. They gave post-op injections of B-12 and antiparasite. They dressed the incisions,  applied flea and tick treatment, tattooed the ears of female dogs, and generally checked the well being of the animals. 
Dee Braden cleaned and sterilized the instruments. As a former surgical nurse, Dee knows exactly what instruments to take to Dr. Tello for male or female dogs and cats.

As always, 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: Lynn Gohman for the main dish, Don Binder for drinks, Amanda Rankin for fruit, and Marguerite Morris for desert.

Please forgive me if I forgot to thank anyone who donated or contributed.


Income and expenses: 

$  734.00*

contributions by guardians/owners

       48.25

 PayPal donation by Carlos Grant (Arkansas) (50.00-1.75 fee)

       25.00

  cash donation by Al Jan 

$   807.25   Total Cash Contributions

*Note: The $734 contributions by guardians/owners were for spaying and neutering only. Payments for other procedures were paid to Dr. Tello separately. Neither those payments nor the charges for other services are  included in the income and expenses.


At this March, 2016 clinic Dr. Tello sterilized 35 dogs and 9 cats.  With my average costs of $25 per dog and $15 per cat, expenses were $1,010 plus $100 for building rent for a total of $1,110. Income this month was $807.25 leaving a deficit of $302.75. Therefore, my current out-of-pocket expenses are $658.54. Thanks very much to everyone! 

My heartfelt thanks for the generous donations of those who have contributed for this clinic, who have contributed in the past, and who will contribute in the future! We need and appreciate your help! Love and thanks to everyone!


 

Be sure to see all the photos taken during the clinic! See my Flickr web album HERE

Click on the first picture to see the captions and advance through all the pictures.

 


Here in Volcan, our small group has been responsible for sterilizing 3,421 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., nor the clinic we performed in Davila in which 35 dogs were sterilized.) 

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 or injured dogs that I find in the street to ANYONE except Dr. Tello.)

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:  muffiemae

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