New Direction for Spay the Strays
Spay the Strays (STS) is a Panamanian non-profit organization. They are dedicated to reducing the stray dog and cat populations in the beach and mountain neighborhoods along the Pacific coast of Panama. The volunteer run group has been working in conjunction with Spay Panama Since 2007, and has sterilized more than 3,000 animals.
Through fundraising and donations STS is able to offer low-income families the opportunity to spay/neuter their pets. While the preset cost of the procedure is $15 for cats and $25 for dogs, no animal is turned away from a clinic. Pet owners are asked to donate only what they can afford. For some that donation is $100.00, for others its $1.00. Recently Spay the Stays introduced two new members to their team, Patrice Kumaran and her husband, Dr. Jay Kumaran.
Both Patrice and Dr. Jay bring a lifetime of veterinary experience to the Spay the Stray team. Patrice is a trained veterinarian nurse, and Jay a doctor of veterinary medicine. Patrice has been working on the STS management team to coordinate clinics on the ground, while Dr. Jay is on board as a veterinarian consultant. We had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Jay and Patrice about their backgrounds and prospective goals going forward working with STS. Before arriving in Panama Dr. Jay and Patrice owned their own veterinarian practice in Fort Wayne, Indiana. From 2004 to 2010 Dr. Jay and his wife supported Black Pine, an animal sanctuary in Northern Indiana. At Black Pine the two worked primarily with large cats. Among their patients were lions and tigers, many of which had been abandoned by their private owners.
Dr. Jay spoke to his experience at Black Pine as an exciting and adventurous one. He said: “While you can extrapolate from domestic cats, there are still a lot of unknowns.” Patrice and Jay’s experience working in an environment ripe with indefinites makes them invaluable asset to the Spay the Strays cause. The way the couple speaks about their new home Panama reflects their adaptive nature.
In 2010, Patrice and Dr. Jay left the animal sanctuary to begin their retirement. They landed in Panama in August of 2013 when the two began volunteering at spay clinics. Shortly after getting involved with Spay Panama and STS, Patrice and Dr. Jay were asked to take on a more permanent position at the clinics.
Dr. Jay and Patrice are such an invaluable asset because they offer both medical expertise but also unique skill sets. Dr. Jay is working with the STS team on a quicker more efficient spay method that is usually not taught in school. The procedure of spaying/neutering is also being used by Spay Panama. Patrice told us. “Dr. Jay just happened to already use this technique.” Dr. Jay is also working to bring medical supplies from the U.S to Panama. Jay told much of what goes to waste in the U.S. and Canada in terms of medical supplies, can be used here in Panama for Spay clinics. For example Patrice explains, “In the States or Canada, if a doctor goes into surgery and opens a pair of gloves and they don’t get used…even if the internal packaging is still closed, they are tossed. We can still use them here, they are still sterile.”
By cutting costs on supplies STS will be able to hire more vets to perform surgeries. Patrice is working with Spay Panama to training vets, and find cheaper sources of supplies. Both Patrice and Dr. Jay spoke highly of Spay Panama and the work they are doing.
“Spay Panama does a bang up job,” says Dr. Jay, “and they’ve been doing just that for almost twelve years.” By teaching the STS vets faster more efficient techniques, and by reducing the cost of supplies Patrice and Dr. Jay are confident the program can sterilize more animals and become a more effective program. The last Spay the Stray clinic took place in Sora on May 22, 2014. Twenty-two surgeries were preformed, 18 dogs and 4 cats. Dr. Jorge Valez performed all twenty-two surgeries. The total donations received from the Sora area were $62.00, from outside of Sora a single donation of $200 was received from an expat. With this single donation STS was able to pay for the vet and the majority of the supplies used. Patrice explained that the program survives on donations like these.
Working at the clinic Patrice and Dr. Jay also noticed that in general Panamanians care about their animals, just as much as North American pet owners do. While lower-income Panamanians may not “spoil” their dogs, because they cannot afford to, they love them just as much.
Patrice wrote in her blog post, “Panama, People, Pets” on the common belief that animal overpopulation is a third world problem. “Yes. There are a lot of dogs wandering the road sides of Panama” said Patrice, “No. Most of them are not sickly, skinny and mangy,” she continued.
Dr. Jay tapped into this point in our interview. He told us while in Panama you see dogs on the street, it doesn’t mean these dogs don’t have homes, their houses are just too hot or without a door. When living in a new country it’s important to realize that not everything will compare to North America, Europe or wherever you have come from. When you consider 25 million cats are killed annually in the US, to deal with overpopulation, Panama’s stray populace quickly falls into perspective.
In Panama, much like in the U.S or Canada puppies and kittens born, and will never have a “home.” In Panama it’s just a bit more visible. One of the unfortunate realities that perpetuate this problem is the trend to breed and buy “purebred” dogs. By buying a dog on the side of the road fuels these vendors to continue to breed and sell dogs. Adopting a dog is not only rewarding for the adopter, but it is life changing for the adoptee.
Right now there are hundreds of dogs, cats, puppies and kitties in Panama that need homes. Help them find homes. Don’t buy a puppy or kitten - adopt one. And spay or neuter your pets! If you would like o make, monetary donation, medical supply donation, or volunteer your time contact Patrice via email at: seepatrice@gmail.com or by phone at 6267 4038 If you are interested in having an animal spayed or neutered at spay clinic contact:
Spay the Stays - Sheila at: via email at sheilalouisescott@gmail.com or by phone 6656-9929 Spay Panama clinic in Panama City contact Pat Chan at: pchan@spaypanama.org If you would like to adopt a dog, cat, puppy or kitty contact Linda Murdock of PAL at 6948 0799 or Patrice Kumaran at 6267 4038.
