Day One: Jeep's house, Pescadero

The first two days of surgery were in Jeep's living room. The dogs were admitted and recovered outside. The picture below shows the table where all the drugs were kept, which is just outside the entrance to the living room. The stairs in the background led to the upstairs where we slept.

Robin (in khakis) is the husband of Kris Ann, who is a veterinarian and the third surgeon on the trip. Bruce (in blue scrubs) was a surgeon, as was I. Robin was in charge of anesthesia - drugs. The four of us came from the US for this trip. All other volunteers were local gringos (white Americans) or Mexicans.

I took this picture on the fourth day, but it makes sense to put it here. This banner advertised our services, and was at the only street light intersection in the town of Todos Santos, a few miles down the road from Pescadero. We also hired a truck to blast a message from a megaphone, advertising our services. The truck drove through neighborhoods, and hopefully reached people who either didn't see the sign or who can't read. It's a common method of advertising used in the area.

I had spayed one cat prior to this trip, and especially the first day of surgery was trial by fire. This was the bloodiest of all my surgeries, and she had a tough time recovering. This dog was a real challenge for me. Her gums were pale and she was cold after the surgery, but she was fine by the next morning.

We did surgery on tables covered with waterproof cloth that was easily cleaned. The tables were set on cinder blocks (probably left over from construction of the house) so they were at the right height.