We have a real problem here in Trujillo with animals, especially pets, not getting proper veterinary care, and some no care at all. Some of this is due to lack of knowledge; some is due neglect, and some is due to poverty. Add to that the fact that we have no local veterinarian, and you can see that this is exponential in scope.
It is for this reason that the Trujillo Pet Project was born. This is the brainchild of my friend, Jackie Lozinski. I am fortunate enough that she asked me to be in on the ground level. Jackie is a young woman who, in another life, was a Canadian Animal Welfare Investigator.. Her main concern in that life was the enforcement of animal cruelty laws. She has a deep love of animals, as do I, and as do many of the expats here in the area, American and Canadian.
We are not a rescue project, as such. None of us really have the facilities to foster animals. Our main concern is health care. We want to focus on providing low cost health care, especially spaying and neutering, vaccinations, and regular vet visits. Another goal is educating the young people on the importance of taking care of their pets as if they are members of the family.
Here in my own neighborhood of Buenos Aires we have dogs who know which families put out left overs, and even what time they are usually put out. They make the rounds from house to house; and if they they don't find food at one house, they just go on to the next. Some of these dogs are feral. Others have owners who apparently don't feed them.
They are tick infested, flea infested, and are many are mangy. Some are so skinny you can count their ribs. Venereal cancer is very prevalent. Venereal cancer is easy to treat and to stop in its tracks. If you spay the female, she will not go into season and will not accept a male. This stops the cycle of disease. This is one reason spaying and neutering are so important. These are the animals we want to reach.
We are lucky enough to have the support of Dr. Eugenio Calderon, a vet in La Ceiba. He has been gracious enough to let us into his office to measure his exam tables and his operating table, take pictures and measurements, and advise us on several things we need to know. He has also said that after he has a new vet in his office he will consider coming to Trujillo once a month to hold a veterinary clinic for general care, and to spay and neuter as needed.
We have been blessed with the addition to our list of supporters of Dr. Claudio Mayorga and his group from Nicaragua, who are coming next month for a meeting to see if they can help us in meeting some of our goals. They will add us to a list of missions they perform every year by going to poorly served areas and providing low cost or free spay/neuter clinic. I am really dreaming that we might get someone from his group to move to Trujillo and open a practice.
We are having our first vaccination clinic on September 15 in the park in downtown Trujillo. It is Honduran Independence Day, and we will set up a dining fly and give 5-in-1 vaccinations for L50 (about USD $2.50). This will not include rabies vaccine, because the government provides that free of charge. This is the shot for distemper, parvo, etc. Our first neuter/spay clinic will be sometime after the start of the new year, probably in January
Here comes the pitch, and don't say I didn't warn you there would be one. We need to raise about $1,500 between now and the first of the year. We need about $500 of that over the next couple of months so we can buy the materials to build the exam tables and operating tables. If you can donate as little as $5.00, that will go a long way toward providing care for a deserving animal. You can donate to me on PayPal by using my email address, stonewondercloud@live.com. As soon as we can get a web page up and running I will have a PayPal button you can click on that will take you directly to PayPal.
Please visit our FB page Trujillo Pet Project , and like our page if you haven't already.
