September spay and neuter clinic i

On the last Saturday of every month, we hold a spay and neuter clinic.
We do this at the clinic of Dr. Miguel de Leon , Clinic Mascota Zoo in Panajachel, Guatemala.
It is open to everyone to bring along their dog or cat to be spayed or neutered.
We have dogs and cats come from Panajachel but also the neighboring villages.
Animals arrive in all sorts of ways, carried in a flour bag, wrapped in towels, tied up in the back of pick ups.


For the September clinic we were very lucky to have Susan volunteer with us. Susan is visiting from the U.S. and she brought along her student, Marla who she sponsors through Mayan Families.

Marla wants to be a vet. when she grows up and this was a great experience for her.

This clinic we spayed and neutered 34 dogs and cats.

Each clinic is attended by last year students from University of San Carlos in Guatemala City.
They come to get hands on experience working in a clinic. It is a wonderful opportunity for the students and it is a great help for Dr. Miguel and Mayan Families.

In exchange for this opportunity they bring a big bag of dried dog food .
This dog food is then divided into small bags and we give each person who has brought an animal to be operated on, a bag to take home to help the dog recover its strength after the operation.

Some of the dogs are very emaciated and we have to send food home and ask the owner to feed the dog and then next month bring it back to be operated.

We also collect homeless dogs off the street, operate on them, vaccinate them and then return them to the street. The technique that is being used to spay and neuter is from the Mckee foundation in Costa Rica. It is very non invasive. The dogs need just one shot of antibiotics before they go home and they are usually perfectly fine.

This makes it so much easier to spay and neuter street dogs . The method we were using before , the animals had to have antibiotics for 10 days. Even if the dogs had owners it was very difficult to make sure that the owners would give the dogs their medications.

If you would like to sponsor a dog or cat to be spayed or neutered...it is $20 US , if you would like to include a vaccination, it is another $10 US.
If you would like to make a donation in honor of a beloved pet, we would be happy to put a photo and notice on our website.

Our next clinic is on October 31st.

Veterinarians and vet. techs are always welcome to come and volunteer.

Tripod ...the three legged dog.

Tripod is a dog that was hit by a vehicle and his front leg was damaged beyond repair.
We had to have his leg amputated and he spent a long time at the vet. clinic recuperating.
We had hoped to find a home for Tripod but unfortunately no-one ever wanted him.
He now lives on the street, every morning he is back at the vet. office and Dr. Miguel feeds him.
Mayan Families also feeds him. Roberto from Mayan Families is feeding him dried dog food.
I am always concerned that Tripod will not be able to move fast enough to move out of the way of vehicles on the road. So far ...he is doing o.k. but if anyone wants to adopt a very sweet boy, please think about him. He is neutered and vaccinated.

Blancita

Blancita was brought to us when she was about two months old. The owners wanted to spay her...which we did.....then we waited for them to come back. It took them three months but they finally came back today and took her to live in their village in Pena Blanca.

We hope Blancita will be happy living back in the village.

The family was very happy to see how big and strong she is now.

Sandy finds a home.

Sandy is one of 5 puppies that were found on the street.
We have kept her for several weeks, vaccinated her, she will be spayed in two weeks time .
Today she was lucky to find a new home.
This family has a house with a large garden and they have a labrador there but the dog is lonely so they have taken Sandy home to keep her company.

One of the five died shortly after arriving in our care.
One was very lucky and went to Canada.
Sandy found a home today .
There are two more little ones that need a home. One boy and one girl.

These are really sweet dogs!

Humane Ed. classes in Guatemala.

Every week , Helen , who is the director of the Hope for the Animals program , spends at least three days a week at the schools, talking to children, showing them videos from World Society Protection of Animals...which Mayan Families, Hope for the Animals...is a member.

These classes are so important to teach children respect for animals and along with that respect for human life.

These classes have a simple message but it is one that most of these children have never heard. It is that animals need ..and deserve to have, food, water, shelter and to be treated with affection and respect.

Helen talks to the children about using collars and leashes...which Mayan Families gives to dogs when they are brought into be spayed. We really appreciate any donations that will help us to be able to continue to give out collars. Otherwise dogs are tied up with rope or in some cases, wire. Just this week I saw a dog that had been tied with wire around its neck, the whole throat was lacerated and the dog was in terrible shape.


In these classes we also spread the word about bringing their dogs and cats to the monthly clinic to be spayed or neutered.

These clinics are free and we encourage people to make a donation if they are able to help with the costs.

To spay or neuter an animal it is $20 US , to also include a vaccination against distemper and parvo virus, it is $30. Mayan Families vaccinates each dog who comes to the clinic with a free rabies shot.

Two Cute Little Faces

This little puppy was dropped off at our door yesterday. She is only about three weeks old.Our daughter, Aleeya has become her surrogate mother. Our older daughter, Zoe called her Chocolat.Chocolat will be spayed, vaccinated and we hope we can find a loving home for her.Dogs can be shipped to the U.S, there is no quarrantine but the dogs do have to have all their vaccinations and paperwork.If you would like to have this cute puppy in your house, we would love to send her!Please consider sponsoring a dog to be spayed so that we can reduce the number of unwanted animals and the suffering that they endure.