Jimmi & Scott Abroad in Panama: Saboga dogs

Our hosts Jennifer and Lee are remarkable people. They have incredible life stores, full of adventure and service. I could go on and on about how cool they are but the purpose of this post is to highlight Jennifer's crusade for the betterment of the lives of the "Saboga dogs".

When Jennifer first went into the village of Saboga, she was mortified by the condition of the local dogs. In a village of 400 people, there were 289 dogs that needed to be treated. Some dogs were starving, others had diseases and all of them needed to be spayed or neutered. She thought about holing-up in her house and never going into the village again, but for a this retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, that was not the right choice. She decided to make a difference and tackle a problem that seemed almost impossible. In her corner is the organization Spay Panama.

With the help of Spay Panama, in 5 years, 76 horribly ill dogs have had to be euthanized. Hundreds have been spayed or neutered, dewormed, treated for fleas and mange, provided antibiotics, vitamin A and had their ears cleaned. Jennifer has re-homed 32 puppies, some of which, made the journey to the United States to their forever homes.

Spay Panama provides low-cost or free dog sterilization for poor families and deploys veterinarians to outlying areas. Jennifer has spent a lot of money coordinating with Spay Panama to help the Saboga dogs. She pays for room, board and transportation for the veterinarians and buys and endless amounts of food and medicine. If you would like to contribute to Jennifer's mission on Isla Saboga, you can donate to Spay Panama and earmark the donation for Saboga dogs. Donate at... http://www.spaypanamasanimals.com.

Some people question why she Jennifer would invest so much time, energy and money into dogs that do not belong to her. Her response is that she "must stop the suffering of the dog". Through her modeling of dog care, the villagers have, with baby-steps begun to take better care of their pets and even come to her for help and advice.

These ladies brought a sick dog to see Jennifer's house. After treating the dog the first time, she make a bottle of spray medication and took it to their house so they could continue to treat. Then Jennifer did wellness checks on other dogs.