PHCOC Underserved Areas Stipend

Happy SAVMA Symposium everyone!! Greetings from sunny West Lafayette, Indiana and SAVMA Symposium 2012!

The SAVMA House of Delegates is hard at work during their meetings. They are working on YOUR behalf, crafting policy, programs, and opportunities for veterinary students.

See below for another instance of SAVMA's funds and opportunities being put to use:

Stefanie Durbin from Kansas State University recieved an Underserved Areas Grant from the SAVMA Public Health and Community Outreach Committee for her trip to work with the Animal Protection Society of Samoa. Her experience is detailed below:

Externship at the Animal Protection Society of Samoa

                I visited Samoa after completing my first semester at Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine (KSUCVM).  My husband is a consultant at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP) in Apia, Samoa, and knowing that he would have to work during part of my stay, I decided to add some more adventure to my trip by volunteering at the Animal Protection Society of Samoa (APS).  With my externship credit approval from KSUCVM and the stipend offer from SAVMA  PHCOC, I started my two day journey from Manhattan, Kansas to Apia, Samoa via layovers in L.A. and Auckland, New Zealand.  What greeted me at the airport, along with my husband, was comfortable balmy weather, a welcoming Samoan band of singers, and my first sight of one of Samoa’s biggest problems: lots and lots of dogs—all roaming free and looking quite hungry.  It seems as though I saw nearly a hundred dogs on that first day in Apia, and I knew right away that I’d have some interesting stories to share when I got home. The following are a few highlights.

Externship: Samoa and APS

My externship in Apia took place over about 45 hours in December and January (2011-2012) at APS where they work with mostly dogs and cats. Through friends connected with APS, SPREP and National Geographic, I was also able to explore some wildlife and village farms where cattle and pigs were kept.  The clinic has two basic goals: 1) to serve the small pet population of Samoa with vaccines, preventative medicine, routine care and surgeries, and 2) to use the funds generated to perform free desexing clinics throughout Samoa.  Because APS is the only veterinary clinic in a country of 180,000, and only has two veterinarians, they rely heavily on their one experienced veterinary nurse, Ava, other full time office staff, and volunteers such as 4^th year surgery students from Massay University in New Zealand. 

                The externship experience was extremely rewarding, and the environment was one of education and compassion.  A fellow volunteer, Renee, who is a third year veterinary student at Massay University, was instrumental in acquainting me with the clinic, procedures and local culture. Also, both of the veterinarians, Ikumi Ishikawa (sponsored by Japan International Cooperation Agency) and Belinda Hamlin (sponsored by Australian Government-AusAid) took time to teach me more about each case and even found resources for me to study during downtime.  The clients were also extremely gracious for allowing me to assist and take notes and photographs of the cases.

“Yes, Dogs get STI’s too!”—Transmissible Venereal Tumors

                My time at APS allowed me to learn about diseases and conditions that are relatively rare in some other parts of the world.  A striking example was introduced to me as the first case of my externship: Transmissible Venereal Tumor, or TVT.  We were presented with two large guard dogs, sedated on acepromazine (by the caretakers of the dogs), netted and tied up on a truck bed.  While both male and female dogs can develop these tumors, these patients were male.  Because the tumors on the glans penis were so large, the prepuce would not retract for excision of the tumors. The dogs were given chemotherapy treatment of Vincristine sulfate injection and returned for four more injections at later dates.  I contacted APS recently and was told that the tumors had shrunk after this course of treatment so that the prepuce could be retracted and tumors surgically removed.

Worms, Worms, Worms…Paralysis

On several occasions, we treated puppies with hind leg paralysis.  From my observation, it seemed that the two most common diagnoses for these cases were either paralysis from accident (namely car, being stepped on, etc.) or Angiostrongylus (from not being routinely dewormed).   The latter I found quite interesting because the puppies were able to regain most of their leg and bladder control with a treatment of standard deworming medications.  The clients were quite impressed with what really seemed like a simple, yet “magical,” transformation.  

Viruses

Parvovirus was also quite common (several cases most days), but like other countries (both developed and less developed), the mortality rate was quite high because the puppies were brought in when they were already quite dehydrated.  With most of the puppies, Dr. Hamlin or Dr. Ishikawa would inject a bolus of saline subcutaneously along with other treatment.  Because many clients did not return for follow up visits, it was difficult to know how successful the treatments were, but more often than not, we heard that the animal died that day or soon after.  Fortunately, the islands are rabies free which may also explain why the dogs are allowed to roam and repopulate to such a degree. 

Accidents Happen

Dogs in Samoa are prone to accidents both because of their roaming lifestyle and the fact that they are often targets of attack.  Common incidences include poisoning with Paraquat (a common but very toxic weed killer that’s absorbed through dog’s paws or from licking), food poisoning (either from rotting food or intentional poisoning), car accidents, bites from dog fights, and projectile injuries from thrown rocks.  We also saw machete wounds and nutritional deficiencies (not being fed enough or only being fed bread, for example). 

Although Samoa boasts a relatively peaceful coexistence of pigs, chickens, dogs and cats that roam the streets and yards of most of the villages in Samoa, sometimes one species ends up where only the other should be.  On one occasion, we treated a dog, Charlotte, who had been hanging in a pig trap for several days.  She was rushed to APS as soon as her owners, an expat family from the United States, found her on their neighbor’s plantation.  Because a hind paw had been hanging in the noose style trap for several days and had been preventing venous return, there was visible swelling and we also suspected broken tarsal bones.  Surprisingly, the only damage to Charlotte was on her skin, mostly on the neck and back, which was inflamed and covered in over half an inch of maggots on various parts of her body (see picture).  Because the irritation was so advanced and odorous, the Dr. Ishikawa opted to shave off a large portion of the coat and thoroughly clean and generously disinfect the skin.  The happy family was soon able to take home their bright “Chlorhexidine-Pink” dog.

More Interest in the Veterinary Profession is Needed

Finally, one of the goals of the externship was to raise awareness about veterinary medicine among the local population—especially to the children and young adults. During my stay in Samoa, I was able to have several conversations with children and youth about careers in veterinary medicine.   Most had no idea that such a career existed, and were both perplexed and interested at the prospect.  Because they do have generous scholarship opportunities through their government for veterinary school in Australia and New Zealand, I tried to educate them about those options as well as the rewards of helping their country become more self-sufficient in veterinary care for their pets and livestock.

More information about the Animal Protection Society of Samoa can be found on Facebook and at http://www.apssamoa.org

Picture below- young puppy prepped for spaying

 

Picture below from the Animal Protection Society of Samoa