2007 Was a Year of Success, Growth, Transition and New Challengers
for the Joint ANA/PVMA Native American Project
A Simple Question. ... Answered
What started out in summer of 2001 as a simple question, followed by a
simple answer has blossomed into one of most successful people to people
projects ever undertaken by a veterinary group. The questioned asked by Dr.
Ted Robinson (UP 1974) of an attending Native American at a fund raising party
for the organization, American’s for Native Americans, was, “what type of
veterinary care exists on the reservations in the southwest? The simple answer
was, “little if any”. In that year, four Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical
Association (PVMA) member veterinarians participated in what was thought to be
a one time, two day volunteer veterinary clinic on the Navajo Reservation in
Crownpoint, New Mexico.
In the years that followed, that one time 2 day effort has grown into a
major project, effecting 1000’s of people on Native American Reservations
throughout the southwestern United States. In 2007 a total of 40 participants
including veterinarians, veterinary technicians, veterinary technician
students and animal helpers spent a total of two weeks both in April and
October at three different reservations doing a myriad of procedures on
animals owned by Native Americans.
The volunteers worked on many different species of animals on each
reservation. These included dogs, cats, horses, cows, sheep, llamas, goats,
ferrets, guinea pigs and whatever happened to be presented to the clinic. The
procedures included spaying and neutering, vaccinating, worming, floating
teeth, gelding, treating injured animals, pregnancy checks of cows, hoof
repair, removing porcupine quills from dogs, treating snake bites and other
procedures to numerous to mention.
Another very important aspect of this project is expose the volunteers to
new cultures that they may have not had the opportunity obtain in the past.
During each visit, time has been set aside to learn about the different Native
American cultures (their history, spirituality, customs and traditions) by
participating in tours, visiting museums and lectures by local native American
experts.
The group worked with the residents of the Hopi and Zuni Reservations,
educating them as to the proper care and treatment of their animals. We
encouraged children to observe and learn about their pets and farm animals
with the hope that some may pursue a career in veterinary medicine or
technology.
To that end, talks have taken place with the University of New Mexico to
establish a veterinary technology program on their campus at Zuni, NM.
There had not been any veterinary clinic at Zuni for five years before we
arrived there in 2005. The closest veterinary clinic was over 35 miles from
Zuni, in Gallup, NM and most Zuni’s are unable to afford Gallup prices. The
feral dog population had been exploding with all the terrible side effects of
this uncontrolled population explosion. Through our efforts over the past few
years the population of feral dogs has decreased dramatically. We are working
with the Zuni Council to establish a permanent veterinary clinic in the near
future. It is the intention of the veterinary volunteer group to someday have
the Zuni reservation totally self sufficient in all aspects of veterinary care
for their animals.
During 2007 the project expanded from the Hopi and Zuni reservations to
include the Santo Domingo Reservation 30 miles north of Albuquerque, NM.
Again, this reservation has not had any veterinary care for many years.
Another important aspect of our expansion is the establishing of a
relationship with the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary
Medicine. Starting in April 2008, two veterinary students from University of
Pennsylvania will participate twice a year in the Native American Project.
The project has had a long standing relationship with the Manor College
Veterinary Technology program. Manor sends 2-3 tech students on each trip.
Another important event that occurred in 2007 was the establishment of an
official name for our volunteer veterinary group. NAVS (Native American
Veterinary Services). NAVS will still continue to be associated with the ANA
and PVMA and. Along with this new status comes new challenges. With the
expansion to more reservations, additional trips and more volunteers comes the
need for additional funds for the purchase of supplies and the expenses of the
additional volunteers. Presently funding is through ANA, PVMA and the
volunteers themselves.
During the October 2007 trip, a crew from a professional video company
accompanied the group. Their task is to produce a documentary film about this
project. The documentary will be financed by the Pennsylvania Veterinary
Medical Foundation and should be available for view at the PVMA Annual meeting
at Hershey this August
We look forward to a new year of new challenges, growth and
further success.
Below are reports from several previous year's trips.
Spring 2005
6th Annual ANA/PVMA Native American Project Highly Successful
- by Dr. Ted Robinson
The sixth annual ANA/PVMA trip to the southwest Indian Reservations was an
outstanding success. In addition to the Tohono O’Odham and Navajo reservations, this
year we included the Hopi Reservation. Co-sponsored by the PVMA and the American’s
for Native Americans, a record number of 12 veterinarians and 9 animal health technicians
participated in the two week volunteer program. During the two week period well over
1200 procedures (surgical & medical) were performed on various animals that included
dogs, cats, horses, cattle& guinea pigs. Besides the numerous neuterings,
vaccinations, parasite treatments, and dental care, treatment of snake bites, Valley
fever, Ehrlichiosis, and fractures were also performed.
As in the past, the teams worked with veterinary technician students from the
Crownpoint Institute of Technology. According to project head, Dr. Clint Balok of Crownpoint,
NM, this helped the students gather valuable experience working in the field with
veterinarians. The Veterinary Technician program of Manor College of Abington, PA
sent five second year students and two faculty members to participate in the
program. According to Dr. Joanna Bassert (PVMA), Director of the program at Manor,
participation by the students has been so successful that the scope of the program will be
expanded in the future.
Help from pharmaceutical and veterinary supply companies was at an all time high.
Over $15,000 worth of vaccines, drugs and supplies were supplied by Ft. Dodge Animal
Health, Merial Animal Health, Schering-Plough Animal Health and Columbus Serum were
donated. Without the help of these companies this project would not be possible. We
thank them for their continued support.
Another one week project is planned for this fall at Hopi & Crownpoint.
Spring 2004
Seven veterinarians, one veterinarian technician and one board member
traveled to the Gallup, New Mexico and Tucson, Arizona areas. In 9 days they
performed over 1,000 procedures on small animals and treated between five and six hundred
horses for problems ranging from barbed wire cuts to cancer.
Inaugural Trip -
Spring 2001
In 2001, the veterinarians who volunteered their time and talents were Dr.
Michael Tomasic, Dr. Sherry Talowsky, Dr. Joseph Raught, and the trip's organizer, Dr. Ted
Robinson, who is also an ANA
board member.
According to an article written by Dr. Robinson for the July/August, 2001 issue of Keystone
Veterinarian, the objectives of the group were threefold:
- To educate the Native American population about the proper care and management of their
pets and livestock.
- To work with and help with the education and training of the veterinary students
attending the Crown Point Institute of Technology.
- To help with population control and medically treat the reservation equine population.
The means for accomplishing these objectives were:
- Lectures and workshops were held on the reservation in the evening on various aspects of
equine, bovine, sheep, and goat health management. All residents and veterinary
technician students were invited to attend.
- The veterinary technician students participated in all aspects of large and small animal
health care including preventative medicine and assisted in all surgical procedures that
were performed by the four veterinarians.
- One hundred and sixty-six spays, neuterings, and vaccinations of pet animals were
performed by the volunteers during their stay as well as treating over 300 horses for
internal parasites and dental problems.
In conjunction with the project, four of the Crown Point Veterinary Technician students
came to Bucks County for internships at various veterinary practices. ANA and the
Bucks-Montgomery VMA plan to sponsor additional volunteer trips in the future and have a
long term goal of obtaining official AVMA accreditation for the Veterinary Technology
School at Crown Point.
Veterinary Projects
