May Breeze 2010 - The Placencia Breeze

I Decided to VolunteerA Placencia Humane Society StoryBy: Bob ThomasI hadn't really done much ofanything for the HumaneSociety in over a year. It cameas a bit of a surprise when Iwas asked if I rememberedQuick Books well enough tohandle check out at themonthly clinic. I was sure witha little fresher course I'd beokay. I spent an hour or sowith Nancy Lewendowski andfelt pretty comfortable. I wasalso assured that Maryann Kaye would be there if Ifloundered. Well thanks to those two ladies, the biggest problemwas deciding what to have for lunch!I arrived at the clinic on Saturday morning and Dr Bennet wasalready set up and waiting for his first patient. It was a big maleferal cat from Maya Beach that had been trapped and housed byDebbie Coston until this scheduled surgery. There was no doubtthis big, bad boy had fathered many offspring in Maya Beach. Ilearned that after surgeryand a day of recovery, thiscat would be returned toMaya Beach andreleased. There he willresume his role asdominant male, butwithout the side effects ofmore feral kittens! In thisway, both the population ofthe feral colony iscontrolled and theferals can still control therodents and pests.I completely enjoyed my day at the clinic. From my vantage pointat checkout, I not only got to see all the pets and owners, but alsohow the other volunteers interacted with them. They providedenergy, enthusiasm, professionalism and care to everyone whowalked in the door. It certainly put everyone in a good mood bythe time they reached me, and for that I thank each of you.One of the days highlights arrived in a cardboard box. Snuggledinside were five of the cutest puppies. In moments there were outof the box and in the arms of the closest available person. I thinkevery puppy was passed around and held by everyone. I think weall enjoyed a puppy fix that day. I understand two of the puppiesfound homes while at the clinic!I understand an adoptable puppy was brought in on Sunday. It'sabout 5 months old, cute and very smart I'm told. Look forThe Placencia Breeze – May 2010- Page 10pictures on Face book in the near future. If you're looking for adog or cat to adopt or if you know of strays or unwanted puppies orkittens, please contact the Placencia Humane Society. PatRarrick at 610-0522, or Pam Thomasat 629-3599, or Shannon Romero600-2473I only worked on Saturday, but I doknow that I'll be doing it again. Ialso know that the Humane Societyneeds more volunteers! If you wantto give a little something back,either in time, talent, material ordonations, they need it all. If youhaven't experienced the HumaneSociety recently, give them a try as avolunteer. I think you'll besurprised!Special thanks to the volunteers who worked this clinic including;Juana Itch, Bob Thomas, Pam Thomas, MaryAnn Kaye, PatRarrick, Renza Hoban, Shannon Romero, Cat Harshberger, StellaMatthews, Dorcus from Riversdale and our new junior volunteer,Serina Kafka. Dr Floyd Bennet was the vet this month and he washosted by the Lost Reef Resort.Placencia Humane SocietyA voluntary community organization dedicated to animal care andprotection.Placencia-pets.orgDeveloping community-based monitoring systems:Continued from pg 5through a systematic framework/tool that considers:1.) Measurement of outcome-level changes in terms of communitylevelvulnerability and resilience to climate change.2.) Lesson-learning multiple levels (communities, local andnational governments and partners).3.) Systematic tracking of the progress of interventions andoutputs.Ultimately, the system will enable measuring of progress in termsof outcome-level changes (what has changed) and to understandthe processes of change involved (how and why change has or hasnot happened). Communities will be able to reflect on and analyzethe impacts and effectiveness of their work.Proposed dates for workshop:Belize: San Pedro (May 20 th , 2010) and Placencia (May 21 st , 2010)Honduras: Sandy Bay (May 25 th , 2010) and Punta Gorda (May27 th , 2010)More information will be forthcoming but we do lookforward to your participation!