Tortuguero Mobile Clinic

Spay and Neutering Clinic Serves Tortuguero

by Attending Veterinarian, Dr. Abi O’Connor BVM&S, MRCVS

When I applied for vet school I could never have imagined that my future career as a veterinarian would take me to the far corners of the world, beyond the public’s reach. 

As I found myself loading a box of surgical instruments into a speed boat, ready to race through jungle rivers to the Caribbean town of Tortuguero, I couldn’t help but get excited at the prospect of adventure.  I was about to embark on a three day journey to offer spay and neuter services in one of Costa Rica’s best kept secrets.

This week our mobile spay and neuter clinic led us to the isolated town of Tortuguero.  Only reachable by boat or plane, Tortuguero is surrounded the Caribbean Sea and intertwining canals and rivers.  Its isolated location and vast expanse of flat beach makes it a prime sea turtle nesting site, with thousands of Green, Leatherback and Loggerhead sea turtles hatching on the beach every year.

Tourists caught wind of this natural phenomenon not too long ago, leading to the development of resort hotels and sea turtle guided tours.  As seen in any competitive market, the “tour guides” try to outdo one another, ensuring the tourists always get to see sea turtle hatchings while on their holiday.  Nest sites are dug up by “tour guides” forcing the baby turtles to hatch before Mother Nature intended.  These immature and weak sea turtle hatchlings must then withstand tourists flashing their cameras in their faces, disorientating them as they struggle to crawl to sea through the deep footprints the tourists leave in the sand.  And we wonder why sea turtle populations are diminishing!

However, mankind is not the only threat to the baby sea turtles.  Stray dogs are seen trolling the beaches of Tortuguero at night, digging up existing nests to eat the eggs and hatchlings.  I met some of these perpetrators myself, pointed out to me by the children of Tortuguero during our spay/neuter clinic.

My colleagues and I discussed this issue with the volunteers of the sea turtle sanctuary in town.  Little can be done to keep the street dogs off the beach; 18,000 km of uninterrupted strand cannot easily be fenced in!  The most practical and humane solution to the problem is to host regular clinics to control the expanding dog and cat populations.

 The dogs and cats of Tortuguero are very much like the children of the pueblo – everyone has an owner, but they live their lives travelling in small packs in the streets.  All are very well-behaved and friendly, always curious as to what you’re doing and what you have to offer.

My colleagues and I make a point of including the town’s children when we hold the spay/neuter clinic with the hope that allowing them to watch the surgeries and educating them in their pet’s care will organically create a greater awareness and appreciation of animal welfare.  I oftentimes find this to be the most fascinating and educational aspect of the mobile clinic.  Adults may be more knowledgeable than children, but children are definitely smarter than us.

I spoke for a long time with a barefoot 11 year-old boy named Roddick, his legs

covered in scars from countless insect bites.  Roddick lived in a two-room house; one room was a kitchen/living room/parents’ bedroom, the other being the bathroom/kids’ bedroom.  Roddick shared a mattress on the floor of the bathroom with 3 brothers – 2 of his siblings had died during infancy due to illness.

Roddick asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I told him that I’d already grown up and that I’d decided to become a veterinarian.  He asked me if I was happy with my decision.  I replied that I was very happy with the work I am doing, that I felt like I was part of something special that mattered.  He told me he hoped he could do something important someday too.  Roddick wants to be a marine biologist and work in conservation medicine.  I felt tears well up in my eyes; seeing such a mature young man have such great dreams in the face of profound poverty made me wonder at the injustice of his situation.

It is easy to miss just how poor many Costa Ricans are.  Because of the beautiful landscape and excellent infrastructure the extent of the country’s poverty is often overlooked.  I hear the occasional tourist remark, “Oh, how sad,” when an emaciated dog trots past them, interrupting their walk to their resort hotel.  If we don’t take pause and stop from time to time to experience the life around us how can we ever learn to appreciate just how fortunate we are?

That weekend we sterilized 40 dogs and cats and treated twice as many with anti-parasitic medication.  As our boat pulled offshore I looked over my shoulder to see barefoot children playing in the street with the dogs we had neutered the day before.  I thought back to Roddick’s question: “Are you happy you became a vet?” 

Absolutely.

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