Next spay/neuter event on my list:
Romania!
Dr. Steele and I will go for the European spay/neuter experience in October.
I'll post more details later. Woohoo!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Thanks to the practice we had in Nicaragua...
We just finished a very successful spay/neuter clinic, in which Dr. Steele "fixed" 34 dogs & cats. We started checkin patients in at 6am, and the last one left at 4:30 (besides the one I got voluntold to babysit). All our patients got surgery, vaccines, and flea treatment. Since we had a bevy of fabulous volunteers, several of the pets got some grooming in too, while they were holding still. We still had plenty of donated flea and pain meds from our last round of clinics, and Schering Plough stepped up with some vaccines (thanks, Brian!). Just before the clinic, an Easter Bunny in civilian clothing stopped by and surprised our volunteers with easter baskets! We tried to catch the bunny for surgery, but it escaped.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
It's not over yet!
Wait, wait blogworld! We've still got to do the slideshow! I don't know when, but you're invited anyway. Keep checking, I'll post when I have details. We want to show our community a little gratitude for all the support, and, of course, laugh at the "bloopers". So now if anyone would like to donate a facility, some snacks, and a projector screen...
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Saturday: leaving Nicaragua
Our flight arrangements didn't all coincide, but the majority of our flights were scheduled to take off early Saturday morning, so we asked Felix to pick us up at 2am. The original plan was to party all night so we'd leave all pumped up. That fizzled when everyone got tired and passed out. i lasted until almost 1, but i think only Brave Dave stayed awake the whole time. Felix showed up right at 2, loaded up all our stuff, and our tired selves, and took us on our way. We left behind Morgan and Kelly, whose flights were later enough they got to sleep in before their trek.
After about 2 1/2 hours on the bus (during which I napped, and may have drooled on Colleen) we arrived at the airport. Those of us flying to Houston checked in, and then discovered that the security checkpoint was not yet open. So we hung out by the gates until they showed up to stamp our passports and go through our luggage. I had some filthy sandy, still wet from the ocean socks at the top, so they didn't check mine too closely.
Speaking of the filthy socks, my post about Friday left out the part about after Larry the yoga guy took some of us into town, he showed us around a bit and introduced us to real Nicaraguan chocolate. Then he went to teach a yoga class and we wandered around and shopped for a while. Then we walked along the beach to begin a hike back up to the villa. It was a beautiful sunset, and we got a great photo of Wolfy, after which, since we were paying attention to other things than the waves, we got our ankles soaked. After that, I just walked along in the surf. It was a grand finale, but my socks got soaked and filthy. Between the sandy beach and our stairs up the hill, in the growing darkness, we chanced upon gravel - that MOVED!! Hundreds upon hundreds of hermit crabs clickety-clicked their way around and under our feet and grossed us out to the point that we turned back to find a road. Once we found a road, we found a different kind of crab, but there was only one of him, and we were able to avoid stepping on him. It was pretty dark by this time - thank goodness Natalie and Erin had thought to bring their headlamps, so we were making our way along quite well in our plod up the steep hill, when an SUV pulled up and a former US Marine Corpsman asked if he could drive us the rest of the way up the hill. So the plod ended with a nice ride, just in time for dinner. I already miss the beans and rice.
So, back to Saturday: First plane ride was essentially a nap. During the nap, the flight staff neglected to give me my customs form, despite giving one to everyone else on the airplane. When I woke up to disembark, nobody said anything about it. although I vaguely wondered why I hadn't gotten one. So I get up to the table full of forms in Houston, and the form for US Citizens to fill out, is ONLY AVAILABLE IN SPANISH!!! I was a little bit bummed about that, but after a customs person from their booth told me to talk to one of the airport personnel, and I chased them down, they were able to find a form in English for me that was only a little bit wrinkled.
After making my way through customs, I had my bag searched. The security guy really got a kick out of my Sahale Pecans (from Costco) which I had brought on the trip and not eaten. They're awesome - with cranberries and orange zest and black pepper on the glazed pecans. The guy said he was going to have to go get some. Then he said I was cool. I responded, "that's great, but how's my bag?" So I got to go through and find out that our connecting flight had been delayed an hour. That was great, because we got to have one more lunch with Colleen, who had a later flight to Albequerque. So we had airport food, and then said goodbye. The plane was about an hour and a half late taking off. This flight I slept some, but also read the SkyMall magazine. That was wildly entertaining...
Then at SeaTac, we called for our shuttle to the hotel where we'd left the cars. After that ride, we split again, and said goodbye to Jackie and Brave Dave. Then after about an hour's drive, we dropped Judy off at her friend's house, and it was back to just me and Dr. Steele. At which point, we made straight for the nearest Taco Bell. When we left Taco Bell, for some reason, we both walked the wrong direction, and had to circle the building to get back to the car. So we waved at the drive thru people and giggled our way to the car. Also on the way home, we stopped at our nearest Trader Joes (only an hour and a half from home) to reload, as I had run out of avocadoes and Powerberries. So then we drove the rest of the way home, and I got my doggie back, and whoof - hit the sack!
After about 2 1/2 hours on the bus (during which I napped, and may have drooled on Colleen) we arrived at the airport. Those of us flying to Houston checked in, and then discovered that the security checkpoint was not yet open. So we hung out by the gates until they showed up to stamp our passports and go through our luggage. I had some filthy sandy, still wet from the ocean socks at the top, so they didn't check mine too closely.
Speaking of the filthy socks, my post about Friday left out the part about after Larry the yoga guy took some of us into town, he showed us around a bit and introduced us to real Nicaraguan chocolate. Then he went to teach a yoga class and we wandered around and shopped for a while. Then we walked along the beach to begin a hike back up to the villa. It was a beautiful sunset, and we got a great photo of Wolfy, after which, since we were paying attention to other things than the waves, we got our ankles soaked. After that, I just walked along in the surf. It was a grand finale, but my socks got soaked and filthy. Between the sandy beach and our stairs up the hill, in the growing darkness, we chanced upon gravel - that MOVED!! Hundreds upon hundreds of hermit crabs clickety-clicked their way around and under our feet and grossed us out to the point that we turned back to find a road. Once we found a road, we found a different kind of crab, but there was only one of him, and we were able to avoid stepping on him. It was pretty dark by this time - thank goodness Natalie and Erin had thought to bring their headlamps, so we were making our way along quite well in our plod up the steep hill, when an SUV pulled up and a former US Marine Corpsman asked if he could drive us the rest of the way up the hill. So the plod ended with a nice ride, just in time for dinner. I already miss the beans and rice.
So, back to Saturday: First plane ride was essentially a nap. During the nap, the flight staff neglected to give me my customs form, despite giving one to everyone else on the airplane. When I woke up to disembark, nobody said anything about it. although I vaguely wondered why I hadn't gotten one. So I get up to the table full of forms in Houston, and the form for US Citizens to fill out, is ONLY AVAILABLE IN SPANISH!!! I was a little bit bummed about that, but after a customs person from their booth told me to talk to one of the airport personnel, and I chased them down, they were able to find a form in English for me that was only a little bit wrinkled.
After making my way through customs, I had my bag searched. The security guy really got a kick out of my Sahale Pecans (from Costco) which I had brought on the trip and not eaten. They're awesome - with cranberries and orange zest and black pepper on the glazed pecans. The guy said he was going to have to go get some. Then he said I was cool. I responded, "that's great, but how's my bag?" So I got to go through and find out that our connecting flight had been delayed an hour. That was great, because we got to have one more lunch with Colleen, who had a later flight to Albequerque. So we had airport food, and then said goodbye. The plane was about an hour and a half late taking off. This flight I slept some, but also read the SkyMall magazine. That was wildly entertaining...
Then at SeaTac, we called for our shuttle to the hotel where we'd left the cars. After that ride, we split again, and said goodbye to Jackie and Brave Dave. Then after about an hour's drive, we dropped Judy off at her friend's house, and it was back to just me and Dr. Steele. At which point, we made straight for the nearest Taco Bell. When we left Taco Bell, for some reason, we both walked the wrong direction, and had to circle the building to get back to the car. So we waved at the drive thru people and giggled our way to the car. Also on the way home, we stopped at our nearest Trader Joes (only an hour and a half from home) to reload, as I had run out of avocadoes and Powerberries. So then we drove the rest of the way home, and I got my doggie back, and whoof - hit the sack!
Backtracking - to Friday!
Okay, so this photo was taken on Thursday, but I didn't get it until now. This is our "official" group shot in front of the clinic. I think my eyes are closed, but in my defense, it was really, really bright out.
Friday morning was horsey ride time. It ruled!
My horse's head.
Erin's horse was awesome! Cute, responsive, and a great ride!
Morgan's horse was loaded with gear: lassos, straps, even a machete!
I'm not in the photo, but my horse was just to the left of Erin's - The cowboy's dog (and his shouts) started the cows moving. Then they kept moving, pretty much by themselves, but my horse got pretty antsy. I get the feeling he used to herd the cows, and might be bored lugging gringas around on tourist rides. So I sped him up and pretended we were herding the cows. Then he stopped giving me attitude, and we had a pretty good ride after that.
This guy with his pony and cart passed us after we sent the cows towards their field.
Our guide (in the orange shirt) led Laurie's horse most of the way - after it spooked near the beginning of the ride. Morgan and her horse got along pretty well - even cantered a tad.
My dude and I rounded up this colt so the vaquero could rope him. It was super awesome! I think if/when I ever get a horse, I want a cow pony (and a burro, and a Fresian).
Isn't my horse a handsome dude? Note the lack of bit - his "bridle" is made of twisted twine.
Whoops! I got caught carving a petroglyph into this rock...
This howler monkey told us off for riding too close to him.
The boss and I pose with our fabulous food cooking housekeepers. They can cook up beans'n'rice like nobody's business!
Natalie, our resident horse person, was first up, got the rest of us all put together, reminded us to keep our heels down, and took care of the less-horse oriented during our ride. We pretty much didn't need a guide, and it's always nice to have someone who really knows what they're doing along for pretty much any adventure. She got a pretty horse too.
Getting mounted up. They made us wear helmets. Our heads got hot and sweaty, but it was nice to know that the guides care about our safety.
My horse's head.
Not quite the 3 Musketeers, but hey...
Erin's horse was awesome! Cute, responsive, and a great ride!
Morgan's horse was loaded with gear: lassos, straps, even a machete!
I'm not in the photo, but my horse was just to the left of Erin's - The cowboy's dog (and his shouts) started the cows moving. Then they kept moving, pretty much by themselves, but my horse got pretty antsy. I get the feeling he used to herd the cows, and might be bored lugging gringas around on tourist rides. So I sped him up and pretended we were herding the cows. Then he stopped giving me attitude, and we had a pretty good ride after that.
This guy with his pony and cart passed us after we sent the cows towards their field.
Our guide (in the orange shirt) led Laurie's horse most of the way - after it spooked near the beginning of the ride. Morgan and her horse got along pretty well - even cantered a tad.
My dude and I rounded up this colt so the vaquero could rope him. It was super awesome! I think if/when I ever get a horse, I want a cow pony (and a burro, and a Fresian).
Isn't my horse a handsome dude? Note the lack of bit - his "bridle" is made of twisted twine.
Whoops! I got caught carving a petroglyph into this rock...
This howler monkey told us off for riding too close to him.
The boss and I pose with our fabulous food cooking housekeepers. They can cook up beans'n'rice like nobody's business!
After lunch, we went into town to buy souveniers, and hang out. Two separate groups went, and I lucked out enough to tag along with both. First our regular driver Felix took Laurie, Lisa, Colleen Kristina, and me. We got a bunch of cheap jewelry and I got an awesome hat. Then we headed to the Iguana Bar/Restaurant to hang out - not that we needed food after the awesome lunch we'd had! So they had some beer, and I had some fruity stuff. Then we shopped a little bit more and went back to the villa - just in time for me to catch a ride back to town with Larry.
This is how "No Shirt Larry" the yoga guy gets around - Stoli the Rhodesian Ridgeback gets first dibs at seating, even though she stood the whole time. The springs are old enough that if everyone sits inside, there will be problems. Also, there are no brakes. It was awesome.
Wolfy says goodnight, and goodbye to San Juan Del Sur.
Wolfy says goodnight, and goodbye to San Juan Del Sur.
The unpacking saga
This story has to do with the neighbors monopolizing our shared laundry room and me painting my house some more, also me cooking myslef food. And playing with my doggie!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Back Home
Looooooong bus ride-flight-flight-car ride with some layovers in between...
High points include stopping at Trader Joes on the way home and TACO BELL!!
Low points include an extra long layover in Houston due to a delayed flight. The silver lining to that was that I had time to hit Auntie Anne's for a pretzel before boarding.
I am, however, about to fall over while typing, so should get some sleep.
Don't worry though- tomorrow is dedictated (at least partly) to getting the rest of this trip documented, photos uploaded, and hopefully some laundry.
High points include stopping at Trader Joes on the way home and TACO BELL!!
Low points include an extra long layover in Houston due to a delayed flight. The silver lining to that was that I had time to hit Auntie Anne's for a pretzel before boarding.
I am, however, about to fall over while typing, so should get some sleep.
Don't worry though- tomorrow is dedictated (at least partly) to getting the rest of this trip documented, photos uploaded, and hopefully some laundry.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Grrrr - internet issues
Short post, since internet is spazzing out on us:
Horseback riding = awesome!
Shopping in town = lots of souveniers
Lunch + Dinner = awesome again
Staying up late + stupid internet = short post
sorry.
Let's see if I can't update at an airport or something.
Horseback riding = awesome!
Shopping in town = lots of souveniers
Lunch + Dinner = awesome again
Staying up late + stupid internet = short post
sorry.
Let's see if I can't update at an airport or something.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Last Surgery Day
Today saw our final surgeries in Nicaragua - this time!
Business was a little slower than the other two days, which was great because the students got all kinds of experience and coaching they wouldn't have had if we were slammed. The slowness also gave me a chance to photograph some of our "neighbors" over the last few days:
Natalie sutures while Dr. Steele supervises.
One group of kids asked us if we could clip their dog's shaggy, matted fur. We said of course - as long as we get to spay her too! I got to do the honors (thank goodness we'd brought more than one size of blade, and an extra clipper battery!)
Business was a little slower than the other two days, which was great because the students got all kinds of experience and coaching they wouldn't have had if we were slammed. The slowness also gave me a chance to photograph some of our "neighbors" over the last few days:
The horse, along with three others, was wandering the streets, snatching snacks from yards.
The pig was kenneled (styed?) right next to where we were working.
The fowl were a ways down the street, mostly inside their own yard.
They told us this was a school for disabled children:
Lisa sutures while Dr. Winnie supervises.
Morgan sits with Randy while he wakes up:
Natalie sutures while Dr. Steele supervises.
Kristina sutures while Dr. Colleen supervises.
Dr. Karen monitors a cat recovery while Laurie preps meds.
Again, Natalie does her thing.
One group of kids asked us if we could clip their dog's shaggy, matted fur. We said of course - as long as we get to spay her too! I got to do the honors (thank goodness we'd brought more than one size of blade, and an extra clipper battery!)
Laurie and I chat with the chief of police - whose house, it turns out, we've been using as our surgery clinic! He and one of his officers brought in a working K-9 to be spayed - a mixed breed, tan dog named Blacky.
And this time... ha ha! I've got my influencing others bit down all right!
Did I mention that there are geckos running around the villa, protecting us from mosquitoes and the like?
Reasons to not check work email in Nicaragua
1) a stupid depressing email can make one not feel much like blogging.
2) see above.
I'm gonna go do something fun, and come back later.
2) see above.
I'm gonna go do something fun, and come back later.
Photos from day 2
Laurie sorting through her "stash". She monitored the intake of pretty much all the animals, who got what meds, etc. She places the most amazingly stable catheters, and is an awesome coach.
Kelly is basically our recovery queen. She spent almost all the time in our recovery room, removing catheters, placing belly bandages, and generally encouraging everyone to wake up as quickly as possible.
Here's Erin prepping for surgery. She's one of our vet students who is super motivated to get in there and operate. She's gotten into (literally) several surgeries.
Dr. Colleen gives Wolfy an exam. Colleen and Dr. Steele competed to call "dibs" on spays as they came in - nobody wanted to sit around for very long.
Expressing a bladder - when a bladder is full, surgery is a little more difficult. We emptied urine into trash bags that were hung at the end of our surgery tables.
Drs. Dave and Winnie, with vet student Natalie prep a spay. Several of our dogs bled heavily (probably due to tick-bourne erlichiosis) and required two vets to close them up quickly.
Vet student Lisa practices her suture technique, as Dr. Colleen supervises.
One of our few cat patients arrives in his homemade cat carrier:
Fabulous Lori and her daugher (& son) brought us lunch daily. It was so awesome of them! Good food, too.
Morgan places an IV catheter, while Laurie supervises.
Kelly is basically our recovery queen. She spent almost all the time in our recovery room, removing catheters, placing belly bandages, and generally encouraging everyone to wake up as quickly as possible.
Here's Erin prepping for surgery. She's one of our vet students who is super motivated to get in there and operate. She's gotten into (literally) several surgeries.
Dr. Colleen gives Wolfy an exam. Colleen and Dr. Steele competed to call "dibs" on spays as they came in - nobody wanted to sit around for very long.
Expressing a bladder - when a bladder is full, surgery is a little more difficult. We emptied urine into trash bags that were hung at the end of our surgery tables.
Drs. Dave and Winnie, with vet student Natalie prep a spay. Several of our dogs bled heavily (probably due to tick-bourne erlichiosis) and required two vets to close them up quickly.
Vet student Lisa practices her suture technique, as Dr. Colleen supervises.
One of our few cat patients arrives in his homemade cat carrier:
Fabulous Lori and her daugher (& son) brought us lunch daily. It was so awesome of them! Good food, too.
Morgan places an IV catheter, while Laurie supervises.
Dr. Steele does her thing: SPAY!
Dr. Winnie with two of our local volunteers who helped translate.
Group shot - winding down at the end of the day.
We saw monkeys on the way back to the villa:
As I said, I wasn't the only one in the pool with my clothes on yesterday!
And, this morning, we had a visitor:
Group shot - winding down at the end of the day.
We saw monkeys on the way back to the villa:
As I said, I wasn't the only one in the pool with my clothes on yesterday!
And, this morning, we had a visitor:
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
The other post neglected to mention a few things, so here's an update:
We were challenged by the WorldVets team in Honduras to beat their score for surgeries. We said "bring it on!" and other such nonsense. In reality, they're in a much more established location, and I believe they've got one more vet than we do (?). We are, however, confident that we'll at least tie their percentage of surgeries performed for the number of (healthy-enough) animals presented. Today was a little slower than yesterday. Less animals showed up, less local volunteers showed up, but it gave us some great practice/training opportunities. Our four vet students are getting hands-on (even hands-in) surgery experience, our vet tech is coaching those IV catheter placements like crazy (3 people trained so far), and our assistants are just rocking at their posts too. Not to mention the 5 veterinarians who are just amazing! We've got an awesome team here, and I'll be sad to let 'em all go their separate ways in a few days. Thank goodness for Facebook!
Since embarrassing photos will circulate (I'm sure) I should mention that I had horrible allergies during most of the clinic today. I had hoped that I'd be fine since yesterday was no problem, but ah well. Tomorrow shall be the day of generic Zyrtec.
In honor of St. Pat's (and because I was out of other clean socks) I elected to sport some green & white toe socks, which ought to be featured in a photo later...
And our trapped cat turned out to be a female, but we transferred her to a cage to wait until a surgery table is available tomorrow. Then we set the trap again and caught her brother or son or something. Fingers crossed we get another one caught tonight!
We were challenged by the WorldVets team in Honduras to beat their score for surgeries. We said "bring it on!" and other such nonsense. In reality, they're in a much more established location, and I believe they've got one more vet than we do (?). We are, however, confident that we'll at least tie their percentage of surgeries performed for the number of (healthy-enough) animals presented. Today was a little slower than yesterday. Less animals showed up, less local volunteers showed up, but it gave us some great practice/training opportunities. Our four vet students are getting hands-on (even hands-in) surgery experience, our vet tech is coaching those IV catheter placements like crazy (3 people trained so far), and our assistants are just rocking at their posts too. Not to mention the 5 veterinarians who are just amazing! We've got an awesome team here, and I'll be sad to let 'em all go their separate ways in a few days. Thank goodness for Facebook!
Since embarrassing photos will circulate (I'm sure) I should mention that I had horrible allergies during most of the clinic today. I had hoped that I'd be fine since yesterday was no problem, but ah well. Tomorrow shall be the day of generic Zyrtec.
In honor of St. Pat's (and because I was out of other clean socks) I elected to sport some green & white toe socks, which ought to be featured in a photo later...
And our trapped cat turned out to be a female, but we transferred her to a cage to wait until a surgery table is available tomorrow. Then we set the trap again and caught her brother or son or something. Fingers crossed we get another one caught tonight!
Surgery - Day Two!
Today was dog spay day. Lots more surgeries, lots more care, and once again the tired, hot, sweaty, grimy people considered jumping in the pool with their clothes on. This time I corrupted a few more people, and at least 4 of us got in the pool fully clothed. Word on the street is that we've just caught one of the villa's resident kitties in our live trap. Hooray!
In other news, we were told that our power and water will both be non-existent tomorrow, so we filled up every container we could find at the clinic before we left, and as soon as people got out of the pool here we started showering. I was second in line for my shower, and just as soon as I had rinsed off the chlorine, the nice shower stream turned into a tiny trickle for a few seconds, then disappeared. I don't know how long the power will last. Adventures, adventures!
In other news, we were told that our power and water will both be non-existent tomorrow, so we filled up every container we could find at the clinic before we left, and as soon as people got out of the pool here we started showering. I was second in line for my shower, and just as soon as I had rinsed off the chlorine, the nice shower stream turned into a tiny trickle for a few seconds, then disappeared. I don't know how long the power will last. Adventures, adventures!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Surgeries - Day One
This morning, we went to our "clinic", a mostly empty building that was not being used for anything else this week. Since our day was scheduled to begin at 8am, we started out with an early breakfast and van ride.
We lost no time setting up our 4 surgery tables, using bricks underneath to raise/level them.
and began checking in patients as soon as they started showing up. Most of the girl dogs were named either Princessa or Lazy (pronounced "Lassie"). There were several Bobbies and Robbies among the male dogs, and a few Diegos. This photo shows me checking in one Diego, to the backdrop of our "lobby" and several other patients/owners.
Since we had 5 vets available, 4 performed surgeries, while the fifth saw appointments. Many of the locals refused to spay/neuter (especially neuter) their pets, but wanted parasite control or other care. We blame the macho machismo culture for the lack of neutering. Most of our patients were dogs, but (crazy cat lady alert!) I got to handle all 4 cats we "fixed" today - including our smallest patient, a 1.3# kitten spay!
In addition to spays and neuters, we also did an ear hematoma repair surgery (way to go Dr. Steele!). The ear had filled with blood and fluid and was very uncomfortable for the poor dog. Dr. Steele drained it out and sewed it back together all in the right order. Our other non-sterilization surgery was an eye removal. A poor poochie had injured itself and the eye was infected. Li'l guy's going to be fine now though, just with a constant wink.
Speaking of sterilization, our surgical instruments had to be chemically sterilized, as we did not have an autoclave (or modified pressure cooker) to steam them. Each "pack" was scrubbed out, and then bathed in fun chemicals, before being handed to another surgeon. Cute baskets, huh?
After surgery, the animals were brought to the Recovery area, where a few hardcore volunteers sweltered it out in a muggy, dark room, with very little foot space, monitoring the patients, counting out meds, documenting additional medical issues, etc. I was surprised at how calm this area was, especially since the dogs often clambered over each other in a drug-induced stupor.
As the dogs and cats came to, they were brought out to the light of day, where most of their families had waited for them in our "lobby" of folding chairs out in the yard. Owners got their pet back, care instructions, any needed medications, and in several cases, brand new collars and leashes, as we'd had some donated and didn't like to see the critters walk out on a rusty chain.
Word on the street is that we did 41 surgeries and saw 18 appointments today! We met some great people too - including one owner who did our grocery shopping for us, since we couldn't leave the clinic before the Mercado would be closed. She got us some great vegetables, which we brought back to the villa for dinner. While that was getting prepared, and since everyone was hot, sweaty, dirty, and covered in grime, and other people got to the showers before I did, well...
We lost no time setting up our 4 surgery tables, using bricks underneath to raise/level them.
and began checking in patients as soon as they started showing up. Most of the girl dogs were named either Princessa or Lazy (pronounced "Lassie"). There were several Bobbies and Robbies among the male dogs, and a few Diegos. This photo shows me checking in one Diego, to the backdrop of our "lobby" and several other patients/owners.
Since we had 5 vets available, 4 performed surgeries, while the fifth saw appointments. Many of the locals refused to spay/neuter (especially neuter) their pets, but wanted parasite control or other care. We blame the macho machismo culture for the lack of neutering. Most of our patients were dogs, but (crazy cat lady alert!) I got to handle all 4 cats we "fixed" today - including our smallest patient, a 1.3# kitten spay!
In addition to spays and neuters, we also did an ear hematoma repair surgery (way to go Dr. Steele!). The ear had filled with blood and fluid and was very uncomfortable for the poor dog. Dr. Steele drained it out and sewed it back together all in the right order. Our other non-sterilization surgery was an eye removal. A poor poochie had injured itself and the eye was infected. Li'l guy's going to be fine now though, just with a constant wink.
Speaking of sterilization, our surgical instruments had to be chemically sterilized, as we did not have an autoclave (or modified pressure cooker) to steam them. Each "pack" was scrubbed out, and then bathed in fun chemicals, before being handed to another surgeon. Cute baskets, huh?
After surgery, the animals were brought to the Recovery area, where a few hardcore volunteers sweltered it out in a muggy, dark room, with very little foot space, monitoring the patients, counting out meds, documenting additional medical issues, etc. I was surprised at how calm this area was, especially since the dogs often clambered over each other in a drug-induced stupor.
As the dogs and cats came to, they were brought out to the light of day, where most of their families had waited for them in our "lobby" of folding chairs out in the yard. Owners got their pet back, care instructions, any needed medications, and in several cases, brand new collars and leashes, as we'd had some donated and didn't like to see the critters walk out on a rusty chain.
Word on the street is that we did 41 surgeries and saw 18 appointments today! We met some great people too - including one owner who did our grocery shopping for us, since we couldn't leave the clinic before the Mercado would be closed. She got us some great vegetables, which we brought back to the villa for dinner. While that was getting prepared, and since everyone was hot, sweaty, dirty, and covered in grime, and other people got to the showers before I did, well...
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