Animal Care Samos - www.animalcaresamos.com
After a tiring flight from London to Frankfurt to Athens to Samos I was overjoyed to finally arrive, & to find Joeri waiting for me at the Samos airport. And he was very enthusiastic about getting straight to work sterilising those shelter dogs. After a welcoming breakfast we were off to the shelter to meet the 100 dogs. I was amazed how well the dogs are socialised. There were several groups of around 20 dogs living together & they all seemed to be very content with their packs. Little fluffies, & new dogs were living happily in smaller groups. And wow, how much do these dogs poop....KILOS of it. After 36 hrs hours without sleep I was much happier picking up dog poo than doing any surgery, but how do Joeri & Farida do this every day, 7 days a week AND stay so bloody cheerful. That's dedication to the animals for you!!
The surgery at Animal Care Samos is a credit to Joeri's hard work & determination. There's 2 surgery tables, lots of space, power, water, good light, air con & 2 sterilisers. Its definitely the best set up surgery I've come across while volunteering. It's even better than some I have seen in private vet practice. I couldn't wait to get started.
A minor glitch with anaesthetics, & Joeri was off to an obliging local doc to get a script for injectable valium. I'm a big fan of xylazine sedation, followed by iv valium/ketamine for the dog GA - its safe, a good quick recovery, & cheap 'n' cheerful to boot. Farida & I got to work. She became vet nurse extraordinaire....placing iv butterfly catheters, administering the anaesthetic, intubating the dogs, clipping (with a razor blade when the clippers went kaput), scrubbing, & castrating the cats. Meanwhile I enjoyed the Samos sunshine, nibbling sesame & pistachio snacks, sipping chocolate milk.... its the vets life!! The spay hooks were located & I was a happy aussie. There's nothing like doing a bit of surgery while listening to local Samos radio. I got to catch up on all the 80s classics...its amazing in how many countries I have heard Men at Work's 'Down Under'. Poor Farida, sometimes I just have to sing along.
In 9 days with a few late nights & lots of jokes we:
- neutered 50 animals (25 dogs & 25 cats)
- removed large mammary tumours from 2 dogs,
- sterilised & removed a large vaginal tumour & a polyp from Chihuahua X. The owner, an elderly Greek man, was so delighted he gave a monetary donation, a bag of oranges, a bottle of ouzo, a bottle of wine & an invitation for free coffee at a local cafe!!
- stitched up a large non healing wound on a pet cat (who sadly tested FIV+), & sutured a laceration on a dog from the shelter.
- helped a pet cocker spaniel that had been shaking his head & crying in pain for 1 month who was found to have a perforated eardrum & 3 grass seeds deep in his ear (there's ALWAYS more than 1 seed isn't there!). We had to improvise to make the right tool & Farida got to hear the full extent of my vulgar vocabulary while we were having a frustrating time getting those little grass seeds out.
- amputated the forelimb of Belgian shepherd 'Chris' who was non weight bearing on a chronic non healing fracture of the elbow. This was my 1st scapula removal & big thanks to Aoife who emailed me the surgical 'recipe'. It was a bit hairy using a huge amount of iv anaesthetics (a combo of valium, xylazine, ketamine & butorphanol). I felt like a butcher, & wasn't this supposed to be a 'quick and easy' surgery! That night Farida & I were up through the night making sure Chris had enough pain relief on board. Poor Chris looked pretty bad the next day, & very very pale....he had bled a LOT during the surgery (Ehrlichia??). Incredibly we found a blood collection bag & filter infusion set hidden away in one of the drawers, & a beautiful big donor dog 'Spot'. Spot's blood was 'topS' & had Chris up and bouncing off the walls, and eating his tucker in no time. The good news is that Chris is doing well. Last report Farida had him clothed in cool T-shirts (to stop him licking the incision site) & he was getting loads of TLC by staying in her bedroom. He is an adorable dog, & I hope someone wonderful adopts him.
- repaired a diaphragmatic hernia in a dyspnoeic 5mth old cat 'Biscuit' who had been run over by a car & had also fractured her pelvis. What improvisation girls! We made an ET tube out of a bit of drip tubing & copper wire. Farida had to exhale into the tube every 8 seconds & respirate the cat, while I tried to find the bits of the diaphragm & then suture it all back together again QUICKLY. Luckily, Biscuit still had a couple of those 9 lives left & despite looking like she wasn't going to recover consciousness through the night (damn xylazine/ketamine GA), she went on to make an uneventful recovery. She returned to a very pleased Stavros the local 'cat man'.
- went to midnight mass for Easter Sunday & lit our candles from the eternal travelling orthodox flame. Fortunately none of the local Greek beauty queens, with their hair teased high by abundant squirts of volatile hairspray, caught fire while we were crowded together with our blazing candles in the church. Good luck follows if you take the lit candle home with you, & I saw people driving home with the candle in one hand & steering wheel in the other! Afterwards we went to a traditional Greek feast of sweet bread, red hard boiled eggs, & sheep's intestines soup. Yet again glad to be vegetarian.
- drank at least several Zorba beers, & some Samos sweet wine. Passed on the ouzo though....bad memories of teenage binging.
- ate very delicious vegetarian food - thanks to Farida & Joeri's excellent cooking.
- supped in several excellent restaurants...yum love Greek food....feta, olives, pastries, Greek salads, marinated mushrooms, & veg pitas (souvlakis with chips replacing the meat),
- and still had a bit of time left to explore the scenic island.
I had a fantastic time in Samos. Farida & Joeri are two incredibly dedicated people devoting their lives to improving animal welfare. They are very friendly & welcomed me into their home. I truly feel new inspiration after spending time at Animal Care Samos, & I know that everyone that visits will be so glad they did. Samos is a beautiful island; rolling green hills, olive groves, narrow cobble stoned streets, ancient churches, sunshine, blue skies. What a great place to be a volunteer!
Visit, volunteer......you won't regret it!!
