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RAM
Veterinary Volunteers |
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Spay/Neuter
Program
The problem of pet overpopulation is one that reaches
almost every community. Despite the work of devoted
animal care workers and volunteers, many healthy animals
are euthanized as their numbers outpace adoption rates.
The veterinary division of Remote Area Medical is addressing
this problem by assisting communities such as Dothan,
Alabama, whose city shelter was overwhelmed by animals
displaced by Hurricane Katrina. In June of 2006, RAM
Veterinary Director Bruce Langlois DVM and volunteer
Brenda Kennedy, working with the Save-A-Pet organization,
returned to the Dothan Animal Shelter in Alabama to
complete their second spay/neuter clinic at this location
in four months. This clinic culminated in a roundtable
discussion, with representatives from shelter and rescue
organizations around the country, to explore the topic
of animal welfare and promote the expansion of the RAM
spay/neuter program. In addition to events in the U.S.,
spay/neuter clinics were also completed in Baja California,
Mexico and Guyana, South America in 2006.
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To achieve the goal
of reducing the euthanasia rate of healthy, adoptable
animals, Dr. Langlois has developed a RAM Spay/Neuter
Clinic Manual that provides instruction to groups
on how to successfully implement one of these events.
This manual was used for the first time at a spay/neuter
clinic on August 19-20 at Lincoln Memorial University
in Harrogate, Tennessee. The eventual goal of RAM
Vet is to spay or neuter 100,000 animals through a
series of these clinics hosted throughout the U.S.
and other areas in need worldwide. Organizations or
volunteers interested in hosting or participating
in a spay/neuter clinic should contact Dr. Langlois
at brucelangloisdvm@yahoo.com.
Bruce's manual, developed
to streamline this project, can be acquired here.
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Integrated
Wildlife/Community Programs
The interplay between community welfare, livestock management
and wildlife is a complex issue, particularly in countries
such as Guyana, South America where resources, educational
services, and access to health care for both people
and animals is limited. The majority of the country
is rural and remote, and large sections are inhabited
by Amerindian tribes. The south of the country, a region
known as the Rupununi, is comprised of savannah, forests
and mountains, and supports many villages who rely,
in part, on livestock for subsistence.
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| Guyana is a country rich
in natural wonders, and its wildlife is a valuable resource.
To encourage preservation of this biodiversity and motivate
local people to participate in protecting the wildlife,
RAM Vet is working with local organizations such as Caiman
House, Karanambu Ranch and Dadanawa Ranch. These groups
support ecotourism, conduct projects on wildlife research
and protection, operate cattle ranches, and also are focused
on involving local people in these projects. At the same
time, they are also developing community programs to improve
education and teach skills to local people, to help empower
them to improve their own lives and to derive income from
their endeavors. |
RAM Community Based Animal
Healthcare Worker Program
Another RAM project is the Community Based Animal Healthcare
Worker Program. This program was developed by director
Bruce Langlois DVM with the help of Dr. Sandra Chapman.
The goal of the program is to provide education and
training to people in various places of the world, who
rely on livestock for their livelihood, but have no
access to veterinary healthcare. Livestock owners and
caretakers are recruited from local villages and, upon
completion of the course, become designated animal healthcare
workers. The training program starts with one to two
days of classroom instruction covering topics such as
basic anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology,
and how to perform a physical exam and identify and
treat common diseases. Following this instruction, the
students travel to neighboring villages for three to
four days where, under the supervision of the veterinarians,
they gain hands-on experience with examining animals,
developing lists of medical problems, and initiating
treatment programs. They also learn to perform routine
procedures such as humane livestock handling, administration
of medications and castration of different species.
By the end of the course, the students have seen a large
variety of cases and have a working knowledge of diseases
that are prevalent in their area. Students are also
given a comprehensive textbook, written by Drs. Langlois
and Chapman, to keep as a reference for future use.
This project has been successfully completed with the
Wapashani and Makushi Amerindians in Guyana, as well
as with the Maasai tribe in Kenya. Other courses are
currently being scheduled.
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Agriculture
Consultation
In many remote areas of the world, where access
to equipment and other resources are limited, livestock
and agriculture are raised by traditional methods. In
these circumstances, small changes in practices can
have a great impact on production. RAM Vet volunteers
with backgrounds in animal husbandry, crop production
and veterinary medicine can evaluate the agricultural
community and make recommendations for improvements.
This typically involves a period of immersion into a
community to understand why certain practices are performed.
A thorough understanding of the culture is necessary
to be able to make recommendations that will be accepted
and followed. Previous agriculture consultations have
resulted in an artificial insemination program in Guyana
to improve the genetics of the cattle, a dip tank reactivation
program in Kenya to control tick borne disease and a
thorough deworming program to control parasites in the
goats of the Appalacian Mountains in northeastern Tennessee.
These programs, while challenging to implement, result
in sustainable changes that have long-lasting effects
on improving the heath and welfare of people and their
animals.
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Disease Surveillance
and Control
In the past, RAM vets have been called in to
help with livestock disease surveillance and to consult
on setting up disease control programs in remote areas
of the world. One such program involved assisting the
government of Guyana in testing over 650 head of free-ranging
cattle for foot and mouth disease. When foot and mouth
disease broke out in neighboring Brazil, the Guyana
livestock industry was devastated when regulations ended
all exports of cattle. The project of screening the
cattle was completed on the dairy herds on the coast
of Guyana, but cattle in remote areas in the south needed
to be tested. It was a task the government and its veterinarians
saw as impossible, so they called upon RAM for assistance.
A team of RAM veterinarians and volunteers completed
the surveillance in 10 days. Gaining access to these
cattle can be challenging, especially during the rainy
season, but RAM Vet volunteers helped the government
meet the deadline for this testing. Due to the success
of this project, Guyana was issued a foot and mouth
disease free status, and can now export livestock again.
RAM Vet volunteers are available to assist in similar
situations in the future.
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Shelter Program Consultation
and Veterinarian Surgical Instruction
There are many shelters and animal welfare organizations
throughout the world that are dedicated to the care of
unwanted companion animals. The members of these organizations
work tirelessly, often in less-than-ideal facilities,
with limited funds and resources. The veterinary division
of Remote Area Medical has recently expanded the goals
of its spay/neuter program to provide a consultation service
to help address specific needs of animal welfare programs.
An interested group, national or international, can invite
RAM Vet to evaluate all aspects of their program, including
facilities set-up, preventative medicine and treatment
protocols, quarantine guidelines, surgical services and
adoption programs. With a streamlined approach, organizations
can use resources efficiently and provide care to more
animals. In addition to program consultation, RAM Veterinary
Volunteers can provide surgical instruction to veterinarians
to help increase the number of spay/neuters that can be
performed without compromising patient safety and care.
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RAM Veterinary
Center
Remote Area Medical is in the planning stages of an
ambitious project to build a Veterinary Center in the
Rupununi of Guyana. This facility will consist of a
veterinary clinic, pastures, paddocks, chutes and stocks
for livestock handling, and a laboratory, pharmacy and
classroom for instruction and seminars. There will also
be living quarters for visiting professionals and a
caretaker. The clinic will be used by visiting veterinarians
to examine, diagnose and treat problems in cattle, sheep,
horses and small animals. In addition to being used
as a fully functional veterinary clinic, the facility
will also be utilized for a variety of projects including
the RAM Community Based Animal Healthcare Worker Program.
Other classes will include training for artificial insemination,
livestock management and crop production. The center
will also be utilized for agricultural, livestock, wildlife
and eco-health research. Fundraising is currently underway
for this project.
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Volunteers/Donations
RAM Vet has a large variety of projects and is in need
of volunteers. Veterinarians, veterinary technicians,
veterinary assistants, and agricultural experts are
especially needed. RAM Vet seeks individuals who have
a spirit of adventure, a love of animals and a desire
to help animals and the people who depend upon them.
If you would like to learn more about one of the RAM
Vet projects, are interested in becoming a volunteer,
or would like to make a donation to support RAM Vet
projects, please contact the veterinary director, Dr.
Bruce Langlois, by e-mail at brucelangloisdvm@yahoo.com
or phone at (616) 437-6597. Thank you for your interest
and support.
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Recent Expedition Update:
Remote Area Medical Teams up with Best Friends
Animal Society
At the request of Best Friends Animal Society,
the largest sanctuary for abused and abandoned animals
in the nation, Remote Area Medical traveled to Ica,
Peru and Beirut, Lebanon to provide educational and
surgical services. In August 2007, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake
ravaged the city of Ica in Peru, causing widespread
death and destruction. This left an expanding population
of hungry, homeless companion animals and no means of
dealing with this problem as the town struggled to recover
from this catastrophic event. In November 2007, RAM
Veterinary Director Dr. Bruce Langlois and veterinary
student Jessica Perpich took on the mission to perform
spay/neuter clinics in small communities surrounding
Ica. Another key accomplishment of the expedition was
to train the local veterinarians to efficiently perform
spay/neuter clinics and to improve their surgical techniques,
so they can continue to assist in controlling the problem
of pet overpopulation.
Almost halfway around the world from Peru, another
country struggles to deal with a man-made “disaster”
– war. At the outset of the war in Lebanon, many
people fled the country, but were unable to take their
pets along, so these animals were left to the streets
to fend for themselves or confined in buildings. Dr.
Bruce Langlois traveled to Beirut, Lebanon in February
2008 to work with a devoted group of volunteers from
an organization called BETA (Beirut for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals). This is the only animal rescue
organization in the city. They initiated a spay/neuter
program and enlisted the help of Dr. Langlois to assist
them in assessing their shelter and spay/neuter program.
In addition, he trained 3 local veterinarians and helped
them to improve their surgical techniques. By the time
of his departure, all the animals at the shelter were
surgically sterilized.
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Events
Schedule
Previous Events:
• Spay/Neuter Clinics, Guatemala: March 11-18,
2007
• Spay/Neuter Clinic, Grand Rapids, Michigan:
June 30, 2007
• Spay/Neuter Clinics, San Cristobal, Chiapas,
Mexico: July 27-29, 2007
• Spay/Neuter Clinic, Ionia, Michigan: Sept. 15,
2007
• Spay/Neuter Clinic, Lincoln Memorial University,
Tennessee: Sept. 22-23, 2007
• Spay/Neuter Clinic, Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Nov. 10, 2007
• Veterinarian Teaching Program and Spay/Neuter
Clinics, Ica, Peru: Nov. 17-23, 2007
• Spay/Neuter Clinic, Ionia, Michigan: Dec. 8,
2007
• Veterinarian Surgical Instruction Program and
Spay/Neuter Clinics, Beirut, Lebanon: Feb. 12-16, 2008
• Spay/Neuter Clinics, Baja California, Mexico:
March 1-8, 2008
• Spay/Neuter Clinic, Lincoln Memorial University,
Tennessee: May 31-June 1, 2008
• Shelter Program Consultation in Tennessee, June
2008
• Spay/Neuter Clinics, Knoxville and Sunset Gap,
Tennessee, Dec. 5-7, 2008
• Veterinarian Surgical Instruction Program, Jamaica,
Dec. 8-9, 2008
• Spay/Neuter Clinics and Shelter Program Consultation,
Dominican Republic, Dec. 10-12, 2008
Upcoming Events:
• Disease Surveillance Expedition, Guyana, South
America: March 2009
• Spay/Neuter Clinic, Lincoln Memorial University,
Tennessee: May 30-31, 2009
• Spay/Neuter Clinic, Grundy October 3-4. 2009
• Spay/Neuter Clinic, Newport TN April 25-26 for
Newport TN
• Spay/Neuter Clinic, Cocke County TN July 18-19.
• Spay/Neuter Clinic, Marshall Islands Jan/Feb
2010
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