Currently underway here in Merida is a Free Spay and Neuter Clinic. Four days here in Merida, a day to rest, and then two days out in Progresso to cover the beach communities. There are quite a few local and International people/groups/organizations involved.
Tom and I have made available our support as well goods and services. Yesterday we spent the day working at a clinic in Colonia Emilianio Zapato Sur II. We worked in the cat recovery area. There was a Registration Desk where the needed paperwork was filled, animals and carriers were tagged, then directed to the waiting area. Animals were then transported to the Prep Area where they were weighed, cleaned, shaved, and as vets became available they were anesthetized and their needed surgical procedure performed. After surgery they were transported to one of two rooms depending on if they were cat or dog.
What happened in recovery was; animals were handed over to a vet tech who weighed, administered antibiotic injection, assessed for breathing and reflex, and then handed over to a volunteer. The volunteers were responsible to continue to monitor breathing and responsiveness, to keep the animal warm, and to keep it's tongue pulled out of its mouth, to administer drops of water to the mouth to prevent dehydration, and to assist the animal to come out from anesthetic.
It was a long day. You sit on the floor and keep your charges in a state of movement; you rub their backs, you rub their heads, you move their legs, you roll them from side to side every 10-15 minutes, and you just keep this going and going till they are moving about on their own. You track the amount of time recovery is taking and if the time exceeds an hour you alert the vet tech for further assess the animal.
Today my neck and buttocks are so sore; sitting on the floor for 6 -7 hours just is not the best thing for an overweight out of shape person with a bad back to do. But oh my gosh how great is was to see so many animals coming in. And to see the concern and pleasure of the owners when watching their pets. It was really heartening - so as soon as one of my cats would start to move about I'd ask the owner to come in and help, giving them a bigger sense of involvement, and freeing me up for other newcomers.
I wish I had gotten up to take some photos, it really was a fabulous experience and I wish I could share some photos with you.
One of the other things Tom and I have done for this event was to offer transport to some of the visiting vets. We picked up Octavio at the airport on Saturday, he had just flown in from San Miguel Allende which is in Central Mexico. While at the UADY facility for setup on Saturday we met Ricky from Romania, and yesterday we met and transported a couple from Slovakia. These vets have come tremendous distances to help out and to participate and network with other vets.
Today I did the shopping and tomorrow I construct a large vegetarian dairy free lasagna, and salad for 30.
Who knows what else may come....
Planned Pethood Mexico is a part of
Planned Pethood Plus which is out of Denver Colorado. How about that 30 years I lived in Colorado Springs and never heard of these folks... Anyway, check out their website and read about their philosophy of animal management and care; interesting ideas.
