Rescue a dog, save one dog’s life; neuter a dog, save thousands of dogs’ lives. Mass sterilisation clinics are saving millions of dogs in Mexico, as Colette Kase reports…
As we slowly drove past the Taxi Union building, we could see family groups squeezing into tiny bits of shade, huddled around pet carriers, or comforting nervous-looking dogs on leads. It was 9am, and it was already getting hot in this small town in the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. The famous resort area of Cancun is only an hour’s drive up the Caribbean coast.
The small colonia Joaqu’n Zetina Gasca is part of the municipality of Puerto Morales, a small, friendly seaside tourist town. Like so many small communities all over Mexico, it has a problem with dog and cat overpopulation. Unlike most towns in the world, it is home to the Planned Pethood International Training Centre, and they have just launched a massive sterilisation clinic locally.
MEXICO HAS THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF HOMELESS DOGS IN THE AMERICAS, ESTIMATED AT ABOUT 20 MILLION
Over three days, 70 vets, specially trained in mass sterilisation procedures, will collaborate with local rescue organisations and individuals to perform 1,500 spay and neuter surgeries at no cost to the animals’ carers.
Sterilisation clinics are an essential part of pet population control in this part of southern Mexico. A growing number of excellent groups, together with a veterinary team, provide free and low-cost sterilisation all over the Yucatan Peninsula, with the support and cooperation of local community leaders. But there are so many dogs. So many. Mexico has the highest number of homeless dogs in the Americas, estimated at about 20 million.
Everyone who participates in pet sterilisation clinics in the region understands the urgency of the need, but they are realistic. Sterilisation is a long-term solution, but only effective when combined with education. These clinics can change attitudes, lives and entire communities. The education, awareness and outreach done during these events have as long a lasting impact, perhaps longer, than the surgeries themselves.
When someone commits to bringing a dog or cat to a sterilisation clinic, they make a much greater commitment than one would imagine. Attending a sterilisation clinic requires a full day. A full day for someone who is supporting a family is a huge sacrifice.
Once the pets are registered, there is surprisingly little barking. Occasionally, a new dog who feels the need to announce his arrival may shout at anyone who might listen, but it’s too hot to bark for long. Cats, wrapped in just a towel, sit on laps next to large, panting dogs. People cuddle their pets, console their worried children, and wait for their dog or cat’s first sedative. Soon after, they watch their pet being carried away by a veterinary surgeon or volunteer into a sea of tables where a three-day surgery marathon is underway.
The children have the chance to attend educational workshops. The adults, however, silently observe the results of the compassion and hard work that has gone into making an event like this operate smoothly. Volunteers chat with some individuals or families to let them know, in hushed tones, that their pet did well in surgery and is now in recovery.
Everyone looks up when they arrive, hoping it’s news about their cat or dog. Many of those waiting have been sitting in the hot sun for several hours. In recovery, more volunteers spend the day with an assembly line of unconscious dogs and cats, gently soothing them back to consciousness.
THE PET OVERPOPULATION PROBLEM MAY APPEAR OVERWHELMING, BUT CHANGE HAS ALREADY STARTED
If you break down the way these clinics work, that seems extraordinary in itself, but then you step back and observe what is happening. The curiosity of the children, the concern and fears of their parents, and the relief when their pet is returned to them. Their smiles when they take their pet home, understanding that they’ve changed the animal’s life and their own for the better.
We visited the small community that sprung up some years ago, with the original homes simple lean-tos with pallets, tarps and bits of tin. Now houses are gradually being built, and there are signs that life has improved for many. This neighbourhood benefits most from local sterilisation clinics. There is now status in being considered a responsible pet owner.
Our guide was a local volunteer named Dinah, who seemed to know all the dogs and families in the neighbourhood. She has been doing outreach in the area for years, and it shows. People came from their homes to speak to us and proudly show us their already sterilised pets. Healthy looking dogs frolicked in the dirt road.
One young woman broke down in tears and explained how grateful she had been to have her pet spayed at a previous clinic. She told us that she now tells everyone in her family how important it is to have your dog spayed and neutered. She’s passionate and the face of the next generation of animal welfare advocates. That’s how this all works. The pet overpopulation problem may appear overwhelming, but change has already started.
Just after the clinic, Dr Jeffrey Young, founder of Planned Pethood, announced they hadn’t quite made their goal of 1,500 sterilisations. But they were close. 1,093 dogs and cats were spayed and neutered over three days in a Taxi Union community centre, in a small town in Mexico, where veterinary surgeons, community volunteers and loving, committed pet owners got together and made it happen.
