(The following article was written by Jeff, a UW pre-vet student who is one of our part-time staffers. In conjunction with his trip, Animal Surgical Clinic of Seattle donated $200 to help purchase needed veterinary supplies for the group.)

During the summer of 2008, I had one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Through the VIDA organization, I had the opportunity to join a group of other UW pre-vet students on a humanitarian mission to provide veterinary care to impoverished communities in Central America. I learned more and was allowed to do more during my trip than I could have ever hoped for.

After arriving in Costa Rica, our group of students met up with two local doctors, Drs. Arroyo and Arosco. They taught us how to give pre-anesthesia and anesthesia, perform physical exams, put in catheters, provide recovery care and perform castrations. At first, I was very nervous about how I would perform and about my lack of experience. However I found that when I was basically forced to sink or swim, I was able to focus and do what needed to be done.

In a short period of time, I managed a minimal level of proficiency at many of the skills that I had previously learned about in theory, but had never been able to put into practice. We saw about 25 animals a day and the doctors allowed me to assist them on many surgeries. Dr Arroyo even allowed me to independently perform a cat neuter!

We worked in Costa Rica for two days and then we traveled to Rivas, Nicaragua, where we met Drs. Luna and Luiz. At that point, we split up into groups with one team staying in the clinic to help with castrations and basic exams, and the other team caring for the large animals. Before the trip I did not think that large animals would interest me at all but once I got there, it was one of the best parts of my trip. The livestock seemed to be fairly well-cared-for. We learned how to give intramuscular, subcutaneous and intravenous injections of vitamins and dewormers, and in some locations gave injections to as many as 40 cattle and 20 horses in one day. One of the most amazing experiences of my trip was getting to castrate a bull.

I wish we could have helped more of the small animals because they were in really bad shape -- almost all were extremely underweight and infested with fleas, ticks and internal parasites. It was very hard to see the animals in that kind of shape because in America it is such a different story, but it made me feel better that we were at least able to help some of them the best we could. We tried to inform the owners about the correct way to care for their pets but quickly saw that these people were just too poor to invest any money outside of their own family or their livestock. So we gave out as many medications, leashes and collars as we could before we quickly ran out.

Our third stop was Granada, Nicaragua, where we worked at a local clinic. On the last day of clinic, Dr. Luna believed that I was ready, so she allowed me to perform my own spay, although I did not make the incision. By this point in the trip, I was no longer nervous but instead felt very confident in my surgical abilities, and the surgery went very well. I found that my time observing at Animal Surgical Clinic of Seattle really helped me perform well in the basic surgeries we performed on this trip.

I would have to say that this trip was one of the most amazing times of my life, allowing me to observe a different culture and learn more about veterinary science. When it was time to leave I found myself wanting to stay, but I realized that it was time for me to return home and continue on my journey to becoming a veterinarian. Maybe one day I can return and continue helping those animals who really need my assistance. Leaving Nicaragua, I felt much more confident in my abilities and convinced that my overall goal of becoming a veterinarian is the proper one for me.