VIDAS Animal Spay & Neuter Clinic

[marissab]

Good news for all the pets at the Peanut Pet Shelter and for the cats' Laura cares for on a daily basis!

They have all been invited to attend the Vidas aminal clinic August 9-12 in Playa!
VIDAS: International Veterinarians Dedicated to Animal Health, Animal Advocacy, Animal Welfare Services, Animal Disease Research, & Animal Welfare Education


Sure, not all pets need to go...but those who are not yet sterilized can have it done for free due to the generosity of these vets! Also, the vets, I'm told, will help treat additional problems if needed.

Playa's own Sherry Stevens coordinates this project every year for the residents of the Mayan Riviera. It's a wonderful wonderful project and the vets work so hard to educate the local people on pet care.
Read more here
VIDAS: International Veterinarians Dedicated to Animal Health, Animal Advocacy, Animal Welfare Services, Animal Disease Research, & Animal Welfare Education

Also, if you are spare room or condo or place for the vets to stay please contact Vidas and let them know. If you want to volunteer let them know too!
They do great great work and we are so lucky to have them here!

[Libby]

Marissa, I hope you don't mind. I thought this was important enough to deserve its own thread, so I moved it.

The VIDAS spay and neuter clinic is completely free to pet owners who would not otherwise be able to afford it! Last year, the volunteers sterilized something like 40-50 dogs and cats each day! It truly does make an impact on the unwanted stray dog and cat population!

I volunteered for a day last year, and was so glad I did it! It was a great experience! I was on after-care duty. After surgery, a still knocked-out puppy or dog (occasionally a cat) would be delivered to me. I was responsible for making sure that the animal recovered properly and for reporting any problems to a vet. Of course, I gave them lots and lots of TLC after their "traumatic" experience as well.

You don't need any veterinary experience to volunteer, but of course if you do have some, they'd be very happy to have you!! I also did some tick removal. I had never even seen a tick before my volunteer experience, but that day, I mercilessly slayed hundreds of them. I may have become a bit obsessed.

There was even a children's program, teaching the kids about pet care and giving out animal-themed coloring books. I spent some time talking with a few of the kids. They were so cute! They were so interested in learning about the lives of us gringos. They taught me the Spanish word for ticks -- garrapatas.

From what I hear, in the past, locals were somewhat resistant to the idea of sterilizing their pets (especially their male animals). But the people I talked to were SO relieved that they would never have yet another litter! Hopefully, they told all their friends, and this year will be another success story!

Also, check out Sherry Stevens' blog for more info about last year's event. As Marissa pointed out, Sherry has been organizing this clinic for several years.
Free Animal Clinic Aug. 2007 in Playa del Carmen and Puerto Morelos | TravelRM Blog - Playa del Carmen Riviera Maya, Mexico

[Libby]

I forgot to mention that one of the things that made my volunteer experience so worth it was meeting the other volunteers. They were all incredibly generous, compassionate, intelligent, amazing people! Most of the vets are from the states and take 1-2 weeks of vacation time to come to Mexico and work! And several of the after-care volunteers had planned their vacations around this event! Amazing people!

[Libby]

John and I had the opportunity to volunteer yesterday at the VIDAS Spay & Neuter Clinic. As always, it was an amazing experience!

First we stopped off at the Peanut Pet Shelter and picked up a couple of guys for their surgeries.

Manolo


Shy Romeo


Leonard (mini Mimi)


The clinic was held in the Escuela Secundaria General Jose Espana Cruz, a public secondary school in the Colosio neighborhood. School was out this week, so unlike past clinics, there were not many children around to help out and learn about pet care and safety.

Waiting in line to register pets for the clinic.


John and Andy wait with the dogs from the shelter.


In no particular order, because I CANNOT tell them apart yet, are the sisters -- Dizzy, Dotty, Daisy & Delilah.





Some other dogs I found waiting for their surgeries.

[Libby]

These poor pups were so scared. The bigger one was very protective of the smaller one. When we approached he gave us a very fierce barking, and we were afaid we were dealing with a biter. It took two of us to muzzle her, so she could be prepared for sugery.


The operating room was set up in a classroom. The volunteer vets from VIDAS bring down all the equipment and medications! They had 6 surgeons plus vet technicians/assistants.


On Saturday, over 90 sterilizations were performed! When we were there on Sunday, over 80 were done! That's a huge jump from last year, when about 50 were done each day. The clinic is really growing from word of mouth. Participants from past years encourage their friends and neighbors to attend, and some even round up dogs and bring them in theirselves.

In addition to the sterilizations, all the dogs receive an examination and are treated for any conditions when possible. Yesterday, one dog I know of had a tumor removed! Many dogs are sent home with much needed medications.

When a surgery is completed, the animals are brought to the recovery room. They're still pretty drugged up, so it's the perfect time to clean their ears, check for ticks and trim their claws/nails.

Laura, who fosters the shelter's kittens, cleans the ears of these tiny cuties. I believe Laura said these kittens are only 5 weeks old. Sterilizing such tiny kittens takes skill, and anaesthesia does pose more dangers to the youngest animals. But better to get it taken care of BEFORE they are adopted out.


Look how they blend in with the blanket!


Awww!!


That's teamwork! Tyra checks for ticks, Bruce cleans the ears and Jurgen brushes the coat.


Around the recovery room:

















John's new best friend!


Tomorrow is the last day of the Playa del Carmen clinic, but already it has been a huge success! A big thanks to all the people who made this possible.

Sherry Stevens, the Organizer, makes this whole thing come together. She arranges the vets' transportation to and from the airport, their accommodations and the clinic. She solicits free accommodations for the vets. She coordinates meals and drinks for the vets during clinic hours. And many other things. She has donated countless hours of time and her own funds to make this work.

VIDAS (Spanish for lives) is a Boulder, CO non-profit organization made up of veterinarians dedicated to improving the lives of animals. Each year, they organize clinics in Quintana Roo, not only in Playa. Later this week, they will be in Puerto Morelos.

The Vets volunteer their vacation time to work! How many of us would be willing to do that?! They work hard in hot and humid weather, less than ideal conditions for 10-12 hours a day, and I've never heard them complain! Many of them keep coming back for more year after year!

Sandra Valdez, Director of Animal Control for Solidarid, for coming in and performing sterilizations along with the vets from VIDAS.

Recovery Room Volunteers - Quite a few locals make time out of their busy schedules to help in any ways they can. Amazingly, volunteers from abroad also come during their vacations to help! Marilyn and Bruce have been doing this for several years!

Mexico Vacation Villas for donating accommodations for the vet volunteers.

Blue Parrot for providing lunches to all the volunteers.

Contributors- Vet clinics in the states and animal lovers have donated equipment, medications and cash to make this clinic possible!

[redhairgirl1]

Wow! This is so great! So many caring people in Playa

[Sue]

Oh, my God. I am bawling!!!! How wonderful. Sigh. Animals.

[jamnkats]

It was good to see you Marissa! I thought you might enjoy this picture (from Saturday)



vidas clinic 010 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[Ginger]

Thanks so much for the photos, Libby! It's just wonderful what all these people are doing, from the vets to the volunteers. Amazing!

[Lovesthesun]

Thanks for sharing this amazing story and the photos.

[John]

Originally Posted by Ginger

Thanks so much for the photos, Libby! It's just wonderful what all these people are doing, from the vets to the volunteers. Amazing!

Let's not forget the people here in Playa who have been telling their friends to bring in their animals for this free service. Congrats to them as well!

I do not have an official count of operations for this year's clinic, but I believe the counts were 82, 94, ??, and 100 for the 4 days in Playa. That is an outstanding number of patients over the 4 day Playa clinic. Honestly, I'd love to see that number DECLINE year after year - that would indicate that people are not just waiting for this yearly clinic. However, just seeing that 300 or so animals were taken care shows that the community here is being educated to the benefits of spaying and neutering.

[Ginger]

Originally Posted by John

Honestly, I'd love to see that number DECLINE year after year - that would indicate that people are not just waiting for this yearly clinic.

Very true! Actually, my kids first pointed out how surprising it was to see the cahones on most of the pet dogs we would see down there. I was increasingly surprised to see this on dogs that were accompanying expats we would notice....I'd think they would know better about neutering their pets to avoid "complications".

[Andy&Jen]

The clinic has now moved down to Puerto Morales so if any locals (or friends , nieghbours of locals) want to get thier pet fixed its still possible and only 15 mins down the road.
I am off there again tomorrow with some more of the shelter dogs

[Michele]

Originally Posted by Dogman

The clinic has now moved down to Puerto Morales so if any locals (or friends , nieghbours of locals) want to get thier pet fixed its still possible and only 15 mins down the road.
I am off there again tomorrow with some more of the shelter dogs

Andy, would you like some company/help wrangling your furry charges? I wanted to get to the PDC clinic but we have had some complications in life at home that demanded my attention. I have fresh towels to donate and could stand to get out of the house. Let me know.

[Andy&Jen]

Originally Posted by Michele

Andy, would you like some company/help wrangling your furry charges? I wanted to get to the PDC clinic but we have had some complications in life at home that demanded my attention. I have fresh towels to donate and could stand to get out of the house. Let me know.

Hi Michelle
Sorry for the delay getting back to you.
due to lawyer visit i can only stay til around midday but i do know they always need helpers at the clinics, especially in the recovery room to watch the dogs as they come out of the anesthesia.
The clinic is just off the main square at the school, its on the other side of the highway (not the beach side) a few blocks in, im leaving around 7.30 manana...

[Michele]

Well, I was hoping to finally have the car back from the shop today but it didn't happen. I hate not having reliable transportation.