Great Volunteers = Great Campaign!!

Our fifth annual spay neuter campaign ended in Holbox at Casa de Morelia on May 17th.  In addition to many familiar faces in our volunteer corps a number of new volunteers joined us.  We are so fortunate to have such a great group of dedicated people help us every year.  Without our volunteers nothing could be accomplished!

We started this years clinics on May 12th in Kantunilkin. We have visited Kantunilkin every year and have seen a growth in the number of animals every year. This year we had our largest one day clinic with a total 91 animals altered.

Sunday we drove to KM 80 which is a small village on the road to Cancun.  This town had some very sick dogs and was in desperate need of help.  We usually try not to go this far from Holbox but I understand why Morelia wanted us to visit KM 80.  We were able to help 51 animals.  The local official that organized our building and lunch honored us with a delicious Mayan specialty-a chicken soup that had a wonderful flavor.  We were also visited by this beautiful blue butterfly.

 

We learned the first year that everyone benefits from a day off after two intense days in the heat. Monday was our day off and everyone relaxed in their own way.  

San Angel is a small community located between Solferino and Kantunilkin. The sign says 850 inhabitants.  I had thought we might have 40 or 50 dogs come to the clinic.  Unexpectedly on Monday half of our veterinarians decided to leave for Merida which left us with four very dedicated and busy surgeons.  We had over 100 animals come to the clinic for surgery.  We decided to concentrate on adult females and made arrangements for the other puppies to be altered next week by Dr. Laura Bevilacqua from Holbox.  We were able to help 69 animals in San Angel.  With the prospect of many more being helped in the near future.   We were very thankful for a secure building as the heavens opened and it poured rain most of the day.  Tropical rains are a wee bit different then our Seattle rains!

We always like to hold the last day of clinics on Holbox at the Refugio. Morelia's Refugio is a wonderful spot with animals of all types being rehabilitated.  Those that can be returned to the wild are and those that can't be released are cared for or sent to other sanctuaries.   There are pelicans, raccoons, coati mundi, various birds, dogs, cats, rabbits and any other creature in need of care.  The house and grounds are kept clean and smell of disinfectant (very unusual in this area!). Morelia is an amazing woman that organizes the clinics for us and cares for all animals. We are so lucky to have her help.

 Esther feeding the pelicans with cats helping!!

Esther always serves us fresh limeade, various juices and a great lunch.  The rains came during lunch!  

We altered 48 animals on Holbox. 

One of two orphan mapaches.

The end of the clinics always brings about reflection.  We were able to help over 250 animals this year with prospects of many more being helped during the coming year.  In the last 4 years we have provided surgery for over 1250 animals and left supplies for many more to be altered.  We have shared supplies with groups in Merida, Playa del Carmine and Puerto Morelos.   We continue to believe that it is in the pets' best interest if we maintain standards as close to US standards as possible.  What does this mean?  It means that every animal has an autoclaved pack,  every animal has a new suture packet, every animal has an autoclaved drape, our surgical prep is very thorough, most animals are intubated and have iv catheters.  We do our best not to cut corners in anyway.  These animals are already compromised by parasites, nutrition, and living conditions.  Does this increase our costs per animal- absolutely but I think it is worth it.

Gearing up for 2012 clinics

Hola everyone!

May is fast approaching, and the team is getting ready. We are excited to have a wonderful group of volunteers this year, some veterans and some brand new. This year's clinic days are May 12 - 16th, so there's still time to get involved if you're interested in being part of our team.

If you're able to donate or want to volunteer, please visit our web site for more info.

Hasta la próxima!

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

It is time to start thinking about 2011 clinics. Our clinics for 2011 will be held May 8, 9, 11, & 12. We hope to purchase another 30 spay packs, another autoclave and new clippers this year. Please consider a tax deductable donation to Isla Holbox Spay Neuter Project.

Ed and I will be attending the Merida Clinic in January again. The goal this year is 1500 animals!!

2010 Clinics a Huge Success

Our clinics for 2010 concluded on Wednesday May 12th. This year we were able to help 5 communities by providing free spay neuter services for their animals. The first two days of clinics our entire group was together in Kantunilkin. Kantunilkin is the government seat for the municipality of Lazaro Cardenas in the state of Quintana Roo. It has an estimated population of 6100 people.


We had many new volunteers this year so our first clinic on the 8th was a a training session for everyone as well as a very busy clinic. We altered 89 animals on May 8th. On the 9th the clinic ran like clock work with everyone understanding their jobs and getting right down to business. We unfortunately had fewer animals presented but were able to alter 68 animals during our second day.

May 10th is Mothers Day in Mexico and we always take the day off to rest and prepare for the next two days of clinics.

Tuesday we broke into two groups and headed to two small villages, Cedral and El Ideal. Both villages are Mayan. Maya is the common language in these villages. Many of the children are fluent in Spanish as well as Maya. Some also speak a little English. The dogs are very important to the Mayan people. They are greatly loved by their owners. The people and children were in and out of the clinics all day, as the doors were all open for ventilation. They find the whole process of our clinics very interesting. We make sure we treat the animals with respect as well as their owners. 54 animals were altered in El Ideal and 49 were altered in Cedral. On dog was sedated and had a growth removed from the corner of it's eye.

Wednesday the final day of clinics we again broke into two groups. One group went to Solferino and the other stayed on Holbox. We visited Solferino in 2008 but not in 2009. In Solferino the Ejido donates their building for us to use. It is a nice large area and well designed for a clinic space. 49 animals were altered in Solferino.

The Holbox clinic is held at Casa de Morelia. Morelia has done so much work on the house and grounds. There are many cages and carriers for the animals. The prep area is outside under a palapa roof, surgery is in the kitchen/living area and recovery is in a bedroom. The entire grounds are surrounded by a high fence so if an animal should become free of its carrier it can not escape. We altered 58 animals including a raccoon. We ran out of daylight and were not able to alter all of the rescued kittens that are currently being cared for by Morelia. The local vet on Holbox, Luis, will alter them next week.

We altered a total of 363 animals this year. We have left supplies so that at least 100 more can be altered in our absence. This was a very successful campaign.

2010 Clinic Underway

This is a long over due update. We were so busy before we left that I just didn't a chance to write. We arrived on Holbox Monday May 3. For the first time all of our supplies were cleared through customs. We had one bag that was delayed but it was delivered to us on the 4th.

Friday evening we hosted a get together at the house we are staying in. Our good friends, Alejandro Vega and Elia brought many delicious snacks. They always are so supportive of our efforts and help us in many ways.

The weather is very hot and humid. Perfect for sitting on the beach or swimming a little hot for working.

The first two days our clinics are in Kantunilkin. Yesterday after a slow start the day went well. 89 animals were altered. It is so rewarding to have the opportunity to help these animals and people. We had many puppies brought to the clinic. They can now live a life without contributing further to the over population problem.

More later.

Planning Underway

Our clinic is just a month away. We are busy ordering supplies and planning. This year Dr Marilyn and Dr Sherrie will again join us. They both have been with us every year. We can not thank them enough. The great staff from Planned Pethood Mexico in Merida, Drs. Tony, Nelson and Lilliana will also join us for the third year. Dr Aimee Castor from Seattle will come for the first time as will Dr Jeff Young from Colorado. Jeff and his organization Planned Pethood International support international spay neuter and has helped us from our conception. We are looking forward to a very productive clinic!!

Vanancio all grown up

On our last evening in 2008 Morelia came with this little orphan racoon that had been brought to her as a rescue. Here is Vanancio now, grown up, neutered and a happy healthy house pet. Morelia has an amazing way with animals of all species.

Merida January 2010

Planned Pethood Mexico is planning a BIG campaign in the Merida area January 11-15 2010. The goal is to alter 1000 animals in the 5 days of clinics. Dr Tony of Planned Pethood Mexico has helped with our clinics the last two years. Ed and I will travel to Merida in January and be honored to help with the clinic. It is so exciting to see so many efforts at spay neuter in Mexico!

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2010 Planning Underway

Our clinics for 2010 are again planned for May. Ed and I will celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary May 8 by altering animals! This has become a tradition for us. Clinic dates will be May 8, 9, 11 and 12. Many of our volunteers from previous years will again join us. We always have a need for more help especially veterinarians and technicians. More surgeons will equate to more animals being altered.

Letter of Determination

In March we applied for status as a public charity with the IRS. We had expected our letter of determination in May. IRS has had so many applications that instead of taking 60 days to process an application it is taking 120 days. July 13 our letter came and Isla Holbox Spay Neuter Project has been determined by the IRS to be a public charity. This is a huge step and relief.

Thank You!!

The only way we can help the animals we help and have successful clinics is with the participation and support of our volunteers.

Our volunteers come from all walks of life. Some are veterinarians or veterinary technicians and many are just dedicated “animal people”. All contribute to our cause. This year I asked those coming from the Seattle area to carry supplies to Holbox. Everyone was willing to help. I believe everyone got stopped in customs and had to explain what they were bringing into Mexico.

Holbox is an amazingly beautiful island. It is the perfect vacation spot. The clinic days are not vacation days. We generally leave for the ferry by 7 or 8 AM. The buildings have to be transformed into clinics. It is often hot and dirty. The animals are covered in fleas and ticks. Surgery is difficult as animals are in poor condition and lighting is often minimal. We never know how many animals are going to show up or when. We work until all animals are altered.

Our volunteers were great. Everyone did an amazing job and was very professional. It became routine to think out of the box. The animals all received the best possible care under the circumstances.

Thank you Sherrie, Taylor, Marilyn, Mike, James, Andrea, Laura, Bridgett, Carole, Merilee, Ashley, Moon, Deb, Coley, Ed, Tony, Heraldo, Jessica, Luis, Nelson, Lillian, Morelia, Alejandra, Alejandro, Elia, Roddrigo, and everyone else invovled.

Delema

Many of the animals that are presented for surgery are in very bad condition. They are malnourished and have an abundance of parasites, external as well as internal. The puppies are often extremely anemic and protein deficient. If these animals were presented for surgery at a clinic in the US they would be treated for these problems before being allowed to undergo the stresses of anesthesia and surgery. Our dilemma here is that there are no other options for these animals. We are here now and only have this one opportunity to spay neuter. If the animals are not altered while we are here they will be contributing to the overpopulation problem. This is one of the harsh realities. I believe we must take the risk and alter every animal we can at our clinics. Last year one dog died post surgery. The dog was an older female that was pregnant. She recovered but died during the night. Her owner was a little boy and he was devastated as was everyone involved. This year we lost two puppies during surgery. Neither animal was a good surgical candidate. Both were small, anemic and parasite ridden. Everyone involved was greatly upset. The owners of these puppies had been explained the risk and accepted the deaths. We altered many puppies that we were very worried about that survived surgery. It is an extremely hard choice to make. The answer is to have more spay neuter available to these communities. If we could arrange for a DVM to be here 3 or 4 times a year these animals could receive treatment for parasites and be better surgical candidates. The animals could be treated for parasites and then be altered in a month. This is of course what I am trying to set up. We have left supplies on Holbox including suture, 30 surgical packs, clippers, scrub, sterile drapes, sterile gloves, syringes and medications so animals can be altered by any visiting veterinarian.

Holbox Clinic May 12

This sign was posted at Morelia's house the day of the clinic.

The check in area also provided space for animals to be examined before they entered the clinic grounds. Pets brought just for treatment of parasites were kept out of the clinic area.

Our prep area was outside under a blue tarp. As the day went on the wind blew and the tarp got lower and lower. We took the tarp down at dusk and continued to work well after dark.

Morelia's kitchen converted to surgery. Her pet raccoon, Vanezzio, watched surgery from a ledge under the ceiling. Vanezzio is the baby raccoon in the pictures from last year. He is now full grown and has been neutered. He is very active and into everything.

Moon, Laura and Carole in recovery. Recovery was in one of the bedrooms. The bed was moved out to the yard.

Prep in action. Bridgett on the left, Laura on the right.

Koki, the mayor, observing prep. It is so important to get the local governments involved in this project. Our way through customs could de made much easier with their participation. Koki was very supportive of our efforts and offered help. Our lunch was delivered by the police.

On Holbox we had a very long day. We altered 66 animals and treated over 130 for parasites. The reception area was so busy. Dr Tony and his team from Merida performed all of the exams and treated all of the animals for parasites. Animals kept arriving for surgery until 7:30 PM. Knowing this was their only chance to be altered this year we didn't want to turn any away.

Una Mas!

San Pedro

Clients waiting for us to get started at our San Pedro clinic.

Reception

Check in was in a separate building. Carole was very fluent in Spanish and could talk to the clients.

The building that was used in San Pedro was full of benches and was a meeting hall of some sort. The volunteers had to move benches outside before they could set up the clinic. Building was spacious and provided lots of room for everyone.

Our much used, much abused autoclave. Being able to sterilize the instruments gave a greater feeling of security for our surgeons. many projects use cold sterile methods. We prefer to steam sterilize. The autocalve after this day had major issues. Ed was able to repair it and it continued to work for the rest of the clinics.

San Pedro has a population of about 250 people and we were told there were over 50 dogs that needed altering. Not all animals came and some that did come were just too small to withstand the surgery so they were turned away. 34 animlas were altered in San Pedro.

Esperanza

Esperanza is a very small Mayan village. The main means of earning a living is by making and selling charcoal. A huge bag sells for 50 pesos, less than $4.

We had expected 10 dogs and had 34 presented for altering.

The building we were using as our clinic turned out to be a jail. The rooms had heavy doors made of bars.

The children had great smiles and were fascinated by what we were doing. They were given small pins with "Spay / Neuter" on them with a picture of cat in a nurses uniform. These were courtesy of Marilyn Christiansen, one of our doctors.

Our gracious hosts allowed the children to finish our lunch. That brought smiles all around. These little ones were all fluent in Mayan and Spanish. Some could even speak a little English.

The animals were delivered and picked up in whatever was available. Cats were often carried in open bags which made for an interesting time after surgery. We over used the cliche "don't let the cat out of the bag!"

We were told that the people were very curious about what we were doing. There has never been a clinic in this area to perform spay neuter for these animals. We were very well recieved and I believe we will be able to build on this next year.

Update

Our clinics have been going very well. So far we have held clinics in Holbox, Kantunilkin, Chiquila, San Pedro and Esperanza. Sunday was to be a day off but there were cats that were trapped so Dr. Nelson, Dr. Lilliana and Dr. Luis Heroldo altered 13 cats. Each site is unique and offers its own challenges. Tomorrow for our last day we will all stay on Holbox and take care of the animals from the island. We have altered 180 animals in our clinics. It is amazing what a community effort these clinic are. I will add a review of each clinic as soon as I can. We have been working such long hours that it is hard to spend much time trying to write. The autoclave has become a little unhappy so we are having to coax it along. This takes time, energy and patience! Tonight we are trying to trap small black cat that has been around Casa Iguana. I think everyone will be happy to stay on Holbox tomorrow.

Chiquila

Our transportation to the clinic site

Our clinic site - a school

School before we transform it to a clinic.

Prep Area

Surgery, note the faces at the window

Recovery

The ferry for Holbox leaves from the little village of Chiquila. There are many fisherman and small boats used as private launches to Holbox. The pictures above show our clinic space that was a local school. This building worked great for our clinic. We had three separate rooms so we could keep our admit, surgery and prep areas separate. Recovery was able to share the room with prep. As at all of the clinics the children line the windows to watch the us. They are fascinated by our care of the animals. There were only 20 dogs presented for altering in Chiquila. We had expected many more but after the previous day didn't mind an easy day.

Off to Chiquila

We were up at 6AM, got the autocalving done and supplies pack for todays clinic in Chiquila. The whole group will be there as that is the only clinic today. Many animals in Chiquila. Have to catch an 8:30 boat. More tonight.

Happy Anniversary!!

Ed and I are celebrating our 39th wedding anniversary today. And celebrate we did. As my last post mentioned we were up early to start our clinics. We had a great day. In Holbox the clinic was not advertised and the goal was free roaming cats. A few cats were brought to us in traps which we had left on the island. One cat that was trapped didn't need surgery and was saved the risks of anesthesia because he had an ear tip. That is so great, an ear tip on Holbox! Morelia has trapped, ear tipped and altered cats since our last clinic. Only 17 animals today on Holbox, but clinics are planned on Holbox again on Monday. Kantunikin was a very full long clinic. Sixty three animals were altered to day in Kantunilkin. Mainly we altered female dogs. I believe there were 4 cats and 4 or 5 male dogs. Wow! A long day for our 3 veterinarians. Last dog was off the table at about 8:30 PM. Over 12 hours of surgery were performed and 80 animals altered. Many animals were presented to the clinic just for treatment of mange, fleas and parasites. In addition to the medical treatments animals went home decked out in new collars and leads. The smiles on the faces were ear to ear. As usual we had many children watching us and asking questions. A truly great day.
Tonight our dear friends Alejandro and Elia of the Tarpon Club had the whole group for a very late dinner on the beach. Fresh ceviche, guacamole as appetizers, then fried sea trout, rice, black beans and salad. A true feast, topped off with a delicious cake. Thank you Elia and Alejandro.