Four-legged friends in La Manzanilla got a helping hand in mid-March thanks to a five-day spaying and neutering clinic that saw 288 animals operated on by nearly 20 warm-hearted veterinarians, student vets and technicians from the U.S. and Mexico who paid their own way to pitch into this worthy cause.
Organized by La Manzanilla ex-pat, Julie Wagner-Shuetz, who head up Cisco's Amigos, a local not-for-profit charity (named after her cheery Border collie, Cisco) devoted to helping out the area's unwanted, stray and feral animals. After months of organization, she rallied an intrepid group of animal lovers to help kick off the event. Locals pitched in with donated animal carriers, food, tables, and acted as drivers, instrument cleaners, floor washers, and animal caregivers.
Supporters and sponsors included The Humane Society International, The Brave Heart Animal Center, Fundacion Antonio Haghenbeck, and the Rural Area Veterinary Services, a program of the Human Society of the United States.
Among participants was Susan Monger, field director for Austin, Texas-based Remote Area Veterinary Services, a fiery 46-year-old vet who has been educating rural communities on the care of their animals and participating in clinics throughout Latin America, from Guatamala to Costa Rica for "as long as I've been doing [veterinary medicine]," she says, pointing at one of her patients lying on a makeshift operating table.
Calling the La Manzanilla effort one of her strongest turnouts thanks to the support and participation of local Mexican pet owners, Susan spent the majority of the five-day event from dusk til dawn caring for her patients and overseeing operations. "Do you know we started at 6 a.m. today? We'll go until we're finished," she said, her brown eyes sparkling with intensity and energy before turning to call to her team, "Who's coming off? Carol, I need you to do a cat neuter."
A steady stream of animals moved from the makeshift operating room to the recovery area cordoned off with a blue tarp, where more volunteers watched over towel-covered animals laid out on mats on the floor, giving them water (and sometimes Gatorade) and soothing encouragement as they came out of anesthesia.
"They're covered in towels because their body temperature fluctuates as they come out of anethesia," explained one volunteer caregiver as a groggy tan-colored dog got to her feet and was given fresh water.
All told, Julie can tell Cisco her efforts were a raving success. A total of 288 dogs and cats were spayed -- 33 of them making the trip with their owners from outside of La Manzanilla -- in operations that would normally cost $46,000 U.S. And defying typical "macho" Mexican stereotypes, 56 males were done.
The long term effects are staggering: Julie says that by spaying and neutering the 288, the birth of more than 1.5 million unwanted animals over 7 years was prevented.
Now that's something to bark about...
For more information on the growing Costalegre community of La Manzanilla, CLICK HERE.
