Vet Interns Find Adventure, Friendly Communities and Sometimes a New Pet on Their Journey

Our spay-neuter clinics in the poorest communities of Mexico attract the most dedicated and adventurous volunteers and veterinarians from the U.S. and Mexico. Two such extraordinary veterinarians came from Massachusetts to participate in our Spay-Neuter Clinic Internship Program where they and others volunteers in the team performed surgery on hundreds of dogs and cats.

Dr. Elizabeth Cowan, D.M.V. from Massachusetts was one of the extraordinary veterinarians. She said, “Ensenada is a wonderful city and the people there are so hospitable. The volunteers at AAOFUS/4 PATAS made us feel at home from the moment we arrived. Maja and I felt truly inspired to be a part of this wonderful team (AAOFUS-4 PATAS). We learned a great deal about shelter medicine, the struggles that the volunteers and the organization deal with on a daily basis, and the rewards of being able to transform debilitated dogs from the streets into loving pets ready for adoption, most going to the U.S. to wonderful lives. The ones that stay are not so lucky, but are fixed and people get educated little by little about the importance of spaying/neutering.”

Dr. Elizabeth Cowan fell in love with Mia, a beagle mix, while working the spay-neuter internship. Mia was a very malnourished little dog. Everybody thought Mia was going to die, but they worked very hard with her and saved her life. Dr. Cowan adopted Mia from and she now lives with Dr. Cowan in Massachusetts. Thank you.