Weekend warriors
Best Friends operations begin in earnest.
The Best Friends team, working this weekend with local vets and vet techs in Guadalupe, spayed or neutered 30 animals and vaccinated another 400. They also repaired one hernia and removed a large tumor.
The team consists of rapid response manager Rich Crook, sanctuary medical director Dr. Mike Dix, dog caregiver Roy Coscio, who is from Peru, staffer Pam Crook, and Shari Artadi, formerly of the Peruvian Association for the Protection of Animals, who played an integral role in coordinating rescue work in the aftermath of the earthquake and is now providing key support for Best Friends’ efforts.
Here is Rich’s report on the beginning of the team’s full-fledged efforts.
We met with three local vets to discuss our respective goals and expectations. The meeting went well. They had some good questions and a few concerns, one of which was how the locals would feel about bringing their animals to a hospital meant for humans. We told them we wouldn’t really know the answer until we gave it a try.
Friday was our first day in the field. The morning was a little slow; we had to get our equipment set up and Dr. Mike did a last-minute inventory check.
By noon, the word had spread and people started showing up.
We finished with 76 vaccinations (mostly dogs) and eight surgeries – a huge success for the first day.
Our team works well together. Pam helps out in all areas, staying busy until Dr. Mike needs her for surgery. He is great to work with in the field – he is easy-going and really knows his stuff. Roy is a terrific guy with a good sense of humor and has been invaluable in bridging the communication gap. Shari knows how to get things done. When we run into a problem or simply need to make an adjustment in the program, I generally go to her. She will be ready very soon to handle the operation.
Day two started with a group of volunteer vets, techs and general helpers brought together by a couple of wonderful Spanish ladies – Charro and Margareta. They have been here for weeks helping feed the children. Now they’ve started recruiting people to help us with the animals.
We had eight countries represented at the clinic this morning: Sweden, Switzerland, Ireland, Australia, England, Peru, Spain and the United States.
We split the group into two teams – one worked the clinic while the other went into the field to perform vaccinations and de-worming. They also encouraged residents to take their pets to the clinic to be sterilized. That proved to be a challenge because the people simply do not understand why we would want to do such a thing. We are trying different approaches to educate and persuade them.
Our operation is working well on several levels, showing folks how much easier it is when you work together, breaking territorial boundaries and providing general knowledge on best practices for the animals.