For the past six years, staff from the Western Regional Office has headed north to Alaska to help run animal wellness clinics, offering spay/neuter surgeries, vaccinations, and wound treatment. We also talk to students about animal care and careers. We work with Alaskan veterinarian, Erit Jayne of Veterinary Visions, often the only DVM to visit many coastal, north slope and interior villages on a periodic basis. We were eager to help out this go-round when Dr Jayne asked us to sponsor trips to the coastal villages of Nome, Savaggoon, and Gambell.
Read Western Regional Office Director Dave Pauli's reports on the trip.
August 28 - Day 5
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These dogs are recuperating after reproductive surgeries. |
This last week—with clinics in the villages of Teller, Savoonga, Gambell, and Nome—have been a blur of animal wellness outreach to villages that don't have regular or cost effective veterinary services available. These coastal villages have real needs and an appreciative animal owning population.
I don't yet have a numerical summary of the number of animal lives improved by our visits through vaccinations, worming, spay/neuter surgeries, or wound treatment, but it was easily several hundred animals. More than 75 surgeries were completed for reproductive, tumor removal or wound repair. Hundreds more were vaccinated for rabies and distemper, and another few hundred given medicines for tapeworms. This was both a animal wellness and public health and safety clinic.
August 27 - Day 4
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Dr. Eric Jayne, left, is preparing this dog for a spay surgery. |
Last night we ended up with a half dozen spays, mostly of indoor/outdoor dogs. This morning we had one major surgery to remove a huge fatty tumor from a husky mixed dog. She had already been spayed but this tumor was grapefruit sized and was causing some discomfort behind her right leg.
We also did home visits for a puppy with a broken leg and visited a dog man who has between 30-50 dogs and we left him with wormer for them all and confirmed that they have been vaccinated.
Saint Lawrence Island is a privately held sovereign nation made up of the villages of Gambell and Savoonga. Between the two villages with just over 1,000 people, we've vaccinated, spayed, neutered, wormed or evaluated several hundred animals—including, dogs, cats and a parakeet.
We take the six person prop plane flight back to Nome for a rabies clinic tonight and an all-day spay clinic tomorrow. We already have appointments for a few dozen dog surgeries and a tumor inspection on a reindeer. Who knows what else we might see!
Yesterday we spayed the Gambell mayor's dog and got a great history lesson of the town, its people and its animals. Everyone from the schools (we slept on the library floor last night) to the police department where we held today's clinic have been wonderful. We're in the school right now to give another presentation to several science classes. I have to run as one starts in two minutes.
August 26 - Day 3
We got to the Nome airport and took a flight in a six passenger prop plane to Gambell and immediately took off again for Savoonga. Upon arriving, we gave two presentations during the day to about 90 students and teachers. Dr Jayne is amazing at engaging youth. In each class he recruited six students to come up and try some basic veterinary care. The entire class got involved.
Then we went and set up the clinic. This is the first time a spay clinic has been held here in at least 13 years. The locals didn't know what it was about or why they should spay. We did see one dog for surgery and a half dozen for wound inspection as well as a parakeet. So to educate residents, we went door to door offering tape worm medications to people with dogs in their yards. We treated about 30 dogs for tapeworms.
Thursday we fly to Gambell where we don't know what to expect and then Friday to Nome where we have about 40 spays scheduled.
August 25 - Day 2
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These children participated in the clinic held in Teller. |
Monday started off chaotic and ended up sublime. After our flight was cancelled, we scrambled to get a last minute clinic arranged for 4 p.m. in the fishing village of Teller, Alaska, about 65 miles from Nome. It took us a while, but finally at about 1:30 p.m. we found a local large equipment shop that agreed to rent us his truck. We got into the village at 3:30 p.m. and had the clinic set up in the old tribal bingo hall by 4.p.m.
With no running water we hauled a five gallon bucket to the room for washing equipment. In the next four hours we spayed 11 female dogs, 1 female cat and neutered three male dogs—15 surgeries altogether. We vaccinated another 20 animals for rabies, distemper or both. Some additional animals were evaluated for old injuries or conditions. The dogs were in good body condition. Half the females were pregnant.
August 24 - Day 1
Our flight to St. Lawrence Island has been cancelled and we may have to have to take a taxi 71 miles one way to the school. The teacher expects that we might have as many as 20 dogs and cats at the clinic which will run from 4 p.m. until we get done, probably about 10 p.m. Then we'll need to back to Nome to repack for tomorrow's flight.
The school tomorrow in Savoonga is setting up a classroom presentation for the students. But unlike classroom presentations in the Lower 48, this one will include a demonstration on minor wound care and home suturing of wounds! Also scheduling wound treatment for a herd of reindeer later this week.
