Streets of Hope - the Stray Dogtor
Dominican Republic - DCDR / Paranda Paradise
My latest visit took me to the beautiful Dominican Republic. The country has a very high population of community owned dogs/stray dogs. In the more touristy areas, the majority of the "strays" are actually pretty happy and healthy dogs. They get fed at restaurants and private homes, know their water sources, and often get help if they are injured, as they have lots of human friends. It's funny to find out over time, how many names one dog has, depending on who he hangs out with.. One of my favorites, a beautiful tall, very healthy beach boy, went by "Teddy", "Cookie" and "Simon", depending on who you spoke to about him.
In collaboration with the DCDR, who kindly provided the anesthetics and some surgical consumables that I was not able to bring in my own bags, we neutered 59 animals in 3 weeks. Most of those were free roaming dogs around the las ballenas beach in las terrenas, el limon (where the beautiful parranda paradise shelter of Silvia Bonne Garde is located) and hoja de cacao, one of the outskirts of las terrenas. We were able to use people's private homes to set up day clinics, enabling us to work in different parts of town. Big thank you to everyone who made this possible!
https://www.facebook.com/DCDRrescue
I had the great pleasure to meet Dr Giselle, a fantastic dominican veterinary surgeon with an extraordinary, contagious energy, who donates lots of her time to regular neutering campaigns, and has created a whole network of dedicated vets, vets in the making, nurses and other helpers. In two of her campaigns that I joined, we neutered a total of 178 dogs in a total of 3 days. Incredible experience and hopefully one we can repeat...
Follow her path on instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/veterinarysurgeonsonthego/
Please have a look at the pictures for impressions of the trip and dogs that are currently up for adoption:
Adoption: Our three musketeers
Meet the 3 puppies that lived in the garden of a hotel complex nearby. We picked them up just at the right time, when the security guards had decided to remove the two females from the complex and take them to a forest area far away, so they would not come back.. We were very lucky that the person who was transporting them hadn't gone very far yet and was willing to turn the vehicle around and bring them back to us. We neutered them, vaccinated them against rabies, gave them parasite treatment and then took them back to the beach where they grew up. Due to their close bond with the team they soon ended up living close to where the team members were. All 3 are still up for adoption, they are very cuddly, well socialized and very well behaved. Each one of them would make a fabulous pet! Ideally they would be adopted together but everything can be discussed with the right home - please contact me for further info..
Adoption: Loki
This handsome boy is still in need of a home. Estimated age: 1-2 years. Weight around 15 kg. He comes and goes and visits different families/people. He's well behaved around other dogs, very friendly towards humans, quite independent and smart, and loves a comfy couch to relax. He will need a secure garden as he loves taking off and visiting the beach and his other two and four legged friends, and ideally we would want him save from being hit by a car or poisoned in the streets..
Teamwork makes the dream work...
Working with Dr. Giselle was such a fantastic experience. I've never seen anyone work with so much precision, joy and enthusiasm. She runs a well oiled machine of nurses, vets in the making and other dedicated support staff (all volunteers) that organize neutering clinics on a regular base in the Dominican Republic. She brings tables, lamps, surgical material, equipment to sterilize the surgical kits, vaccinations, medications and so forth to build a day clinic like no one else I've ever met. Being part of this was inspiring, humbling and great fun. The whole team radiates joy and dedication, everyone works hard and efficient, nobody gets tired or complains. It sure helps that there's latin tunes to keep you going throughout the day. The first day I joined their team, we neutered 44 dogs and cats in one day. I was able to join her for another day later during my stay and we managed 90 animals between 3 vets, which is an incredible achievement. Just imagine every female dog had 8 pups, of which 4 are female. Those would have the next litter of 8 pups/4 females within a years time, and those numbers quickly go into the thousands.. Avoiding those pups being born really makes such a huge difference.
I am looking forward to join forces again..
Our street clinics...
We set up our day clinics in Las Terrenas and El Limon in private homes and the beautiful Parranda Paradise, an animal shelter run by Silvia Bonne Garde (follow her on facebook to see what's happening there). Our focus was on community owned dogs and pets of families with very low income. Every day was different... Sometimes we had animals lined up for us, on other days the team went out into the street and picked up all the un-neutered pups they found wandering around (well, they know most of the dogs anyways so they know where to look...). After they recovered and were awake enough, they were brought back to their usual place and checked on regularly afterwards. Overall we neutered 58 cats and dogs and provided medical treatment to several dogs like Minnie and Trouble, who both ended up finding a forever home - check the pictures!!
The country.
Besides the busy surgery days I had the pleasure of exploring some of the gorgeous beaches, hills and forests of Las Terrenas and surroundings.. Definitely worth a visit!