Clinica Laika Sept 27

On this morning we held a small campaña at Clinica Laika in Habana Vieja.
For those of you that follow our blog you will know this is a home away from home for us.

As always proper attire is required.

Gladys, does it really take three guys to dress you?

Yamilis Correa from our sponsoring Cuban NGO brought her cat to the campaña.

It takes many people to make these campañas run smoothly.
Téc. Jordan Acosta Moya, from Quinta de los Molinos, always joins us and oversees the recovery room.

He also administers an antibiotic injection and tattoos the patient's ear.

Natacha Nuñes, a teacher at the Veterinary School,
attended with one of her students,Omar Peña.
Yordan shows the student his tattoo technique.

Dra. Arely Estébanez Suarez & Dr. Víctor Luís Montané work together.

Dra. Susana Landrian Iglesias

Even will all our efforts to provide a safe procedure there are sometimes complications.

Vlad is one of numerous dogs that are cared for by workers of various institutions in
Havana Vieja. In this case the Museo Orfebrería (silverware).

Dr.Belovich administered fluids, we brought from Canada, and kept watch over Vlad until his release.

On this morning...
dogs 5 neuters 4 spays
cats 2 neuters 5 spays
total 16

Once the instruments are packed away the collaboration continues.

Dr. Alexei Cabrera
Dr.Byron Maas
Dr.Michael Belovich
and
Dr.Fernando Gispert
get together to consult on an x-ray.

The sharing of experiences and techniques is a very important part of the
Spanky Project's mandate.

Not all of these involve veterinary care.

Alexei gives Byron an orientation and explains the technical aspects of his 1948 Whizzer.

Monday September 26

Up and out early, we headed for San Miguel de Pedron.

We arrived at the Consultorio veterinario Dra Danis Rivero Garcés.
The Spanky Project and Dra.Danis have been collaborating since June 2009

We are here to deparasitize and vaccinate 50 dogs in preparation for a sterilization campaña in late November.

They came in various shapes and sizes.

Thanks to Sergio Chan and Bayer for their ongoing support of Cubans and their animals.
Bayer donated Drontal Plus for the deparasitization part of our campaign.

After lunch we headed to Finca Vigia to check in with our four legged friends.

Dr.B brought a "doggy bag" of lunch leftovers.

Once the dogs were taken care of Ada Rosa, directora of Finca Vigia, gave our group a tour.

We had the great privledge of going inside to view the newly restored Hemingway kitchen.Our official day wound up with a visit to Clinica Veterinaria Laika in Habana Vieja.
This is a clinic where we work each trip.
This visit was to prepare for the next day's sterilization campaña and to present a surprise or two.
Little did we know the first surprise would be for us. Waiting to greet us upon our arrival was the newly appointed interim director of

Clínica Veterinaria ¨Jose Luis Callejas¨on Calle Carlos III,
Dr. Rafael Pino Ventosa

Dr.Pino was an absolute pleasure to meet with.
He extended the use of his clinic to host any campaigns we care to hold.
¨Jose Luis Callejas¨ is a large facility which once housed the veterinary school.

Our first surprise for Clinica Laika was a generous donation from Marilou of Vacaville, California.
The tattoo outfit will be used to mark each furry patient post sterilization.
Dr.Belovich presented the second surprise.
This came courtesy of Dr.B's mother.
A laptop computer loaded with digitized veterinary text books ... mostly in Spanish.

If you have recently upgraded to a new laptop, I can find a loving home for your recent discard.
We clean the hard drives and then load them with veterinary texts.

Wishlist Wednesday

We're back !

What a wonderful week.

Thanks go to the veterinarians at Jose Marti Airport.
They had their carbon paper at the ready to facilitate our entry.
As always, we arrived with our supplies pre-cleared by MINVEC/EMED and the Institute of Veterinary Medicine (IMV)

Our four bags, totaling over 200 lbs, took care of our checked baggage allowance.
Thanks to those of you who have delivered donations during your vacations.

This allows us to concentrate on the delivery of medicine, anesthetics and other supplies with which "travelers" would not be able to enter.

Our hosts for the week were Evora and Manuel at Prado#20
I take every opportunity I can to book into this
Casa Particulare.
With views like this, why would you stay anywhere else?

After spending the day finalizing details for the week's program Susana, Spanky Project's Coordinator, had a wonderful invitation for us.
We were invited to a performance at the Teatro Nacional de Cuba by Danza Libre dance troupe from Guantanamo Province.

Susana, on the left, searches in here bag while and her good friend Danza Libre's Director Alfredo Velazquez looks on.

After the show...

... Dr.Belovich bought dinner. Jeje !

Looking forward to future reports on this trip ...
Sterilization campañas
"Desparasitación Masiva de Mascotas"
Collaboration with Cuban Veterinary students
and the
signing of an important agreement.

++++
It's Wishlist Wednesday.
Here is a short list of needs.

Antibiotics:
Amoxil: 100 mg capsule, 200 or 250 mg capsules:
Cephalexin:ie Novolexin 250 mg tabs/caps
Amoxil/Clavulanic acid: ie Bioclav or Clavamox 62.5mg & 125mg or Clavaseptin 50mg & 250mg
Enrofloxacin: Baytril 15mg & 50 mg
Marbofloxacin: Zenequin 25 mg & 50 mg
Clindamycin: Antirobe 25mg/ml suspension or 25 mg capsules

Non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatories
Meloxicam: 20 mg/ml injectable 20 ml or 1.5 mg/ml suspension 10 and 32 ml bottles
Rimadyl: 25 mg tablets or 75 mg tablets – bottles of 60 or 180
Previcox: all sizes

Suture Needles – to be used with cassettes of suture
Reverse Cutting 3/8th circle #13 – come in packages of 10 (for dogs)
Reverse Cutting 3/8th circle #20 – come in packages of 10 (for cats)

Suture Casettes
Catgut Medium Chromic 2/0 50 m cassette
Supramid 2/0 100m cassette

Suture
Monocryl 2/0 Y943H FS1 dyed
Monocryl 3/0 Y923H FS2 dyed

Needles :
22 g ¾ inch box of 100
25 g 3/8 inch box of 100

Syringes:
3 cc with 22 g ¾ needles or 25 g needles
1 cc with 24 g 3/8th inch needles

Antiparasitic :
Ivermectine 1%
Spot on flea tick prevention
Droncit, Drontal Plus
Pyraquantal

Misc. :
Hot water bottles
Nail clippers
#40 shaver blades for Oster shavers

Thanks in advance for
helping Cubans help their animals !!

Busy end to the year.

This year is rapidly coming to it's end.
With two "missions" in the planning, there hardly seems to be enough time ... or funding.

At the end of September the Spanky Project and Dr.Michael Belovich, of Toronto's
Yonge Street Animal Hospital, head to Havana.
We will supply and participate in ...
four sterilization campañas,
one massive deparasitation
and
two vaccination clinics.
(details to follow)

Emma Clifford, founder and director of Animal Balance, will join us for the week.
She will be meeting many of the dedicated groups and individuals that are helping Cuba's animals.
The hopeful result will be future collaborations with the Spanky Project in Cuba.

Also with us will be Christy Alcebo of Florida based Peluma .
We will be delivering over $5,000 worth of supplies.
Thanks to all who have donated via our PayPal link.

If you live in the USA, Animal Balance will accept donations and ear mark them for Cuba.
These fund will purchase supplies to be delivered from Canada.
They will also issue tax receipts.
Click here to go to Animal Balance's donation page.
Please be sure to specify Cuba or Spanky Project on your donation.
If you are located in Canada ... tax deductible donations can be made by cheque through Mackenzie Papineau Memorial Fund.
They are a Canadian registered charitable group.

mail cheques to:
Mackenzie-Papineau Memorial Fund,
Att: S. Skup, Treasurer
56 Riverwood Terrace,
Bolton, Ontario, L7E 1S4

Include your name, address and telephone number to ensure you receive a tax receipt.
Also, specify Spanky Project on the memo line.

In December the Spanky Project will return to Havana with a group of Canadian Veterinarians.
We will work in collaboration with our Cuban counterparts on a variety of veterinary projects.
We will also celebrate the second annual Cuba - Canada Veterinary Day.

It's been a busy year.

There will be a brighter future ... thanks to you.

Barrio Santo Angel

At the mouth of the Havana harbour tunnel and spreading westward is the neighbourhood known as Santo Angel.

This is a barrio in transition.
The rejuvenation that has taken place in tourist-centered Habana Vieja is now spreading outward.

We are here to meet a community organizer and activist that is behind some of these changes.

As we walked down this street ...

... and up these stairs we had no idea what we were to encounter.

This building houses the salon of Gilberto Valladares Reina (Papito).

The walls are covered with “art related to the handling of scissors”.

Papito has quite a history. He was troublesome in his youth until he found his calling as a pelequero (hair stylist).
Now he gives the same opportunity to the youth of Havana by offering barber and styling courses at his school.
It too is filled with art ...


..some rather comic.

The neighbourhood is certainly being rejuvenated.

Calles Cuarteles is and example.

Two studio of note are ...

Estudio Martalena

located at

Cuarteles No: 64 e / Habana y Aguar Habana Vieja

and across the street ceramist Carlos Planas has his home and studio.

As I mentioned in my previous posting the area's veterinary "consultorio" is being renovated and will re-open in September.
Allow me to introduce Humberto

He is the head of this neighbourhood clinic.
The locals are very happy to have their clinic back.

Should you find yourself in need of some styling or
would just like to help the community drop by
Calle Aguiar #10, between Pena Pobre and Avenida de las Misiones.

I hear a style will run you 5 CUC.
You could always forgo the style,leave 5 CUC, and just have a look.

Tell them the Spanky Project sent you.