July was another amazingly productive month for DAD. Again, thanks to Dr. Ainoa Claudin, tirelessly working at the clinic, we achieved brilliant results in ensuring a better future for the Galapagos islands.
In July, we had a total of 164 cases, 132 of which were consultations. This fact tells us the general checkup trend among local people is just as strong as the previous months, which is really rewarding to be aware of. Changing local people’s attitude towards proper animal care and working with local professionals is one of our key steps to achieve our goal – this month we had two Ecuadorian vet student volunteers working with us (thank you, Karla and Itziar!). The future of the Galapagos is in good hands now. 🙂
And after this hugely productive July, it’s time for a six month summary! Our best friends, the numbers, are telling us we have had a real impact on the Galapagos the last six months, with a total of 1049 cases, most of which were during our mass sterilization campaign in May (24%). The consultations are again more than the surgeries, although the numbers are really close (591 consulations vs. 458 surgeries).
Another great sign is that many owners now come back for their pet’s general checkups (we had 338 cases of animals who have already been to the clinic the last six months). We would like to keep that trend going up in the future as the only way to make a real difference and stop the uncontrollable breeding of invasive species on the islands is to create a community of caring and responsible pet owners. And all of this is possible thanks to the ABG, the government office responsible for introduced species on Galapagos, which coordinates all our campaigns on the islands.
We’re ready for even more exciting and productive months ahead!
See full report here .