There Are Many Missions

Several of my colleagues have been blessed with the opportunity of participating in a yearly mission trip to the Dominican Republic. I am not able to travel on mission trips but I have discovered my own mission "trip" in downtown Roanoke. One Sunday a month, I volunteer for Alley Cat Angels helping to spay and neuter feral cats. I am not attempting to say that my work with animals is the same as working with a human population in need, but the feeling of helping those who are under served is the same. All of the clinic participants are volunteers, including the veterinarians. Our services help the community in several ways. The problem of feral cat overpopulation has received a lot of media attention in the past year. Alley Cat Angels was born out of the desire to help our community and the feral cats in our area. We believe that the best solution to the increased feral cat population is a trap-neuter- release program. A comprehensive TNR program decreases the number of feral cats in a colony as small kittens and "strays" are moved in to adoptive homes. It also stabilizes the colony, through zero growth, and affords a more healthy colony. For more information on Trap- Neuter-Release, please go to www.alleycat.org.

Many of the volunteers are not medically trained and they do an amazing job with a little instruction. My role changes as needs arise and I enjoy being comfortable with most aspects of the clinic. There are many ways I can help other volunteers with tasks I perform every day; I forget that most people have never drawn medication in to a syringe and that it was an intimidating task for me many years ago. I can do physical exams, shave and prep, circulate an OR, give injections and IVF, use an anesthesia machine and work in PACU.

The clinic is challenging due to its fast pace but it is well organized. We have stations instead of units or departments. There is admission, anesthesia, PE and ear tipping, shave/prep, operating room, post operative fluid and injections, ear cleaning and parasite medication administration and PACU. We have several volunteers cleaning and autoclaving surgical packs. All cats receive vaccinations, antibiotics and pain medication prior to emergence from anesthesia.

I lived in North Carolina, before I relocated to Roanoke, and participated in the same type of clinic in Greensboro. I have been involved in animal rescue, of some sort, for many years. I enjoy working with feral clinics far more than any other rescue venue. I do believe that this is a needed community service. It affords me a chance to use my professional skills in an arena where patient care is the primary focus. I wanted to share a little of my experience with the clinic and how our profession can help the community in a different way.

We started the clinics in March and have spayed and neutered a total of 243 cats in those five months. In July, we did 71 cats and we are hoping for 100 in August!