Carole Remy: spay/neuter

Showing posts with label spay/neuter. Show all posts

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Photo Essay: Spay of a Female Dog in Mexico #TBSU

This post is a little off the beaten track for my blog, but I'm immersed in a spay/neuter campaign at the moment! If you've ever wondered what happens when a female dog is spayed, here's your chance to watch it all. We are at a FREE week-long government sponsored spay/neuter campaign in Colima, Mexico. We'll follow the beautiful golden retriever Kenya from arrival to recovery.

Kenya has been tranquilized, shaved for surgery, and at the last minute, anesthetized. Her two slightly nervous owners are on the right. The vet students who prep the animals are on the left.

Kenya's tongue is protected from accidental bites by a piece of plastic, actually the snipped end of a syringe cap.

She's on the table, and the veterinarian, Enrique Benitez, is putting on sterile gloves. Enrique is a master surgeon. Watching him work is like watching a well-choreographed ballet.

The incision is tiny, maybe an inch and a half.

Here's the first ovary.

Internal ligatures are made with plastic cable ties, snipped short.

The second ovary. The bits at the back are fat. Kenya gets a mini-liposuction!

Total concentration.

The uterus. Enrique will pull the plastic tie tight and slice above it.

Uterus and ovaries. Bye bye!

It takes three levels of sutures to close Kenya back up. The innermost level is the peritoneum and muscles. Enrique will put several sutures at each level.

The next level of sutures is through the fat.

The top level of sutures is through the skin, and these are invisible. No need to go back to get the stitches removed. Doesn't she look fantastic? Like I said, Enrique is a really gifted vet!

Kenya's owner celebrating with and congratulating Enrique! A beautiful success! Kenya is still sound asleep. The surgery only took a few minutes.

So now you know. You've just watched a skilled vet perform a spay with good anesthesia, but everything else pretty basic! We're outdoors, trying to stay cool in the shade under a tree.

Even though this post is in English and everyone in the photos speaks only Spanish, I want to take this opportunity to thank all the responsible pet owners both here in Mexico and around the world! Spaying or neutering your four-legged family member is the best gift you can give them, yourselves, and all the rest of us!

I'll be posting soon about how you can contribute to our efforts to spay/neuter, vaccinate, and control parasites here in Mexico. The Colima city government is an excellent partner in sponsoring four free spay/neuter clinics a year. Every animal adopted from Animal Control is also spay/neutered for free in the main office all year.

But even here, everyone in the campaign except the two government vets are unpaid volunteers, and many of the supplies are donated. It only costs about $20 US to spay, and even less to neuter, a cat or dog. Start saving your spare change, and next go round we'll be asking for your help! If you'd like to participate directly, I have two comfy guest rooms. Come on down!

I'll be happy to translate your comments and get answers to your questions for Enrique. Please join us for a lively discussion in the comments!

Check out these related posts for more information on spay/neuter campaigns and other animal rescue activities in Colima:

Monday, July 1, 2013

Colima Mexico FREE Spay/Neuter Campaign, Day 1

We finished a bit earlier than expected today with the first day of the spay/neuter campaign, so I thought I'd take advantage and post a few photos. If you missed yesterday's post, the city of Colima, where I live, is offering FREE cat and dog sterilizations this week, through the auspices of Control Canino y Felino. CCF is the government agency in charge of the well-being of domestic animals in the city. It's kind of like Animal Control in an American city, but with close to a 100% adoption rate of captured street animals (zero euthanasia of non-terminally-ill animals), plus free services like this week's spay/neuter campaign. Love it!!

Registration. People arrive with their pets, who are operated on in the order they arrive. Dr. Jaime Martinez Castro, DVM, the Director of CCF, is on the right.

Prep for surgery. This sweet dog has already had a mild tranquilizer, and Marissa is administering the final anesthesia before the surgery.

Surgery. Yep, the veterinarians are young and very skilled, and we are outside in a park. As you can see, the free spay/neuter is for cats as well as dogs.

Recovery time. We didn't have a lot of space, so we set up a double decker system. Each animal is monitored for temperature and heart rate until they are fully awake and can leave with their owners.

This owner is sitting with her dog while she wakes up. The young vet is giving her a shot of antibiotics.

We had fun taking photos today. The sign says, "I'm sterilized. Are you?"

Happy owners! We love that they bring in their pets. They love that the vets do a GREAT job, and that it's all free!

A little joke. The sign says, "I'm almost sterilized. Are you?"

Another happy owner!

Here are some of the team of volunteers!

Thanks for joining us today! We have four more days of FREE spay/neuters this week. I don't know if there will be time to post photos every day, but I'll be back when I can. Hugs to you all, and have a totally wonderful week! Please leave comments if you wish! I'll answer as quickly as I can!

Check out these related posts for more information on spay/neuter campaigns and other animal rescue activities in Colima:

Some fellow writers/bloggers/animal lovers, in the spirit of The Blog Scratchers Union!

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Colima Public Health Spay/Neuter Campaign #TBSU

Control Canino y Felino del Municipio de Colima, the domestic animal control center for the city in Mexico where I live, is holding a five day free of cost spay/neuter clinic this week. I'll be there as a volunteer helping out mostly in the recovery area for dogs. Sorry cats, I like you but am seriously allergic!

I won't be here on the blog for those days, but you can picture me, knee deep in waking-up canines if you'd like! Here are three photos from a previous campaign.

Long lineups!

Skilled volunteer veterinarians!

Recovery teams keeping a close eye on all the patients.

Thank you all for your continuing support of this blog! You are the best readers, followers, and commenters ever, and I appreciate every single one of you!

Check out these related posts for more information on spay/neuter campaigns and other animal rescue activities in Colima:

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Miracle Puppy Needs Our Help!

In the post about the March 2013 PATA Manzanillo spay/neuter campaign, I wrote about a sweet little street puppy that we took in and kept alive for the few days of the campaign. Little Chito is now in a pet hospital in California, and she still needs our help. You can contribute toward her medical expenses through her page on YouCaring.com. Even a dollar or two helps. Thank You!

Here's Chito's Story

Chito was brought in by a wonderful rescuer of street dogs named Doña Maria. She's being checked by Dr. Gabriela Leyva Chavez, one of the stalwarts of PATA Manzanillo.

She was put on an IV drip, and warmed up with socks stuffed with raw rice and microwaved. I started giving her Reiki as we worked to stabilize her.

Here's Stan Burnett, President and heart and soul of PATA Manzanillo, rigging up the IV so we don't have to hold it all night.

The awesome Dr. Michelle Jack, who ended up taking Chito back to her animal hospital in Venice Beach, is checking her heart rate with an IPhone EKG. Got to get one of those for Colima!

We stayed late into the night after everyone else left, trying to get her temperature up into the normal range.

Finally Chito stabilized and we all relaxed a bit. Celebrating are Dr. Michelle Jack in scrubs and Zoe Katsulos, owner of Inside/Out, a humanitourism company that fundraises and brings volunteers to Manzanillo for the clinic.

Here's Chito snuggled into her nest for the first night. At this point it was still very touch and go, and we hoped to find her improving when we got back early the next morning.

And she had improved, if marginally! Chito was able to walk around and pee and even poop. You wouldn't believe how we cheered that first poop! Her favorite pastime was still to sit quietly in someone's lap, but she was interested in her surroundings.

Dr. Ester from Mexico City was instrumental on getting Chito started on parasite medication, vitamins, and something else that I can't remember. Each morning and night, Dr. Ester would find us and inject Chito with blue stuff and clear stuff. The third morning, a little round worm fell out of Chito's butt as Ester injected her. Yeah!

By the end of the first night, Zoe, Michelle and I had decided that no way was Chito going back on the street! Michelle pulled many veterinary strings and got her into the cabin on her flight home. You can see in this photo at the airport the way Chito is responding to all the love.

The night before, at Zoe and Michelle's hotel, Chito even enjoyed a normal puppy moment rolling in the grass!

Snoozing in the carrier. What a way for a baby Mexican street puppy to fly!

After a long and complicated trip to California, Michelle and Chito crashed! Whew! Made it!

Chito is now staying at the pet hospital where Michelle is a vet. Turns out our baby has a urinary track infection and anemia, probably due to a parasite in her blood stream. She's being treated for both, and the prognosis is good! Michelle is using up her brownie points getting Chito the best care possible at the lowest cost. Still, we need your help to cover the medication and tests. If you can spare even a few dollars, please contribute on Chito's page on YouCaring.com.

Chito's Future

Chito will be going from the hospital into foster care with Michelle's lovely dog walker, Karen Dowe. You can keep track of her progress through her Facebook page and through Michelle's. Once she's fully recovered, Chito will be available for adoption to the Best Owner Ever! If you'd like to be that best owner, please contact Michelle.

Thank you for reading Chito's story! If you have questions or comments, please share! I'll be happy to pass along current questions to Michelle, or you can contact her directly on her Facebook page. And please, if it's at all possible, contribute a mite to Chito's care!

Check out these related posts:

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

519 Spay/Neuters in 5 Days!

Whew! I'm back in Colima from the March 2013 spay/neuter campaign with PATA Manzanillo. It was a hectic, long, incredibly well-organized five days. We started at about 7:30 am and ended around 10 pm each day, and sterilized a total of 519 dogs and cats. Vets came from the US and all over Mexico to help, about 8 operating at any given time.

The in-Mexico cost of the whole campaign is amazingly only about $1000 US, since almost all the labor and much of the materials are donated. If you'd like to help us, you can donate in any amount via PayPal and get a US tax-deductible receipt through Friends of PATA.

If you'd like to participate as a volunteer, and combine your trip with an awesome vacation, you can do so through Inside/Out: Journeys for your Inner Self in the Outdoors-Humanitourism.

Here are some photos of the campaign. You can find more on the links above and on the Carole Remy Author Facebook page.

First step for owners was to register their pets at the signup area in the auditorium. When we arrived at 7:15 am, there were typically 15 to 20 owners already in line. You can imagine how super-organized these volunteers (in red t-shirts) were!

Here's the recovery area, all set for customers. The tables are for cats, the floor areas for dogs. About 20 volunteers worked this area over the five days.

Animals were prepped for surgery by a team of vet students supervised by a licensed veterinarian. The cats and dogs received a mild tranquilizer and then anesthesia right before surgery.

Dr. Gabriela Leyva Chavez and Diana, two of the tireless members of PATA Manzanillo. These ladies make it all come together, all year round!

As well as outstanding local veterinarians, dedicated vets came from all over Mexico and the US to help. Here's part of the team. Generally about eight surgeries were taking place at any given moment.

This vet flew in from Texas along with a team from their animal hospital.

This amazing and lovely vet came in from Mexico City and worked tirelessly through the whole five days. She took special care of this baby girl, who has today been flown to California for extra treatment and eventual adoption!

Dr. Michelle Jack flew in from California for the week, and is taking this beautiful little girl back with her for treatment at her animal hospital. If you are interested in adopting this miracle baby, you can contact Michelle on her Facebook page.

You never know what you're going to encounter! Michelle wired this cat's broken jaw back together. On the left is Zoe Katsulos, who runs Inside/Out. Contact her if you are interested in volunteering at next year's campaign.

An IPhone ap electrocardiogram. How amazing is that? Michelle sent a cat's EKG (not this animal - this pooch was a demonstration) to a veterinary cardiologist friend in the US and had an accurate diagnosis in minutes.

A team of volunteers washed surgical instruments. You can imagine the steady stream of work, with about eight surgeries going all the time!

First job for volunteers in the recovery area was checking temperatures. Animals that came in from surgery too cold were warmed up with socks filled with raw rice, heated in the microwave. Extreme cases were placed on a heating pad. Animals that came in too warm were cooled down with ice packs and cloths soaked in ice water.

The recovery area in progress, cats at the back, dogs in front. Once the temps were stable, all dogs and cats also got their ears cleaned and were checked for ticks in the ears and paws. Those with fleas got a flea grooming as well.

A lot of dogs got the full spa treatment, thanks to Holly, a perpetual motion wonder of clipping and cleaning!

Once the recovering animals began to wake up, they were vaccinated for rabies and given oral medication for parasites. Then they were placed in cages to wait for their owners. A whole team of volunteers kept busy cleaning cages as they freed up, ready to be used by the next animal.

Another big job was keeping everybody fed! A steady stream of volunteers brought delicious meals for breakfast and lunch, and provided dinner back at their accommodations for all the vets every day.

Behind the scenes the whole time was Stan Burnett, organizer and heart of the campaign. Whatever we needed, he found. Here he's working on the careful records kept for all 519 surgeries. As you can imagine, organizing and raising funds for the campaign is a year-round job for Stan. You can help by donating here.

Then on the last day, there's the tear down and storage for the next year. These dismantled kennels are a tiny portion of the apparatus needed to pull off a campaign of this size.

And here's why we do it! A happy family, reunited with their beloved little pooch, who won't be contributing to pet overpopulation! Let's give a special shout out to the wonderful, responsible owners who brought their beautiful babies in for sterilization. Thank you all!

Thank you to everyone who participated in this amazing campaign! Remember that if you'd like to help out, contributions are always needed, and 100% of your donation goes directly to the animals. All admin costs are absorbed by volunteers. Make your US tax-deductible contribution directly through PayPal at Friends of PATA.

Please join me in congratulating PATA Manzanillo on another excellent spay/neuter campaign! Do you participate in similar campaigns? Tell us all about it! Any questions or comments? We're here and eager to chat!

Check out these related posts: