On Saturday, March 16, I visited a sterilization campaign that was taking place in the village of Santa Teresa. Before I had even found the party facility where it was being held, I knew I was in the right neighborhood. A cluster of cars was parked along the narrow street, and people were carrying small dogs and cats and leading larger dogs on leashes toward the building. Lined up outside the building, those whose pets were already registered waited patiently in the shade.
The large room where the campaign was taking place was set up like a MASH unit. People waiting to register their pets formed two lines, one for cats, the other for dogs. Cats take longer than dogs to wake up after they’ve been anesthetized, so we register two cats for every dog. Those whose pets were already registered were seated in one area, observing our busy volunteers and surgeons.
Three volunteers were registering and weighing the animals. Antonia (Tony) López was recording information about the animals and their owners, Beth Lozano was weighing the animals, and Victoria Larrazolo was preparing strips of masking tape marked with each animal’s registration number, weight, and name, which was then stuck to animal’s forehead. I was pleasantly surprised to see several large male dogs being registered, including an enormous but gentle pitbull.
A woman with a husky struggled to get her dog to stand on our electronic scale long enough to be weighed. Tony asked her to stand on the scale herself. After her own weight was registered, the woman valiantly picked up her dog and stepped onto the scale again. Her own weight was then subtracted from the total to derive her dog’s weight. Cats were easier to handle; they were placed inside a shopping bag to be weighed.
Dr. Verónica Almaguer anesthetized each animal when its turn came for surgery. Next, Alexis Nuñez Medina, a veterinary student, prepared the unconscious animal by shaving its surgical site, vacuuming up the loose fur, swabbing the shaved site with two antiseptic solutions, and making sure the animal’s tongue was protruding from its mouth so that it would not suffocate while unconscious. Then he or another volunteer carried the animal to one of our waiting surgeons.
Beyond the two surgeons, Ricardo Montes de Oca and Arturo Rocha, were other volunteers, each busy with a task. Francisca Espinoza was cleaning the surgeons’ instruments in an antiseptic solution after each surgery. Ben Larrazolo was scrubbing soiled surgical drapes. (The cotton drapes are machine-washed after each campaign and later sterilized in an autoclave before being repacked for the next campaign.)
Further back in the room was the recovery area, where two of our volunteers, Julie Boyles and Sally Fish, were monitoring the animals. The dogs were lying in rows on a large floormat covered with newspaper and the cats were placed in laundry baskets arranged on a long table, all of the animals covered with their own blankets.
Sally Fish also checked the animals’ toenails and clipped ones that were too long. Several children were playing in an area set aside for them. Finally, in our makeshift dispensary, Mary Beth Canavan, a volunteer with a nursing background, was preparing take-home medications and instructions for the animals’ owners when the patients were discharged. Overseeing all this activity was Julia Salido, our campaign manager.
When I was there more than 70 animals had been registered, and more were still arriving. It was going to be a long day. But the campaign volunteers seemed to know exactly what they were doing and were obviously enjoying the work. And, as always, the pets’ owners were cooperative and patient.
Altogether, 74 animals were sterilized that day: 32 female dogs, 14 male dogs, 16 female cats, and 12 male cats. We are very grateful to all those who made the campaign possible: veterinarians Verónica Almaguer, Ricardo Montes de Oca, and Arturo Rocha; campaign manager Julia Salido; and the volunteers Karla Ahumada, Adrián Avalos Villalobos, Julie Boyles, Mary Beth Canavan, Rosemarie Conde, Francisca Espinoza, Sally Fish, Tony López, Ben Larrazolo, Victoria Larrazolo, Beth Lozano, Alexis Nuñez Medina, Vania Itzel Rocha, Dulce Sandoval, Griselda Tavera, and the owners of the party facility.
If you or anyone you know in Guanajuato is interested in becoming a campaign volunteer, I suggest you contact Julia Salido, our campaign manager, via Messenger at moza mia S.