SAVMA PHCOC: FARVets in Guatemala

By: Vivian Lee

During March of 2022, I had the immense pleasure of travelling to Santiago Atitlán,

Guatemala, a small mountain city located near Lake Atitlán, a massive volcanic crater in

Guatemala’s southwestern highlands, as part of the FARVets Program. FARVets is a non-profit

organization dedicated to planning, organizing, and implementing sterilization clinics to assist

animal welfare groups abroad. As part of this program, I worked closely with Fantasma Animal

Rescue, a local organization in Lake Atitlán that focuses on animal rescue, spay and neuter

clinics, and vaccinations. There is a historically high number of stray animals in Atitlán,

Guatemala with animals having a few familiar faces in their lives but not being provided the

proper nutrition and veterinary care needed to thrive. Many of these animals will go from

restaurant to restaurant in search of food, and at the end of the day they have no home to go

to.

Due to the overpopulation of animals, many of them are susceptible to disease, injuries,

and malnutrition. During the clinic, I performed multiple wellness procedures such as physical

exams, vaccinations, dewormings, topical parasite control, and other medical procedures as

necessary as possible. In addition, I performed my first ovariohysterectomies and castrations

with veterinary supervision, as well as assist with anesthesia and the recovery of the patients.

By offering these free veterinary services, our team was able to help hundred dogs in getting

the veterinary care and attention they need to ensure that the population is left healthier and

happier. Since I have limited amount of small animal clinical experience, being able to improve

on my surgical skills in addition to animal restraint, drawing blood, giving IV medications, and

placing catheters made me significantly more confident in my abilities and will surely help my

future career as a clinician.

I was lucky enough to attend this location in Guatemala, which has more than 20 Mayan

ethnic groups and is most notably home to the Tz’utujil and Kaqchikel people. This town is rich

in Mayan culture and is known for textiles, ceramics, holistic therapies, and other handmade

crafts made by the locals. As an advanced Spanish speaker, it was an honor to be able to speak

to the local people in Spanish and help translate many of the veterinary medical terms so that

they could understand what procedures we were performing and answer any questions they

had. As a second-generation Cuban Chinese American, it was invaluable to experience their

culture and see how open they were to helping their animals and giving them a better chance

at life. Being that this was the first time I had travelled internationally since COVID, it was a very

eye-opening experience and really helped bring perspective into my life that I still take along

with me today.

One of the most important missions of this trip for me was to help educate the local

citizens and pet owners of common canine and feline health issues. This ensures that we not

only leave the animals we treated in good condition, but by making locals aware of common

health issues and the importance of veterinary care, we will indirectly help other animals in the

future. A wonderful opportunity I was given as part of FARVets was to visit a local children’s

school about a 5-minute walk from the clinic location, and we spoke to the kids about the basic

needs of animals, what the clinical signs of rabies are and what to do when they see a dog with

rabies, and what a veterinarian’s role is. Many of them were eager to learn more, ask

questions, and engage with us. I left feeling like we had made a very positive impact on the

community and sparked better relationships for the next time the program visits Santiago.

Finally, not only did I gain many skills, but also I gained a family. Although we had only

spent one week together, we spent the entirety of our long days working hard in the clinic and

learning a lot about one another. I had the pleasure of working with three incredible

veterinarians who put a lot into making it an unforgettable experience, and were extremely

patient and enthusiastic to teach us veterinary students. It really demonstrated to me what a

positive and healthy work culture is, and how much the time flies by when you are having fun.

The other Cornell veterinary students who were part of the trip, some of which whom I had

never spoken to, were so supportive, encouraging, and had a lot to teach me as well. I still hold

many of these people close to my heart, and look forward to hopefully working with them again

in the future.

I am forever grateful for my experience with FARVets and would highly recommend it to

anyone who is interested in pursuing an opportunity abroad that will change your life. I would

like to thank SAVMA’s Public Health and Community Outreach Committee (PHCOC) for

awarding me the Underserved Areas Grant to help offset the costs of this program. I would also

like to thank the following people for making my FARVets experience possible: Dr. Jesse

Navatta, Dr. Mark Fealey, Dr. Mariana Prado, Claudia Guinansaca-Aguilar, Emmy Luo, Stacy

Kaneko, Kaela Toback, Sandra Pinto, Sara Dutra, and Dr. Paul Maza.

About Vivian:

Vivian Lee (she/her) is a third-year veterinary student at Cornell University’s College of

Veterinary Medicine with a keen interest in conservation medicine and aquatics. She

has had various experiences at institutions including Mystic Aquarium, Mote Marine

Laboratory and Aquarium, Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, University of Florida’s Tropical

Aquaculture Laboratory, and The Marine Mammal Center.

She currently serves as the SAVMA Delegate for Cornell University and the

International Exchange Officer-Elect for National SAVMA, representing veterinary

students on a national and international level. In her spare time, Vivian enjoys going on

hikes with her guide dog in-training, Siggy, as well as dancing and travelling.

Vivian is happy to speak with everyone (pre-vet students, vet students, and current

veterinarians), and you can connect with her here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivian-

marie-lee/