In short, the day was looong...
Nena, Kenny and Ana did an amazing job of setting up the clinic. At 7:15 there were people and pets waiting at the gate. Wally was there to help check them in. By 8am there were 19 animals checked in and it was calm.
We had 17 females and 1 male dog - 4 females and 2 male cats - 24 total.
One working man came from Jolatemba. He waited for a chance for a no-show appointment and won. He was the last to leave and gave a donation along with a million dollar smile. Another woman who couldn't capture her cats came by and paid for her appointments anyway.
We also had a vet from Otates come and observe Beltran in surgery - it must have been a pleasure for him to watch a master artist at work. Beltran is always generous in sharing his skill and knowledge. We hope this young vet will be inspired and pass it on in his practice.
This was our first clinic without Anne leading the team. We were without Trini too. Everyone showed their best effort in solidarity to Anne and BMA. This will grow us strong for sure! We've all relied on Anne, not knowing the full extent of what she covered. We all had to work a little harder to cover all the bases. That's the kind of day we had - it took more effort, more time, more volunteers. I hope everyone takes a moment to feel good about their part. It was a clinic to be proud of.
Something extraordinary happened yesterday. A dog was brought in with an eye lost and infected. While the dog was under anesthesia for sterilization, Dr B assessed the eye socket, cleaned and treated it so that healing could begin. A young woman came late in the afternoon to check on the dog. She told us the shocking story of how the dog had not only been hit in the eye but also hung by the neck by a rope, and that someone caught it on video. The cruelty was hard to fathom. The team put their heads and hearts together to formulate a plan. Shunashi volunteered to give shelter to the dog and continue the medical care needed. Ana will take the video as evidence for filing a complaint to the government agency with oversight of animal abuse. Everyone wanted to do something to make this kind of abuse stop.
It's a hard story to tell but it's necessary to share. Animal abuse is a sign of a sickness that eventually affects everything and everyone. We can not accept it or else we will all suffer.
Thanks a million to everyone who came to help yesterday:
Nena, assistant clinic director - good job,
Kenny, awesome right hand to everyone,
Dr. B, Michela and Ana - marathon surgery team, on their feet all day,
Minerva - cat care extraordinaire,
Shunashi and Isabel - earnest volunteers learning it all, our newest dog-warriors
Jenny and Katherine - experienced, steadfast, capable,
Trilby and Audrey - supportive, encouraging long-time friends of BMA
Yadira - our new friend and dog advocate,
Amaranth and Wally - all purpose where needed, proud members of team BMA.
It takes a lot of adjectives to tell you about this collective of animal-lovers, but if I were to choose only one it would be generous. Thanks for your support!
