Clinic Report, Activities, Fundraiser Especial Event and More😻

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On Sunday January 26, 2020, Amigos de Animales spayed or neutered 328 animals, 146 dogs and 142 cats. We had seven wonderful vets working. The day was very smooth and organized; despite the large number of animals, the last one out the door was at about 4:30. Unfortunately, last animal out does not mean our hard working volunteers are through for the day – the clinic still has to be cleaned up with the laundry assembled, the kitchen cleaned, the equipment sterilized and put away, the tables folded, inventory taken for supplies needed for next clinic, and all the other things needed to ensure a smooth transition to next month’s clinic. A special thanks to those volunteers who stay “after hours.” As always, it is wonderful to meet and interact with the pet owners and collectors that we meet in Reception and to see the love and care they have for their dogs or cats. We were very happy to welcome many new volunteers and we hope that they will continue to work with us. As some people move away, it is wonderful to see new faces in the clinic. Judy Sacco, one of our long time volunteers and an original Board member, has been writing various associations in the US asking for grant money to fund our clinics and our mission. This year we received very generous grants from the Summerlee Foundation (http://summerlee.org/) and from the ASPCI that will help us cover the costs of those who come to our clinics but cannot afford to pay the full amount. We are very grateful to Judy and these organizations for their help! TOP CAT AND TAILS The Top Cat and Tails Gala and auction was held on January 23. This sold out event was a great success raising funds to support community efforts to sterilize local cats, provide food, housing, veterinary care, and adoption services for homeless cats and kittens, and provide support for feral cats in the Boquete community. Thank you to everyone who attended and supported this effort. See you next year! CALENDAR FOR 2021 The Amigos de Animales calendar is one of our biggest fundraisers of the year.  The cost of a pet page is $150. This popular calendar sells out every year and helps support our mission of low cost spay/neuter services for the animals of the Boquete community.   I hope you will consider making your pet (dog, cat, horse, goose, pig...) a calendar star for 2021. Also, we sell ads to the local businesses which gives them exposure to our 400 calendar buyers every year. Right now, we are looking for someone who could visit the businesses and sign them up for next year.     Please let me know if you are interested in having your special friend be a star or if you could help us with ad sales for the 2021 calendar. AT THE CLINIC – INTAKE and ANESTHESIA After the dog or cat is registered, the family and their animal wait on the side porch for their number to be called. At Intake, the animals is weighed and that is noted on the tag. The weight of the animal is vital to everything else that goes on as all the formulas are weight-based.   Then the animal moves on to Anesthesia where Dottie and Dra Chely administer the anesthesia that will put the animal under for the duration of the surgery. The amount of anesthesia given is based on the weight registered in Intake. This information is noted by the volunteer doing data input. That information follows the animal through the rest of the clinic and automatically computes the dosages given throughout the process. Since the computerization of the clinics, having the formulas already calculated by weight cuts down on the time that was spent manually computing the formulas. And of course, common sense still has a big role to play here. If an animal is seen to be sick or impaired, a further examination will take place. THE GREAT ANIMALES FUNDRAISER/RAFFLE IS BACK! The perfect way for anyone to come and visit beautiful Boquete; first prize includes two round trip tickets to Boquete from either Houston, Miami, or Toronto. You could win other fabulous prizes as well, like a week’s stay at a villa in Bonaire or a one pound a month delivery for a year of the best coffee in the world from Panama. And since we are only selling 200 tickets, the odds are really good. So please donate by getting a ticket and helping us help the animals of Boquete and the surrounding areas.   Scan the Code and Get Your Ticket Here Panama recognizes animal rights and feelings   From La Prensa, Feb 2, 2020 The awareness that our species has obligations to the other living beings that surround us, begins to manifest itself in our legislation. Two bills, passed in the third debate this week, draw a stricter regulation with the duties and rights of pet owners, and severe penalties for those who abuse, mistreat or abandon a pet. Bill 173 extends the protections contained in Law 70 of 2012, and clarifies the role of administrative and judicial authorities in the proceedings for abuses against domestic animals. In turn, bill 39 articulates an ambitious system of animal welfare departments in each municipality, financed with 3% of decentralization funds. Although both initiatives are loaded with idealism and voluntarism, they also recognize the long path in education and awareness that must be followed. The most important achievement of any legislation is to change the mentality that animals are things or objects, to recognize that they are beings with rights and feelings that must be respected and valued. This is great news for Panama. Note that they mention voluntarism and education, two things that Animales recognizes as very important to our mission. AMAZON SMILE We know lots of you use Amazon but did you know that you can shop and do good at the same time? Sign up for Amazon Smile and support Animales with every purchase Here is how you can sign up: How to shop AmazonSmile: 1. Visit smile.amazon.com 2. Sign in with your Amazon.com credentials 3. Search for the charity of your choice: Amigos de Animales, Inc.  Ft. Myers, FL 4. Select it as your charity 5. Start shopping! – remember that you always have to go to smile.amazon.com to donate.   Alicia McGuigan President

Amigos Welcomes its new sponsor MAIL BOXES ETC, will sponsor all the registration forms, animal tags, logs etc at no charge for each one of the clinics. Welcome and Thank You Arturo Gonzalez. Copyright © 2020 Amigos de Animales, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Amigos de Animales chiriqui Boquete Panama Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.