By ANGELO ARMBRISTER

Freeport News Reporter

With the help of some friends from abroad the Grand Bahama Humane Society yesterday successfully completed a mini spay and neuter program as part of its continued efforts to combat the growing problem of animal over-population on the island.

Tip Burrows, shelter manager at the Humane Society, said the goal is to sterilize as many dogs and cats over a two-day period as possible.

"The Humane Society is basically doing a mini clinic," Burrows said. "It is still a part of our ongoing spay and neuter project. We got 27 done on Monday and we are looking to get about 20 today."

Veterinarian Dr. Robin Brennen along with her two helpers, Dr. Gregory Carastro and Sean Hansen, came down from New York at their own expense to assist in the two-day program.

An excited Burrows said the program should help out a lot with cutting down on the shelter's backlog of cases.

"A lot of the animals that we are doing are animals that people can't bring in themselves or to the vets because they can't afford it and we are also trying to catch up on our shelter animals that are adopted but we need to get them spay and neutered," she said.

She went on to thank Dr. Allan Bater, owner and operator of the Freeport Animal clinic, who allowed her and her team of volunteers to use the facility for their clinic site.

Voluntary veterinary technician Dr. Carastro said that he was more than happy to come down and help out.

"Today is our last day, but we'll be coming back in November for another program, a larger program, and we're excited about it," he said.

Back in January of this year the Humane Society of Grand Bahama joined forces with The Kohn Foundation's (TKF) and the Bahamian Animal Rescue Committee (BARC) to launch its first major field spay and neuter clinic.

That clinic was the first in a series for the overall project, called BARC-ANEW (Bahamian Animal Rescue Committee – Animal Neutering Education and Welfare).

Burrows said the next major spay and neuter clinic exercise will be in early November, but added that she is not yet sure of the venue.

A team of volunteers from the United States came down in January for the inaugural clinic. Working alongside that team was local veterinarian Dr. Owen Hanna, who provided support, consultation and assistance to the five veterinarians and nine veterinary technicians and assistants, who graciously agreed to donate a week of their time and expertise to help alleviate the serious pet over-population problem on Grand Bahama.

Leading the team of volunteer vets was Dr. (Robin) Brennen of New York City.

The animals were given spa-like treatment as they recovered from surgery. They were shampooed, had their nails clipped and teeth cleaned.

Dr. Brennen is chief of veterinary services of Bide-A-Wee Home Association, one of the largest animal welfare organizations in New York, which operates three shelters – two with veterinary clinics, in Manhattan, Wantagh and Westhampton.

She is also acting team commander for FEMA's VMAT (Veterinary Medical Assistance Team), which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In that capacity she served as director of veterinary medical services for the Lamar Dixon Shelter in Gonzales, Louisiana, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which took in over 7,000 animals.

FREE SERVICE — Volunteer veterinarians from Long Island, New York, were on island for a two-day mini clinic to assist the Grand Bahama Humane Society with their spay and neuter program. Volunteer Juliet Knowles (left), Dr. Gregory Carastro (centre) and Dr. Robin Brennen are pictured performing surgery on one of the dogs. (Photo by JENNEVA RUSSELL)