By Catriona Bell
WVS’s second trip to assist A.A.M.O.R.
WVS volunteers recently undertook a neutering project on Margarita, an island off Venezuela. This was organised by WVS following a trip to the island in September 2004 by Mel Gretton and Beth Thompson, who, during a visit to the Margaritan charity AAMOR (Asilo para Animales Maltratados y Organizacion de Rescate) identified the need for a targeted neutering project. The background to AAMOR’s work, and an overview of the veterinary problems faced on Margarita are eloquently described in Mel and Beth’s report ‘WVS to South America’ on the articles page of the WVS website.
AAMOR is a charity with an extremely good infrastructure and excellent, dedicated staff. The charity’s three clinics on the island provide affordable veterinary treatment for families on low incomes, and also rescue and care for street dogs and cats. In each clinic, AAMOR employs a full time vet, plus several assistants and a receptionist, who work from 8am until approximately 6pm, six days per week. The vets are extremely busy with routine consultations and treatment of inpatients, and do not, therefore, have time to dedicate to a targeted neutering campaign.
Therefore, in March 2005, a team of four WVS volunteers (vets Catriona Bell and Cameron Muir, and nurses Roz Newton and Jasmine Wilson) travelled to Margarita to undertake a targeted neutering campaign in collaboration with AAMOR. WVS provided a generous budget to purchase drugs and consumables, and further support was provided by APROA, an animal charity in Caracas. In addition, Boehringer Ingelheim Ltd, Cheshire Pet Medical Centre, Willows Veterinary Group, and Glasgow’s Gartnavel Hospital also made generous donations of drugs, equipment and suture material.
We worked in teams of two, and split our time between the three AAMOR clinics. Despite being extremely busy with their own routine work, the AAMOR vets and their assistants were extremely helpful, and introduced us to their ‘neutering system’. The campaign was able to monopolise each clinic’s operating theatre, and we were extremely impressed by the facilities – dedicated, clean, air conditioned operating rooms which were well equipped with basic equipment. The odd power cut in the middle of a spay added to the challenge once or twice, but improvisation with a torch saved the day !
The anaesthesia proved to be the most challenging aspect of the project, as we had no gaseous anaesthesia (and only one endotracheal tube) available to us! Anaesthesia was, therefore, induced with an intramuscular combination of xylazine, ketamine and atropine which lasted for approximately fifteen minutes. This was then maintained, if necessary, by intravenous injection of ketamine through a butterfly cannula.
The other main challenge facing the project was the high prevalence of Ehrlichiosis in dogs, which resulted in anaemia, splenomegaly, and impaired clotting function. In addition, the unknown stage of the bitches’ reproductive cycles also meant that we encountered several friable uteruses, pregnancies and pyometras.
Despite these challenges, and the fact that our visit coincided with a major four-day public holiday (Semana Santa), 148 animals, the majority of which were bitches, were neutered free of charge. However, AAMOR aims to continue the campaign over the next few months, and hopes to neuter a total of 250 animals with the drugs, suture material and equipment provided by the project.
The entire AAMOR team were extremely hospitable, and a pleasure to work with. They went to considerable effort to make our stay on Margarita as comfortable as possible, and to show us the sights of their small but lovely island. Special thanks must go to Carla Kaiser (AAMOR’s Chief Executive), Ana Christina, Alicia, Franklin and Eliseth.
Lastly, our experience of being in Margarita during Semana Santa (Easter week) was unforgettable – thousands of Venezuelans descending onto the island’s Caribbean beaches dressed in tiny thongs, and armed with enormous cool boxes of very fine, very cheap Venezuelan beer (we thought it may be of interest to future WVS volunteers !!!).
