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Interview with Meghann Berglund DVM, CVA
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"I read on the College of Veterinary Medicine website that you have
volunteered in Mexico to help with the animal overpopulation. How did
you find out about this trip and what did you experience while you
were there? What struck you the most during your time there?"
As I mentioned, I had some extraordinary classmates in veterinary
school. Cristina Gutierrez and Ruth Parkin are two of my classmates
and friends, and are both exceptional veterinarians and human beings.
More than the president and vice-president of the organization (and
sophomore veterinary students at the time), they are the heart and
soul of VIDAS (Veterinarios Internacionales Dedicados a Animales
Sanos, or International Veterinarians Dedicated to Animal Health).
They approached me my sophomore year of veterinary school and invited
me to become a part of VIDAS.
VIDAS (Spanish for "lives") is a non-profit international veterinary
outreach organization made up of veterinarians, veterinary students,
and other animal lovers. VIDAS sets up free clinics in some of the
fastest growing and poorest areas in the world. We focus on safe
sterilization, vaccination, and parasite control for pets, as well as
education for the citizens of the community--most importantly their
children-- about safe animal handling, zoonotic (animal to human)
disease and general animal husbandry and health care.
I participated in my first clinic the summer of 2003, and was
absolutely blown away not only by the need for veterinary services in
the areas where our clinics were held, but also by the amazing people
who answered the call to provide it. Seeing animals decimated by
malnutrition and ravaged by disease was sobering but also inspiring.
Our trips became so much more than "spay/neuter and vaccine clinics".
We splinted broken legs, treated tick-borne illnesses, extracted
diseased and painful teeth, repaired birth defects, and performed
emergency gastrointestinal surgery. We removed ticks from dogs whose
ears were so infested they were nearly deaf. We trimmed claws that
had grown into the bottom of well-worn pads. We administered
anti-parasitic drugs to puppies whose bodies were brimming with
parasites that not only robbed them of nutrition but also threatened
the health of the humans with whom they shared their shelter. We
vaccinated against some of the most deadly and preventable diseases
known to the animal population. We fed litters of starving kittens.
We provided shelter and water for those exhausted by the Mexican heat.
But most importantly, we taught the citizens of the communities we
served to do the same. Comfort, nourish, love, and protect. These
amazing people positively came alive when presented with the knowledge
to provide better care for their pets.
In a nation where what little
income a family produces may not even be able to feed their children,
the heartfelt gratitude for what little assistance we could provide
these families in caring for their pets was astounding.
My most memorable VIDAS experience was meeting Lizzie, in the summer
of 2005. When she came to us, she was weary and emaciated from year
after year of raising puppies at the expense of her own body.
Ovariohysterectomy surgery relieved her of the burden of further
pregnancy, and ensured that no more of her puppies would have to fight
for the right to survive. Her family took her home, along with a
donated bag of puppy food to help her recover. The next year, they
spent what might have been a day's pay to bring her in a taxi to our
clinic for a reunion. She and her teenage puppies were fat and
happy — but we discovered that she had developed a sexually transmitted
cancer. When they learned earlier sterilization surgery could have
prevented the tumor, Lizzie's family referred at least three others to
our clinic for surgery for their pets. The bittersweet truth of
international veterinary work is that there is always more to be done,
but that the circle of knowledge continually expands and grows. Each
time we return to Quintana Roo, we see a few more pets we recognize
from previous years. Families who have attended our clinics with
their own pets round up the pets of their neighbors, co-workers, and
friends and bring them to us for treatment. Community members make us
lunch, bring us water, and give us a place to stay. Children rush to
our clinics each morning to set up recovery blankets, remove ticks,
trim nails, or clean kennels. People in the community open their
hearts, homes and businesses to assist us. We have incredible
volunteers who return year after year-- many on their vacations-- and
who recruit equally incredible new volunteers to join our crews.
> Junior veterinary students tell sophomores, sophomores tell freshmen,
and they all return each summer to our clinics and become crew
surgeons once they graduate. It has been an amazing journey of
service, friendship and compassion, and one of my proudest
accomplishments.
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Meghann L. Berglund, DVM, CVA
Friendship Hospital for Animals
Fort Collins, Colorado
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