Spay the Strays completes final clinic of 2009!

On Sunday, in San Jose, 33 animals were spayed and neutered by the Spay the Strays Group.  This was the continuation of the clinic that we began two weeks ago but had to delay completion due to lack of medicine.  This time, we were lucky to have the help of Dr. Jorge Valez, who many of you know as the traveling vet in our area.  He has been kind enough to offer his help to us so for the past couple of months he has been receiving training from Spay Panama.  He did a great job and promised us that he will continue to help us in the future.  He was joined by two vet techs and Dr. Alexis Escruceria who heads up the McKee Foundation in Panama. With their support and that of Spay Panama,  Spay the Strays is reaching our goal that we not only hold one or two major blitzes a year in heavily populated areas but that we conduct “mini clinics” in smaller, more remote areas where the people are without any resources.  For the blitzes, we work with Spay Panama’s team of about 5 vets and a dozen assistants who are capable of performing almost 300 operations in a single weekend.  The “mini” clinics are limited to about 30 to 40 animals in a day which seems to be sufficient for the small pueblos.

Since conducting our first clinic in January, 2007 in Sora, we have sterilized               1,144 animals during 9 clinics  in  the 5 communities Sora, Gorgona, Copecito, San Carlos, San Jose.  This next year we are hoping to conduct “minis” in Bejuco, Llano Grande, and Las Lajas.  In San Jose we spayed or neutered 81 animals, all of who were rounded up for us by Sr. Luis, a San Jose resident.  It is especially gratifying to us that the locals are beginning to become involved in the process, realizing the benefits of controlling pet overpopulation.
 
A big thank you to everyone who worked on Sunday.  We managed to finish the animals in record time! We had volunteers giving injections, shaving dogs, cleaning tables, cleaning incisions, sterilizing instruments, defleaing, removing ticks and talking to the animals to calm them down.  The local people who came with dogs and cats clearly love their animals and are so appreciative.
 
The Spay the Strays group is ever so grateful to all those who donated or worked throughout the years.  Without your support we would simply not be able to put on these clinics.  We hope to see you at our upcoming fundraising activities.  On October 29th we hold the Halloween Dance at Alcazar tower in Coronado and tickets are almost sold out.  Then, we are participating in the Christmas Craft Show November 14th at the Equestrian Center in Coronado.  We will be selling 2010 Spay Panama calendars, homemade dog biscuits, baked goods, gently used books and a TON of great cheap used CDs.  Last year, with your help, we made more money than any other booth!!!  So, give yourselves a big pat on the back for making such a positive contribution to our adopted country!

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