Today was our last day of veterinary work in Caye Caulker. During our week on Caye Caulker, we provide veterinary treatment for over 325 animals. We performed 145 surgeries and provided treatment (vaccine, dewormer, medication, etc) on an additional 180+ animals. OUr work has made a huge impact on the village area of Caye Caulker. By the end of the trip, almost every cat or dog we found on the street had been sterilized. Today we did the usual surgeries and appointments. In addition, Dr Leslie, Amanada and Alex headed out for a mobile clinic by boat to treat some animals [View Full Entry]

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Our Day Off!!!! Belize Diving Services offered all divers a free day of diving and any others a free “Discover Scuba” day. Andrea, Leslie, Susan, Cathy , Alex, Ilona and Mary went diving. We saw string rays, dolphins, a leather back sea turtle, cuttle fish, moray eels, a big grouper, a crab in a conch shell, and many colorful fish along with beautiful corals and sponges. It was fun to watch Alex, Ilona and Mary on their first open water dives as newly certified divers. Carla and Shawn did the “Discover Scuba” Winnie and Amanda went on a snorkel trip while [View Full Entry]

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They warned us that it was “rainy season” but this day (like the others) started with lots of sunshine and hot, humid weather. Word had spread to the whole team about the generous people at the bakery, so most everyone stopped by to pick up yummy baked goods on the way to work. The pastry with the coconut filling was really yummy! The island is fairly small and we are able to walk from our condo to the clinic site in less than 10 minutes. As we arrived finishing our pastries, owners were lined up on the benches made for them [View Full Entry]

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Up at 7:30am and off to the second day of surgery and treatments, we stopped off at the Caye Caulker Bakery. It was recommended by locals as well as many tourists. We picked out cinnamon rolls and when it was time to pay, the woman behind the counter smiled and said “Please take anything you want for free. Thank you for coming to help our animals!” Her young son said he would bring his cat “LuvLuv” in to see us later in the day. (By the way, you’ve GOT to try this bakery if you go to Caye Caulker!) During this [View Full Entry]

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Today was our first surgery day in Belize. We have an amazing team of volunteers and everyone played an integral part in the project. [View Full Entry]

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Today the group met up on the island and had a little time to get to know each other before the work starts tomorrow. After unloading all the gear and bags from the boat everyone headed off to their respective accommodations by island taxi (golf carts). The clinic supplies were taken to one of the surgery areas for some preliminary set up. When we arrived in our rooms we were treated with a welcome pack courtesy of the Belize Diving Service (travel mugs, a veterinary clinic painting by a local artisit, meal vouchers, island map etc). Later, they also gave everyone [View Full Entry]

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After many months of planning and preparation the Belize project is now underway. Susan and Dr Cathy were up at 3:30am to meet up for an early flight out of Spokane. It took many months to get all the paperwork finalized for the temporary licenses for all the veterinarians and to get the drug import permits approved. With new airline baggage restrictions and costs we had to be very conscientious of every item we place in our bags to be sure we brought everything we needed and nothing we didn’t. We managed to squeeze everything into 1 large suitcase and 3 [View Full Entry]

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This morning we got up at 6am to head for Loreto. We passed through the the military checkpoint with no trouble this morning. We didn't know where the clinic was located but we figured it was a small enough town that we would find it. After driving the wrong way down a couple one-way streets (they are not marked but the other drivers let you know) and stopping to ask for directions a couple times we had managed to get a good tour of the town but still not find the clinic. We stopped a third time for directions and the [View Full Entry]

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Today was our play and relaxation day and time to get to know each other. It seemed that everyone slept well last night. We only had to turn the AC in one room that was especially hot. We left the doors and windows open in the house and had a pretty nice breeze. We found a bat in Dr Mikes shoe this morning. It very well could have been rabid since it was about to die. It died later in the day. There were a few other critters in and around the house including a couple scorpions. Its pretty much to [View Full Entry]

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The group: Dr Cathy (trip leader) from Deer Park, Washington, Dr Mike a 2008 WSU grad who is soon heading off for an emergency medicine job in Portland, Dr Suzanne a veterinarian from Spokane, Dr Lori a veterinarian from Minneapolis, Erica and Lindsay both 3rd vet students from WSU, Liesl and Christine, both 3rd year veterinary students from Michigan State, Kaitlyn a Psychology student from New Hampshire, Angie a veterinary technican from Washington, Val, a veterinary drug rep from Washington DC and Denise, a librarian from Philadelphia. The World Vets volunteers came from all corners of [View Full Entry]

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