This week, Amazon CARES is holding a spay and neuter clinic at Accion y Desarrollo Regional in the municipal district of San Juan Bautista [Español]. Accion y Desarrollo Regional is a building run by the municipal government with the goal of community outreach and betterment.

On Monday, the 5 veterinarians and 3 veterinary nurses sterilized 8 dogs and 1 cat and treated more than a dozen others animals in need of deworming, vaccinations and general consults. Not bad for a first day, with 8 people from 5 different countries working in conditions they are not used to, with people they had just met, and across 3 languages.

On Tuesday, with first day jitters out of the way, the team sterilized 15 dogs and 2 cats and treated more than 30 other animals for various ailments that did not require surgery (e.g, parasites).

While the veterinarians and veterinary nurses were hard at work, I helped setup operating tables, registered and interviewed people about their animals (age, weight, problems, etc…), translated between veterinarians, held animals as they received shots, snuggled a few puppies until they lost consciousness from the anesthesia, watched over post-op animals as they awoke, and explained to the people waiting for their pets how best to care for their animals as they recover from surgery. I also took photos and interviewed a local bureaucrat about working at Accion y Desarrollo Regional and with Amazon CARES.

It’s going to be a very busy few weeks!