Member Login
Search
Hey Vet Tech, friends!

We’re about 5-6 months away (depending on when this is published) from the next Project Samana spay/neuter volunteer trip! Project Samana is an outreach organization that sends veterinarians and support staff to Samana to provide medical care to animals in need. That medical care includes spays and neuters, vaccinations, treatment for parasites, basic to advanced medical care for wounds and injuries, post-surgical medication for at home care, and donated collars and leashes.

If you’ve ever wanted a rewarding opportunity to volunteer for an organization like this, the next trip is happening on June 1, 2025 through June 7, 2025! Tentative dates have also been set for other trips in August (3rd-9th) and November (2nd-8th) of 2025! The coordinator of the trip is an amazing CVT named Sarah. If you are interested in participating in one of these trips, you should definitely email Sarah directly at [email protected] to let her know! This trip is truly a valuable learning opportunity for veterans and newbies to the field. The MVTA has historically supported volunteer opportunities and they just so happen to be offering a $1500 volunteer grant, which pretty much covers your entire trip, with a deadline to apply of March 15, 2025 (https://www.massvta.org/mvta-grants).

What to expect? A diverse group of volunteers, from newbies to veterans. This past trip our group included vet tech students, veterinary students, new vet techs, experienced vet techs, new veterinarians, 
experienced veterinarians, hospital support staff, a firefighter/paramedic, and a vet tech’s son. Most of us flew in on Saturday to set the clinic up early, and then we were able to choose how we wanted to spend our Sunday. I chose to spend my day at the pool and on the beach. Others opted for a horseback riding and waterfall trip to Parada La Manzana, a Dominican lunch, and a few drinks!.

Monday was day one at the clinic and it was a huge success! It took a hot minute to get situated, but we were up and running by 9:30am. Anesthesia in the Dominican is truly a different experience than anesthesia in your typical american clinic. As a very confident VTS in anesthesia & analgesia, I have to say, the anesthesia on these trips keeps me on my toes about 10x more than the most critical surgeries I have been involved in. The combination of anesthetics used, makes it really challenging to determine if our patients are experiencing the expected side effects of the drugs or if they are taking a turn for the worse. The equipment is limited and sometimes unreliable, so utilizing manual efforts to monitor are key in these scenarios. I was lucky to have a partner in crime on the anesthesia team this year; a firefighter/paramedic married to one of the techs on the trip. Aside from explaining a few veterinary specific differences, he was on top of monitoring our patients, and adjusting anesthetics as necessary. By the end of the day, the team was able to examine and treat multiple cats and dogs with problems ranging from fleas, skin issues, mange, and respiratory illness. In total, our team performed 38 surgeries and included spays, neuters, enucleation, and a screw worm wound care on a German Shepherd Dog named Loba. We finally ended the day with a delicious dinner at one of the local restaurants, Santa Bahia Restaurant!

On Tuesday, we hit the ground running! We had people placing IV catheters that had never placed IV catheters. We had people performing endotracheal intubation that had never performed endotracheal intubation, and they were nailing it every time! Everyone teaches everyone and everyone learns something during this trip. The day was busy and we all moved like a well oiled machine. Unfortunately, we had a few close calls, 4 to be exact, but with the attention and the CPR skills of the volunteers on this trip, we counted zero anesthetic fatalities. I have to give amazing props to our firefighter/paramedic volunteer, because he quickly identified a coding patient! The criticalist and our trip leader, Sarah, came up with some different anesthetic protocols to, hopefully prevent, any more anesthetic complications. Just as we were wrapping up the day, a man ran into the clinic with his dog that happened to be bleeding profusely from its hind limb. The dog’s limb and artery had been lacerated with shards of a broken sink and, thankfully we were all still there and able to provide life saving surgery to this dog. At the end of the day, we counted 40 completed surgeries. 

Wednesday was a leisure day for all of us. Some of us rested at the hotel pool and private beach, some of us tended to patients from the day before, and some of us enjoyed the views at a rooftop bar and pool. The highlight of the day was a gorgeous catamaran ride that was gifted to the volunteers with Project Samana by Illeana from Moto Marina. We were welcomed aboard with cocktails before the Captain set sail to Cayo Levantado, a private island in Samana Bay. We all jumped overboard for some warm water swimming before hopping back on board for some marathon dancing! No one wanted the night to end. We continued to dance, for what felt like hours, while docked back on land. We headed back to the hotel parking lot where I had the fright of my life when the friendly (but not to me) parking lot donkey charged me from out of nowhere. I guess everyone knew there was a parking lot donkey, but this was my first interaction, and my life flashed before my eyes. Thankfully, my life was spared as the donkey was on a tether. But seriously… yikes!!!!

Thursday and Friday went off without much concern. It was determined the animal star of our trip, a German Shepherd named Loba, with the screw worm infestation, would need a hind limb amputation to provide her with the best possible future in the Dominican Republic. The surgery lasted 5 hours, and despite the stress of having to perform an amputation with minimal supplies and equipment, it was the highlight of the trip. This situation was a first for many with some great learning opportunities that included a veterinary criticalist performing a disarticulation amputation, a firefighter/paramedic learning how to perform a lumbosacral epidural, and the use of a wood burning tool to assist with cauterizing bleeding vessels! So wild! Loba went on to recover well in the care of one of the volunteers who lives in the Dominican. We have since received updates on her and she is doing amazingly well!

By the end of the week we had completed 152 surgeries that included spays, neuters, amputations, enucleations, and fixing an arterial bleed. We vaccinated over 100 animals and provided preventative care to many more. Sadly, it all had to come to an end and everyone headed home on Saturday. I can’t say enough how grateful I feel to have been a part of this trip. The group of volunteers I share this memory with are amazing! And if you are curious but afraid to volunteer, I highly suggest you put yourself out there and just do it! You will amaze yourself and you will quickly become a valued member of Project Samana!