BajaNomad

I really cannot do any more spay and neuter clinics!!

Marie-Rose - 11-9-2007 at 09:06 PM

Day 3 of a 4 day spay and neuter clinic and I am alaready in big trouble!!! Perra number 4(actually she had #76 ttaped to her little head most of the day) is sleeping at my feet and I am wondering if I am in fact loosing my mind:wow: I knew I was in trouble on Tues when I went to get our car from the local mechanic who had several dogs tied up on short leads, and the lovely little mama who was tied to the bumber of a car so that her 3 little pups could nurse from her starving body. Her tail was wagging so hard that it almost knocked her over!! I knew I was in trouble!!
In my broken spanish I told the man about the free spay and neuter clinic and he said he he would let me come and get the dogs... he also had 5 cats and... he really did not want the mama and her pups. She was a dog that just showed up at his home. ( now I knew I was really in trouble!!)
True to his word ( well almost, he had one male he would not have neutered) he let us take all of his pets and our local "puupy recyclers" took the puppiess who, although a bit young, were ready to leave their starving mama.
Even while mama was terriefied in the plastic carrier, waiting for the surgery, I could hear her tail wagging against the carrier. I kept saying..."just don't look at her!" Didn't work... here she lays at my feet. The cuttest little face you ever did see. No more puppies for this little mama. I hope I can find her a good home!!!

salvavida - 11-9-2007 at 09:56 PM

Good for you Marie-rose. Even if you cant do any more, your soul will be richer for what you have done. I believe animals deserve all we can do for them for all they do for us.

Bless your heart !!!

djh - 11-9-2007 at 10:38 PM

One word for you:

:saint: SAINT !





djh

DrTom - 11-10-2007 at 07:28 AM

Was that the RAVS clinic at CARE in San Jose? Howd it go?

THANK YOU

tortuga - 11-10-2007 at 07:35 AM

as much as we love Baja it always tears our hearts when we see the mistreated animals . Thank you very much for your efforts . Tu eres :saint::saint::saint:
Tortuga

[Edited on 11-10-2007 by tortuga]

rhintransit - 11-10-2007 at 09:28 AM

my heart goes out to your heart, and the animals who have no other champions. and so I too begin another seaon of volunteering at my local Animalandia clinic, firm in the knowledge that I cannot take an animal into my life at this time but it is SO hard. I figure a little kindness and freedom from constant reproduction is the best I can give right now.

and for those of you in the Loreto driving area...another big spay/neuter clinic here Dec 3,4,5,6,7 coming up. bring them in. we do what we can.

Minnow - 11-10-2007 at 10:42 AM

I salute all you fellow animal lovers. Marie, I understand how you feel, when those puppy eyes meet our own, it makes it hard to not want to take them all in. Do not worry if you can't, your good deeds help so many. You will never know all the puppies you have helped, and that is a good thing. Saludos again.

Why is it that Mexicans think there is something wrong with neutering the males? Don't they understand they are half the problem?

DENNIS - 11-10-2007 at 11:12 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Minnow

Why is it that Mexicans think there is something wrong with neutering the males? Don't they understand they are half the problem?

I've heard them say that it's "unnatural." Don't think that didn't get me started.

Dogs

jburks572 - 11-10-2007 at 11:18 AM

The Mexicans in general do not treat dogs well. They deliberately run them down on the roads and will even swerve off the road to kill them. It is a cultural disgrace. Many do not even feed their dogs but leave them to eat offal and garbage. They poison them for fun. Now before all of you with blinders on jump forward to give the case of people who love their dogs, let me say that there are dog lovers in the population but they are a small minority. The dog haters in Mexico are not typical of all Latin countries and it is not a problem of poverty it is a problem of evil hearts. To pick one Latin country, look at Peru. They love their dogs and honor them as they should be honored. It is not a question of poverty. The Peruvians are poorer than the mexicans. Every dog abuser should recieve the same. Dogs and ourselves are co-evolved. We would not be who we are if it were not for dogs. May all dog abusers burn in Hell.
JB

It is.

Dave - 11-10-2007 at 12:49 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
I've heard them say that it's "unnatural." Don't think that didn't get me started.


And a cure-all for the irresponsible pet owner. Society would be better served if these people weren't allowed to own pets.

I understand the necessity for spay/neuter. I support it, reluctantly.

Minnow - 11-10-2007 at 02:41 PM

Ever heard of the cultural phenomenon of Mexicans putting a mean dog on their roof? :mad: they think it makes them look tough.

bajabound2005 - 11-10-2007 at 04:22 PM

Marie-Rose, thanks for your good work. We did a clinic here in Punta Banda last Spring. Ran into the same problem with a Mexican woman who had 40+ dogs; she'd let us take the females but did not want us to take the males to have neutered. This is when only women were talking to her. Then we had a male vet speak with her -- and whatever he told her, it worked. She let us take all the males and have them neutered. Can't say that this would have worked had she been a man, but it worked with her!

Keep up the good work:bounce:

docsmom - 11-10-2007 at 04:29 PM

Marie-Rose,
That little girl sitting at your feet thanks you for your kindness and so do I. I think maybe you've already found her good home :)
Whether you keep her or you find her a family, she's found an angel in you!
Every time I'm in Baja my heart is broken by the ill treated and abandoned dogs. I used to befriend and feed them and scheme to bring all of them home. But since I can't bring them home I started to wonder if I was doing them good or harm. So now I'm attached in my behavior, but not my emotions. It isn't easy.
I'm 400 miles from the border and can't make a daily difference so I did the only thing I could find to do. I do most of my daily shopping at Albertsons and learned that they have a charitible entity where a percentage of my purchases go to the charity that I choose. There are limits they'll pay to any given charity but I've declared my portion to go to the Rosarito Animal Shelter. I don't know anything about the Rosarito Animal Shelter, and I know all shelters aren't good. I hope I don't get blasted here if it's not a good organization..... I'd like to hear others suggestions.
But back to my comment to you Marie-Rose....
I felt the pain in your post. You're a love for giving in spite of the pain! When I finally get to Baja permanently I'll be standing beside you and we'll work to eliminate the over-population and get the babies families!

Minnow - 11-10-2007 at 05:29 PM

Docsmom, There is an organization in Northern Baja called" Give some Life". They do low cost and no cost spay and neuter clinics from TJ to El Rosario, and beyond. It is the same one that Cyndarough, BB05, Paulina, BajaCactus, and a few others here, help out with. They would love to have your support. I am sure BB05 can give you all the contact info. This also goes to anyone else who would like to help out with the pet overpopulation in Baja.

DrTom - 11-10-2007 at 11:23 PM

From a pet population/epidemiology perspective. The most effective effort in population program is spay females. Doesnt matter how many intact males there are if there is not enough females to breed, BUT all it takes is a few males and a bunch of females get bred. So if you want to end pet overpopulation, spay females. When they come out with a practical sterilization injection for females the problem will go away. Until then, we spay.

vandenberg - 11-11-2007 at 07:14 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by DrTom
BUT all it takes is a few males and a bunch of females get bred. So if you want to end pet overpopulation, spay .



Isn't that a kind of contradiction.:(:(

bajabound2005 - 11-11-2007 at 08:21 AM

http://www.givesomelife.org/index.html

Marie-Rose - 11-11-2007 at 08:28 AM

Thank you for all the fabulous comments... really what I do is very little compared to the saints that volunteer around here. And don't even let me get started about the fabulous people from Ravs (Yes, Dr. Tom...) Dr. Susan was just incredible.
The clinic went well, the last day was yesterday. We had several local vets who also came to work. Dr. Tom, I believe your freind from San Jose was here and I unfortunately cannot remember his name. Lovely man.
There were some incredible moments. One particularly nasty rattle snake bite. A lovely young lady lost her cat on the operating table and she pulled hersellf together and then proceeded to insisit on bringing this dog (who had been bitten), in terrible shape, and drove it to La Paz. Apperently the smell of rotting flesh was horrible. The owner of La Canada and others, quickly gathered enough money to pay for initial treatment in La Paz and the Mexican family who were the owners, were tearfully grateful.
Little mamasita is lying on her bed at my feet as I type. She is such a sweetie. Has not done much but sleep and eat. She is still very scarred and does not want to be picked up... She has not had one accident in the house despite some nasty diarrhea. Hopefully she will be ready tomorrow for the task of getting her diagnosed for erlichea and heartworm and then I can proceed to trying to find her a home. I believe she is small enough to go into a carrying case. She would be perfect for an owner who has limited space and I do not think will require much more than love.
I think I also need to mention that although the Mexicans need to go a long way in taking care of their animals, this is my 3rd clinic and there always seem to be more locals bringing their pets in and this is a good thing. Poco a poco.
Another thing I need to mention is my comment about the "puppy recyclers"... said in the most loving way. wrk is a fellow nomad and she and her husband have had (I am sure) over a 100 puppies go thru their home. They are much more than "puppy recyclers" :bounce::yes:

DrTom - 11-11-2007 at 09:23 AM

Good to hear the clinic went well, the doctor who donates the clinic in San Jose is Dr Jorge Bravo, he is the one who coordinates with Dr Susan Monger ( who works for the Rural Area Veterinary Service, part of the humane society in the US) and the other vets in the local area (who like Dr Bravo, donate their time) to run the spay program out of the hospital in San Jose.

Answer to the sterilization question: anything that prevents sperm from being delivered is sterilization in a male. So castration or vasectomy suffice. Vasectomies not practical in dogs usually, because most owners prefer the reduction of marking, aggression, prostate issues, etc that come along with the castration. and actually castration is easier. Spays more expensive because an internal abdominal surgery/more difficult than a neuter or vasectomy.

Sometimes the "spay females" conversation is not clear, sometimes because its wondered if human philosophy is implicated like "male bias" etc. but its not. Imagine if all the female dogs in the world were spayed but one and none of the males were castrated. All youd ever have to do is spay the female offspring from that one mother we've allowed to breed and youd never have a significant increase in the pet population. Now consider the other way around. All the males are castrated but one, and we allow him to breed and all the females can breed. Now you have to manage all the offspring from the total of the females that one male comes in contact with. And surprisingly enough, some of these males can be pretty ambitious.

DrTom - 11-11-2007 at 05:11 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by lencho
Quote:
Originally posted by DrTom
Vasectomies not practical in dogs usually, because most owners prefer the reduction of marking, aggression, prostate issues, etc that come along with the castration.

Interesting. What are the prostate issues?

Will a b-tch normally permit more than one male to mate with her? If we vasectomized the dominant males in an area and let them roam around doing their thing, I'm curious whether the reproduction rate would drop...

--Larry


A female will mate with multiple males. So theoretically you can have a litter of 8 each with a different father. It all depends on whos sperm is the most able to penetrate the ova coming down the fallopian tubes......ie early bird gets the worm, or ova in this case. Vas's on dominant males wouldnt help, cause the less dominant males would breed the females while the dominant's were having a smoke.
Testosterone supports the prostate and drives: prostatic hypertrophy, prostatic cancer, and if theres a prostate it can get infected. So neutering reduces/eliminates: cancer, hypertrophy and infection.....all life threatening issue.... Im suprised neutering hasnt caught on with humans, cause it would eliminate prostate cancer in men :o:no::bounce:

docsmom - 11-13-2007 at 09:55 PM

Minnow,
Thank you for your response to my inquiry and your reference to "Give some life".
BBO5, thanks for the link.
Dr Tom, your professional comments are always appreciated,
The domestic animal problem in Mexico and Baja is such a painful topic. No matter where I go I'm assaulted by the hoards of animals that are not being cared for. The only thing I can do is contribute funds to the organizations that are working to eliminate the overpopulation and I'm so happy to donate to organizations that you all can recommend to me.
And Dr. Tom, I'm both a dog and cat person and will probably in retirement be the crazy lady living on the beach with 38 cats! :):)

bajabound2005 - 11-13-2007 at 10:34 PM

Today -- we had the local vet and another woman who works with her to come in to our classrooms during our tiny little 45 minutes each week for English class - into the primary school in Punta Banda. They brought with them a 6 week old puppy and 2 kittens whose approx age was 4 weeks. They discussed (in Spanish) the most important things about having pets. In my class (4th graders) - they ALL had at least one pet! The important things about having a pet (and the kids got the first 2 - no problem) #1, Amor. #2, Comida & Agua. #3, Una Casa; # 4 Respeto! The kids (in my class) had a million ideas and questions. Interestingly, in the older classes, the kids didn't care...gotta get 'em while they're young!