Doing the hard job

I hate it that we have to surgically alter the animals in our care. But it must be done. Cats especially have amazing reproductive powers. That's a good thing where they are wild and only live a couple of years and need to keep their populations up.(I remember being told by someone that the average life span of a feral cat was 2 years). Now, with good health care and good food, our cats live into their teens and twenties. With the potential for a couple of litters every year starting when they are as young as six months, well, you'd have a housefull. And so would your neighbors. And your town.

At this time, surgery is the only option until the day there is some sort of safe non-surgical alternative. You won't find a cat taking birth control pills.

In my area we have a new group working hard to lower the number of homeless pets. I'm adding the press release we sent out about the last clinic. There is one scheduled for next month and I will be taking our neighbor's lovely orange tiger girl to it. Her name is Cricket and she is about seven months old. She was found in a parking lot.

Rozzie May Animal Alliance Holds Clinic in Berlin, NH


The Rozzie May Animal Alliance held a low cost spay neuter clinic for cats in Berlin, NH this past Friday. May 30th. Thanks to help from two foundations, Profile Motors and Gemini Sign and Design, the organization now has a citical piece of equipment: a new van tlarge enough to transport all the necessary equipment to set up a day surgery..The van is a big step forward in the long term plans of the organization. The van's first trip was to the much needed clinic in Berlin.

The day started at 6:00 AM when Roz Manwaring, RMAA Executive Director and Diana Knox, surgical assistant headed north to 225 Main Street, Berlin. From Fryeburg Veterinary Hospital, Steve Caffrey, D.V.M, and Mary Evens, veterinary technician, were en route to the same location. By 7:30 equipment was being unloaded to set up a surgery room and a recovery room.

By 8:00 AM volunteers Marie Albee and Karen Nelson were registering patients and completing paperwork. Gus Owen, videographer, arrived to record the day’s events. Sarah Mohla, another veterinary technician arrived. The surgical team was now in place and began physical check ups on waiting feline patients.
Then the recovery nurses, Margarete Stevens and Jean Basile arrived. They would see to the cats comfort after surgery, clean ears, clip nails, do flea checks and monitor everyone’s recovery progress.

Carol Bryans, RMAA President and Terri Conlon, Treasurer, arrived with a home made lunch of a fresh salad bar. Diana Knox’s wonderful desserts topped off the meal.

The 32 feline surgeries, 12 females and 20 males were completed by 2:30 and patients were collected by their families when ready to head home. The van was loaded up and arrived at home base at 7:00 PM after a very long day.

Thanks to the sponsorship of Omar and Wanda Deaderick, two cats who know the advantages of spay/neuter, 22 people were given financial assistance for their pet’s surgery. This clinic was totally booked in two days of its announcement, and there is a waiting list of animals for the next clinic.

This clinic brings the RMAA total to 151 animals surgically altered in five clinic days, including cats, dogs and rabbits. The Alliance’s goal is no more homeless pets in our area and these clinics will directly impact the number of animals entering local shelters. As the RMAA team and it’s coalition of compassionate veterinarians grows, monthly clinics will be scheduled from Berlin to Wolfeboro. If you want to join a winning team or financially support the RMAA, please visit rozziemay.org or call 603-447-3477.