In May I volunteered for a sea turtle project in Costa Rica, but before I met the turtle group I traveled by myself for a week. I flew to San Jose where I spent a couple of days and then took Sansa airlines to Puerto Jiminez on the Osa Peninsula in SW Costa Rica and then took a pick-up over bumpy dirt roads for several miles to a remote, reasonably-priced, charming little lodge (Danta Corcovado Lodge) that was near Corcovado National Park that was filled with wild animals like pumas and tapirs and boa constrictors, among other things (monkeys and fer-de-lances). Jungle. I loved it.
At the lodge I talked to a retired philosophy professor from the University of Delaware who knew Costa Rica and spoke English and Spanish. In the course of one of our numerous conversations, he told me that I should meet the Peace Corps volunteer who was stationed in La Palma, a nearby small town, because she was interested in helping the village dogs and cats, like I was and was despondent about their terrible condition, like I was.
And Laura was contacted, and she rode her bike to the lodge and we talked. She said that she thought that the people in her community were on the edge of a change in how they perceived their animals...one woman had asked her for flea powder for her dog...and many had observed some Americans with their animals who looked good. On the other hand, female puppies were thrown into the streets (a primitive form of birth control). She wanted to try a spay and neuter (castrado) clinic there and had talked to the vet in Puerto Jiminez who was willing to come out with his staff and do a one day gig. The local Catholic Church (now into birth control!!!) had donated a room.
The vet wanted about $15/animal and she thought the people could only afford about $4. I asked her how much she would need to do a one day clinic and she did some calculations and said $470. I told her I would give it to her.
When I got home on May 17, I sent a check for the money to her parents in Colorado, and they put it in her account and she did all the work organizing and publicizing the clinic in La Palma. We saw it as promoting a change in consciousness about how animals were treated and also allowing the people to invest in their animals in a small way and make them more valuable to them. It was about changing perspective and relationship. I thought of this as an experiment equivalent to a crap shoot. We were both very excited...not knowing if anyone would sign up for it.
Here are excerpts from her emails to me:
May 27 - My parents got the check, thank you so much. I wanted to give you a quick update. The clinic will be on June 9th and as of a week ago all the appointments were filled. Between 20 and 25 animals will be spayed or neutered. The response has made me believe that it was both travel and financial barriers were the reason for the over population problems. As soon as people heard that they would be able to afford it and that it was close they all jumped on board. Hopefully I'll be able to plan another clinic in the future. Thanks so much for your help and I'll keep you updated.
On June 9 I thought of La Palma at least a hundred times.
June 16
The response was absolutely HUGE! I had people will appointments arrive on time along with a huge number of people who just showed up. In total we were able to spay or neuter 20 animals and we had to turn 8 away. The vet is coming back next Wednesday to spay and neuter 15 more. Also, on the day of the clinic someone brought their dog who had been attacked by a wild animal and was bleeding severely. The vet was able to save the dogs life after 2 hours. Had the vet not been in La Palma that day, the dog would have suffered a slow death, as it was, it's life was saved (I have pics of this too which I will send just as soon as I can access a computer and have my camera). It was incredible. The entire day I was sharing I love my pet stories with Costa Ricans and they really showed me that it was their lack of access, not love that had prevented them from controlling the pet population. I will send you a breakdown of how the money was spent (there were some people who could not afford the medications for after the surgery so I covered it for them so the animals would be taken care of). I'll write you more tomorrow, I just wanted to let you know that everything went great and in the end 35 animals will be fixed. I can't tell you excited all the people are and I can see a great future for the animals.
June 17
Okay, so here are some numbers: We were able to spay 20 animals, 10 female dogs, 2 female cats, 2 male cats and 6 male dogs. The donation sponsored 13 dollars worth of antibiotics for a family that could not afford the medications.
I did almost all of the promotions by posting some flyers and word or mouth. I went around and told people that I saw with animals about the clinic and the word began to spread. I had lots of people calling me and made some appointments and had walk-ins as well. We held the clinic in the Salon of the Catholic church where they open it up for free use to the community.
Here was the set up, for each animal $13 was used to supplement the cost which is $17. After talking further with the vet we decided that people would be able to pay $4 per castration plus medications which was also around $4. By doing this we will be able to spay or neuter 15 more animals covering for each of them the $13. Last week we used a total of $269.97 and will use the rest of the donation this Wednesday.
The vet was exhausted but so happy after the clinic. He was able to save a dog from animal attack wounds and spay or neuter 20 animals. There was such a high demand I think he was really surprised. We have talked about him coming back once a month for the next year (at least) that I'm in La Palma and I'm hoping that things will be going so well that he will continue to hold the clinics and see animals in La Palma. I think it was the beginning of a really good thing.
I would absolutely love it if you could find more funding for more clinics. I have seen that a little really goes a long way. $269 was able to help 20 animals, in the US it seems like that's the cost for just one animal. Also, I think it is a big step in people beginning to value their animals. As it is now there are just so many everywhere that the attitude is who cares, there's always another. I feel like this could change that (hopefully). Please tell your friends that this was a huge success, people came to clinic and shared with each other and me how much they love their animal and all of the things they do for their animal. They were able to buy pet food and flea medications and soaps. It was really fun to see old men with their cats talking about the cat sleeping in the bed with him and older ladies with their little dogs talking to them in funny voices. As the animals were waking up the owners were so concerned and huddled over their animal whispering to them and petting them. It was really sweet to see the animals being so cared for.
Again, thank you and if any of your friends are interested in helping please let me know, I would love to make more clinics happen. I have more info and plan to sit down and write a blog about the event as soon as I have some time (I hope tomorrow).
So that's the story, and here we are now.
I am doing the fundraiser.
This is what I want:
Five dollars. $5.
If you want to send more we would force ourselves to take it.
Here is how you can get it to me:
1. A check made out to "Castrado Clinic"
Or, if you are too embarrassed to make out a check for such a project with such a name:
2. Cash
You can send your contributions to:
Judy Bradshaw
3722 SE Woodward Street
Portland, Oregon 97202
Your reward: nothing. It's not tax deductible.
Your reward is nothing...and no one will ever thank you except me and Laura and the people of La Palma and the female animals. (The males will take a little longer to come around...after they find out their lives are happier without compulsions and infected wounds.)
I did consider running an "adopt a spay" campaign in which Laura would take a photo of your animal with its legs spread and its private parts exposed which you could frame and hang on your wall as evidence of your generosity...an idea I now find to be insensitive. I mean how would you feel if this were done to you? And these poor animals have never been exposed to the idea of spaying and neutering, unlike our own animals who hear it through the grapevine of those who have gone before. The La Palma animals are pioneers. We have to allow them their dignity.
If you decide to mortgage your house to support the clinic though I am sure we can work something out with the Catholic Church so your time in purgatory will be reduced.
So...no photo. I'm sorry. You get nothing.
So that's the pitch. We want money.
The animals save us, and now it is our time to save them.
You can do this, yes you can.
We can do this, yes we can.
Thanks.
Judy Bradshaw
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