June 15, 2008 -21 animals sterilized
 on this day by Dr. Tello, our wonderful veterinarian!  

When I scheduled this particular clinic, I did not realize it would be on Father's Day - which is a big deal in Panama. Neither Dr. Tello nor any of our Panamanian volunteers complained about working on this day, but of 45 animals scheduled, only 21 showed up. That was okay. I think we were all relieved to have a short day for a change. We were finished by 2:30. Dr. Tello sterilized 13 dogs (10 females and three males) and eight cats (six female and 2 male). Amazingly, there were no venereal tumors this day.

MANY thanks to our wonderful volunteers and contributors:

Cindy Reichert and Betsy Boeve, who served as registrars and also took turns bringing animals to the clinic and taking them home after surgery; 
Yina Ortiz, who administered the anesthesia. 
Norma Miranda, who gave the pre-op injections of antibiotics and pain/inflammation;
Jose Espinosa. He is my permanent employee and I donate his time and work to the clinics. He helps weigh and tag the animals and give the anesthesia; Jose also uses my car to bring animals to the clinic when necessary and to take them home after surgery.
Bob Wald, who did shaving and pre-op cleaning of the animals;
Brenda Paulson who performed post-op treatment and injections  - such as anti-parasite, vitamin B-12, and Rabies vaccinations plus treatment for fleas and ticks; and tattooed the ears of the female dogs to indicate they have been sterilized. 
Amanda Rankin, who worked in the recovery area…checking and recording the temperatures and vital signs of the animals as they recovered from the anesthesia;
Gabriel Castillo, who cleaned the surgical instruments and sterilized them in the autoclave; 
Tom Rennen helped carry the animals from one station to another, and also washed and sterilized some of the instruments. He is bi-lingual and he was also a big help in translating when needed. (Tom's web site is http://panamawest.com )
Francia Pinedo (http://www.volcan.paradisepanama.net), who assisted Dr. Tello and helped wherever necessary, including translation.

Thanks to Trish Holmes for contributing sandwiches, iced tea, and deviled eggs; to Nancy Young for contributing sandwiches; Betsy Boeve and Cindy Reichert for delicious guacamole; to Brenda Paulson for bringing delicious homemade bread; and to Jennifer Taylor, who contributed the soft drinks. 

Also a big thanks to Anna Mendicino, who washed all the blankets after the clinic. (The animals lie on the floor on blankets while they recuperate and wake up from the anesthesia, and we usually have a large number of dirty blankets after a clinic.)  

I'd also like to thank Andrea Gonella for his big heart. At each clinic he brings several dogs belonging to either his workers or friends of his workers. And Andrea always pays $20 for each dog. A condition of employment with him is that his workers consent to have their dogs sterilized.

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

Income and financial donations:

At this June 2008 clinic, we sterilized 13 dogs and 8 cats. At an average cost of $20 per dog and $10 per cat, expenses totaled $340...plus $20 for a phone card for Fariza Castillo and $100 for the building rent, for a total of $460. Total contributions were $280.00, which left a deficit of $180.00.

Since October of 2006 to date, there is a deficit of $3,615.25. 

Following are a few pictures taken during the June 15, 2008 clinic:

Cindy Reichert registers a woman with her cat.	Brenda Paulson and Tom Rennen	Dr. Tello and Francia Pinedo
This kitty's turn is next.	Cindy Reichert, Betsy Boeve, Amanda Rankin	Almost done for the day, Yina naps with her puppy.

Here in Volcan, our small group has been responsible for sterilizing 472 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 601 dogs and cats! There are many more to go, but we are making progress! Now that we are able to hold the clinics once every month, we will progress even faster. 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.

Dorothy Atwater - 771-5883 or 6780-2565 or viajar2566@yahoo.com

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