Spay
Day is an annual campaign of Humane Society International to
inspire people to save animal lives by spaying or neutering pets,
street dogs and feral cats. Fundacion
Spay/Panama, Spay Panama's Animals Yes, USA and Los Angeles de los
Animales joined the cause with the goal to sterilize 500 animals in 40
hours. The Panamanian Olympic Committee and the Civil Defense
also supported the effort
The
plan was to go to the east side of Panama and start by sterilizing the
strays at the maximum security prison of La Joya, then go to two
locations in Chepo.
Unfortunately, the Panamanian Government
modified the mining laws and the Indigenous Groups were in an uproar to
protect mother earth. The road to the prison and Chepo was
blocked. Civil Defense and a small part of the staff went up to
meet with the Ngöbe-Buglé to let us pass. It was a startling
sight -- the Ngöbe-Buglé were armed with bows and arrows and were
blowing horns. The leader said the veterinarians could pass but
not the volunteers.
We came up with plan B at the spur of the moment with the following results:As soon as people heard about the sterilization campaign they brought their pets and helped bring the strays dogs and feral cats
Volunteers made the work possibleVolunteers give their time to work in horribly hot conditions, having
to clean poop, pee, vomit, fight the fleas and ticks. They all do it
gladly to help the less fortunate animals
The
animals have their ears cleaned, sprayed against fleas and ticks,
injected with vitamins, dewormed, the dogs over 3 months get the rabies
vaccine. The sterilized dogs are identified with an "S" tattooed
in one ear and the cats get one ear notched. If needed, they go
back home with medication to treat a condition.
VeterinariansSpay/Panama's
veterinarians use the Quick Spay Method which includes small incision,
early sterilization and use of stainless steel suture because it is
strong and non-reactive.
Dr.
Lissette Trejos, Dr. Augusto Barragan, Dr. Isis Johnson-Brown, Dr.
Raquel Fuster, Dr. Andres Bailey, Dr. Letty de Guajardo, Dr. Gloria
Fonseca, Dr. Cornelia Heine
The
highest quality and standards are maintained, including sterile gloves,
gauze and surgical drapes. Spay/Panama has 44 spay packs and no
instrument pack is used in an animal before being autoclaved
FundraisingTwo fundraising events netted over $2,000 for Spay Day:
Sylvia a play directed by Aaron Zebede
Photo Contest
Help us put a stop to the suffering of innocent dogs and cats by supporting our spay/neuter efforts. Click here to find out how you can make a difference This dog's name is Bola and he was brought back with us from Loma de Naranjos for transmissible venereal tumor treatment