May 23rd, 2010 - 15 animals were sterilized today,
plus an eye operation on another dog
by Dr. Andrés Tello, our wonderful veterinarian. 

I am very disappointed. Despite the beautiful day, a small number of people took advantage of the  expertise of Dr. Tello and the opportunity to sterilize their dogs and cats at a very low cost.  Dr. Tello sterilized 10 dogs and 5 cats, plus performed an eye operation on an already-sterilized dog.  Of the 10 dogs, 5 were male and 5 were female. Of the 5 cats, 3 were male and 2 were female.

An encouraging note is that people are recognizing the importance of sterilizing their male dogs and cats as well as the females. 

The program is directed toward low-income Panamanians; however, because Dr. Tello is such an excellent veterinarian, we do allow others to take advantage of his expertise. But for those who can afford it, I ask for a larger donation to help defray the expenses for those who can afford to pay little or nothing. No animal is turned away because of the owner's inability to pay my actual cost, which is $20 per dog and $10 per cat. For people other than low-income Panamanians who want to take advantage of the expertise and professionalism of our clinics, I ask $50 for a dog and $40 for a cat.

Also, when someone brings his or her pet to be sterilized, Dr. Tello will also take care of other problems the animal may have - removal of venereal tumors, for example. But under no circumstances do we allow treatment of any animal without it being sterilized first during the clinic, or unless it has previously been sterilized.

Anyone who is local to Volcan, PLEASE talk with your friends and neighbors, explain the importance of sterilization and tell them about our clinics.  My goal is to sterilize at least 30 animals during each clinic. Or next clinic will be on June 20th. 

Please donate! A donation of just $20 per month will pay for the cost of sterilzing one dog; a $10 donation will pay for the sterilization of one cat. Each contribution goes directly to services for the animals or medical supplies.  Except for Dr. Tello, none of us receives any salaries or "perks." Every penny of your contribution goes for the animals.  Your contribution helps make Spay/Panama-Chiriqui services possible. Donations are tax deductible. You will receive a receipt for tax purposes. 

 Donations are tax deductible. You will receive a receipt for tax purposes. 

MANY thanks to our wonderful volunteers and contributors. Without their help and dedication, this important work simply could not be done. 

Rosemary Rios did a wonderful job as registrar. 
Mary Binder and Dana Larson administered the anesthesia.
Argelis Gomez administered the pre-op injections of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory.
Don Binder performed pre-op shaving and prepping. 
Jose Espinosa, my permanent employee, helps weigh and tag the animals, provides transportation for animals in my car when necessary, and helps with various duties. Jose and I go to the clinic site on Mondays following the Sunday clinics to clean and organize for the next one.
Wally Ewen performed post-op care: cleaned the surgical site, tattooed the ears of female dogs to indicate they have been sterilized, gave injections of vitamin B-12 and antiparasite, and administered flea and tick treatment when necessary. 
Francia Pinedo assisted Dr. Tello and helped with translations. Francia is a good friend and I know her to be an excellent - and HONEST - real estate agent in Volcan. Her web page is http://www.volcan.paradisepanama.net 
Karolyn Rovira and Hilary Delgado cleaned and sterilized the surgical instruments and monitored the animals while they recovered from the anesthesia.

Thanks to Marianne Brown for donating a delicious pot of chili, Richard Kongable for the soft drinks, pastries and a cake, and Amanda Rankin for a tasty fruit salad. 

Thanks to Osvaldo Ivan Flores for translating this web page into Spanish. He is the editor of a local newspaper, Chiriqui Libre.

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

Income and expenses: 

At this May 23rd, 2010 clinic, we operated on 11 dogs and 5 cats (including the eye operation on the one dog). With my average cost of $20 per dog and $10 per cat, expenses were $270, plus $100 for building rent, for a total expense of $370. With contributions of $642.00, I am pleased to report a positive cash flow of $272.00. Therefore, since October of 2006 to date, my accumulated deficit is reduced to $3,262.75.  (The clinics began in March of 2006 but it didn't occur to me to keep financial records until October of 2006.)

Please donate! I very much appreciate your contributions, which are welcome and needed! Donations are tax deductible. You will receive a receipt for tax purposes. Click this button to donate:

Following are some pictures taken during the May 23, 2010 clinic. Sorry I didn't get a picture of Hilary and Karolyn, but there's a good picture of them on April's web page.

Rosemary Rios, registrar	Dirk de Veer with his dog Prince.	Dana Larson and young man with kitty.
Man with his recovering dog..	Don Binder.	Mary Binder sits with Prince after surgery.
Dr. Tello gives an IV injection.	Dana Larson with a kitty.	Wally Ewen
This is a very nice female dog that needs a home.	This the dog pictured at the left, being spayed.	Animals recovering from anesthesia.
Boy with his dog.	Dr. Tello and me at the end of the day.	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!

Here in Volcan, our small group has been responsible for sterilizing 986 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 1,115 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.

Dorothy Atwater - 771-5883, 6780-2565 or viajar2566@yahoo.com
skype:  muffiemae

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