Castration And Sterilization Campaign, From 14 January To 24 January 2011

The planning for the campaign began November 10, 2010 … two months of preparation with meetings, exchanges of ideas, great teamwork, and the great, great desire to do something good. For these dogs, those cats. 
These furry creatures, messy hair, thousands of colors and expressions, which slowly started to become so many real lovely little faces, wet noses, wagging tails. 

The organization of this campaign has taken a lot of time and energy to all of us, and we have become a wonderful bunch, where Italian, English, Portuguese and Capeverdean, …and dogs and cats…. have created a brand new language.. that everybody understands!!!J 

Advertising, distribution of information, photocopying, hundreds of posters all over Sal, thousands of leaflets distributed, thousands of conversations, emails, phone calls, lots of ideas, and the radio announcement, and the newspaper articles, and the continuous dialogue with the Camara Municipal and Ministry of Health, and the CD made by the famous DJ, and the “advertising car” that was going around with the loudspeakers at full power firing “… Free … Free … Free ….” and finding the tables and the cages for the two locations, and the military’ tents, and start early bookings, and buy cleaning products, and organize all lunches, and make arrangements with hotels, …and here come the vets, and here all starts, with all these people who bring their animals, and here the project becomes a reality: look!

Look at all these dogs, white, ocher, brown, blacks, colored spots like cows, short hair, long hair, hairless, tall and slender or short legs with dachshunds, puppies, adults, and among the various colorful cats, brought in the strangest ways, just grabbed by the legs, inside a variety of handbags, in cardboard boxes, in jute bags, inside T-shirts…

All these animals, all these people, all these stories … and these ten incredible days.
436 sterilizations and a total of 510 operations. 
Hey, Hey!!! 436!!!!! 510!!!!
the participation of local people .. it was huge, and the results were sensational! 
And everything, everything, everything went so well! 

And all this thanks to you all. So many people that want just to help: an immense gift!!!!!
Thousand small gestures that made the difference. 
Thanks. Thanks to all of you.

As a start an immense thanks to Monika, the Austrian woman who has done the fundraising that made possible this great campaign. Monika, that came here with two friends, the amazing Susanne and Annelore and work, work, work. A trio of inexhaustible energy. Thanks for being here, thanks for all the help.

Thanks to Thomas, Ines and Melanie, that worked endlessly showing us not only that they are truly great professionals, but also that passion, compassion, love and care can really make the difference. 
We welcome a great team – which is good – and we say goodbye to great friends 
– which is immensely better!!!!! 
Thomas, Ines, Melanie…you are in our heart !!!!

Many thanks to the Authorities, who have listened, supported, aided with great public spirit and interest.
thanks to Mr Antero Alfama and Mr Euclides Gonçalves of the City Hall, thanks to Dott. Ana Paula Dias Santos from the Health Department and the Chief Commander of the Capoverdean Army.

Thanks to our local Vet, Dottora Fatyma Santos, and her assistant Anabela, we started with the mange treatment on my office’s street dogs… … and look at where we are now !!!!!! Thanks for the help, assistance and presence.

Thanks to the amazing Jacquie Cozens, organization’s genius: without her, her great experience, passion and energy, our (hers) effective organizational machine would not even be born.

Thanks to Neal! A man that can organize, build, rebuild, create, capture stray dogs and be also a great nurse …mmmh….are you really human? 😉 

A big thank you to Mister Daniele, the Director of Farol, who so generously offered all inclusive accommodation for our fantastic three ladies. 

Thanks to another Mister Daniele, the vice director of Riu Hotel that offer all the dinner for the Vets we need! 

Thanks to Belorizonte Hotel that via dear Miss Simone offer some petrol money and two dinners.

Thanks Sarah, Melisa and Holly, you have been our Angels in many schools, offering information, and learning/teaching with a smile to many children!

Thanks a lot to our beautiful Ladies of the Lunches, which, led by amazing Linda, (also Master of the board and big help in so many ways) who took care that we had delicious food everyday! thanks to Linda, Yvonne, Cheryl, Liz, Carol and Patrizia, the Spaghetti Queen! 

Thanks to Marika, who every morning offered her time and pick up transporting people and animals, going around talking to people, explaining, translating; thanks to Filomena, sweet Italian lady that loves cats—and cats love her! 

Thanks to Marta, quite and cheerful at the same time, so good in communicating to both adults and children! 

Thanks to Sally who devote many mornings of her holiday for our great cause, to Margot who teach us the value of patience, to Corinna that can talk in so many languages-always smiling! 

Thanks to Dada, who made great deal for our Vets and for our trio of ladies, and have been huge help on moving staff from the two Clinics, to Marco and Chetty that offer us almost for free the Santa Maria location, to Francesco, our magical MacGyver, —American nickname but a miracle man all Italian—, who with two sticks and duct tape can build us a skyscraper! 

Thanks to Debora, the most beautiful smile I ever saw, always open to help, in so many different ways; thanks to Patty (Lozzi), that find so many great contacts, and on Sundays and lunch break have been with us, thanks to Tamara, who can speak to children and adults, dogs and cats, always, always elegant, even when she is giving flea treatment to a dog!

Thanks to Manuel, my great, great neighbor, a person who really wanted to help, and did so with a serenity and a great calm, that did not fail even during the ‘assault’ on the first day at the table reservations at Palmera when over 100 people want to book all at the same minute!! 

A special thanks goes to a great person…….One of the milestones of this project, so many ideas and solutions, free taxi driver, great cook, cleaning lady, and so much more …. Thank you Patrizia.

Thanks to Sergio and Gabry Onda Latina, thanks to Madame Nelly, our great host in Palmera, with her fantastic dinners, to sweet Milanca, to Fernando with all his help with the dogs, thanks to Lara and Alle, to Karen, to Jeanette and Julio, to Samuele, to the young Elber Antonio, our great hunter, to Sandra with her huge generosity, to Mr Adilson and Mr Amilcar from the Police, to Katia Porto Antigo, to Miss Alice and Aldina of Pippo and Mopsi… 

and so many more….I have to and I like to thank many people and for sure I did not mention all of you –in writing- but you are all in my heart !!!!

And way more important, you all have the love, the gratitude of all dogs and cats that thanks to you received the gift of a new chance. 

Animals do not understand 
In Europe, every animal is not happy at all to enter a Vet clinic: they can sense the pain, the fear, the stress of who was there before them………they just want to go away, far far away!

At our Clinic, so many dogs keep coming back, every day. Searching for food? Of course! but most came back, and keep coming back to get our attention, our touch, to be together. And —of course!!!— to be part of the big happening, as in a Party!!!! 🙂

Those smiling animals (yes dogs do smile, and when they really want, even cats do) so all the festive smiles, those tails wagging, those bright eyes….is for you all—their way to say THANK YOU.

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NOTE: For up to date info on Dogs and Cats on Sal Island, Cape Verde please check out: https://www.facebook.com/ospacapeverdecatsanddogs/