Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Kilho Park | Capt. Miriam Lovell (left) and Maj. Todd Thomas, both U.S. Army Veterinary Corps...... read more read more
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GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - Upon entering the operating room, immediate feelings of sterility and coolness in the cramped surroundings engulf your senses. It smells clean, if not a touch stifling. The big overhead lights project a spotlight on the patient and the anesthesia monitor/EKG machine methodically mirrors the patient’s heart beat with loud beeps. Country music plays in the background. The necessary surgical accoutrements lying on a silver platter in sterile cloth. “Nermal,” a pet cat, is having a mast cell tumor removed from his neck and back.
“Staff sergeant, hand me a 3cc syringe please. I’m going to poke some more holes in this [fenestrated] catheter and we’re gonna place it in the wound bed. We’ll then be able to infuse a local anesthetic over the next 48-72 hours.”
“Right away, sir.”
On an island base with more than 5,000 personnel, including Joint Task Force Guantanamo, Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Marine Corps Security Forces Company and all the contracting companies, the Guantanamo Veterinary Treatment Facility (GTMO VTF) is the only veterinary clinic. It serves military working animals, pets for all personnel living on base and works with feral and indigenous wildlife like iguanas, banana rats, cats, snakes and birds.
GTMO VTF, staffed by four personnel, is led by Capt. Miriam Lovell, U.S. Army Veterinary Corps. She is the resident in-house veterinarian for the base. The non-commissioned officer in charge is Staff Sgt. Jamie Jackson and the Animal Care Technician is Spc. Kerstin Mundy. Cari Beltran is the receptionist and manages the day to day pet appointments. On certain occasions, GTMO VTF receives visiting surgeons like Maj. Todd Thomas, U.S. Army Veterinary Corps (Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons) to backfill when Lovell is off island.
GTMO VTF is never at a shortage of work, with daily appointments, training and emergency visits. In the last year they also accomplished close to 150 surgical procedures.
On the day that I came in to observe there were three operations, one emergency case and one follow up appointment. Both Thomas and Lovell had a week of overlap and had the opportunity to work on pets together.
“It’s always a great opportunity to come down here, see the facilities, see what the case load was like and work with this hard working crew,” said Thomas. “It’s the training aspect as well, so I’m glad Capt. Lovell and I got to work on some advanced surgical procedures together,” he said.
Being the only game in town, Lovell has become very familiar with all the animals on base.
“I get to know all my client animals. It’s like being in a small town where you’ve been the vet for so many years,” said Lovell, who owns two yellow Labrador retrievers herself. “Even when I go to the grocery store and you get consults there or answering questions on the ferry coming back from leave, that’s what I love about being here.”
As the final sutures were being stitched into Nermal, there was a momentary pause from everyone in the OR, including myself, with all eyes on him. He looked good, comfortable and minus a patch of fur, still in deep sleep. Thomas had the final call, “That’s it, he’s good. Great job everybody.”
| Date Taken: | 02.09.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 02.09.2012 16:53 |
| Story ID: | 83604 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 147 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Safeguarding the health of GTMO’s critters, by PO2 Kilho Park, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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