THE NEW BARKER  33
www.TheNewBarker.com
Continued on page 34 g
When the love for travel is combined with running an animal 
rescue organization for special needs dogs and cats while also 
excelling in a career as a Certified Veterinary Technician, what 
does one do for downtime to get away from it all? If you’re 
Cecilia Nieves, you take a spaycation, alongside other likemind-
ed people through Caribbean Spay Neuter. The experience is a 
combination of working in another country, past the point of 
exhaustion while also being awarded an opportunity to 
encounter another culture; it’s food, people and customs.  
      Cecilia recently returned from Suriname, a small country 
on the northern coast of South America, 
where she and other volunteers performed 
749 spay neuter surgeries over a four-day 
period. Paramaribo, Suriname is where the 
MASH unit was set up. The city faces a sig-
nificant issue with stray dogs and cats, many 
suffering from starvation, parasites, and 
other diseases. 
      People from all over the world with 
different cultures and languages, but all with 
the same heart, traveled to Suriname to 
help dogs and cats. Cecilia said her favorite 
moment was looking up to catch two 
young veterinary assistants, with minimal 
experience in the field, flourish from their 
first spaycation. “It warmed my heart to see 
the veterinarians and technicians, who had 
years of experience and knowledge under 
their belts, take the time to welcome these 
fresh canvases,” said Cecilia. 
      About 1,000 dogs per week are fed by the Foundation 
Henk Abrahams-Suriname organization. Help Save Animals 
Suriname provides local veterinary care. To help curb the pet 
over-population, Caribbean Spay Neuter travels to countries 
like Suriname to host MEGA spay/neuter events.  
      Cecilia’s first experience with Caribbean Spay Neuter was 
in 2022. During that trip, over a four-day period, spay neuter 
surgeries were completed on 250 cats and dogs. Local and 
international volunteers – including veterinarians and techni-
cians – provide their services for free. The concept behind the 
organization’s efforts is to organize intensive, multi-day clinics 
versus small daily operations. Every time she travels to another 
country; every day she assists in the surgeries, Cecilia is always 
thinking about the pet overpopulation crisis happening in the 
United States.  
      The irony is not lost on her. “The entire time, my whole 
thoughts are, ‘let’s do this at home,’” she told us. “Even if it’s just 
one day a year.” 
      In addition to volunteering their time and services, every-
one pays their own way. “I feel it’s worth my time,” Cecilia told 
us. “Spaycation sounds productive. Vacation is too quiet for me.”  
      Even in poor countries, where veterinarians and other 
resources are limited, the human animal 
bond is very apparent to Cecilia. “The 
locals show up with their animals, con-
cerned for their health and well-being,” she 
said. In addition to the spay neuter surger-
ies, volunteers may spend time with pet 
owners talking with them about rabies, flea 
and tick prevention, and zoonotic diseases 
such as leptospirosis.  
      Caribbean Spay Neuter was created by 
a husband and wife team from Land 
O’Lakes, Florida. Karin King and her late 
husband James developed the concept in 
2013. During their first MEGA event in 
2014, Caribbean Spay Neuter facilitated 
and conducted around 1,400 spay neuter 
surgeries, preventing about 428,000 pup-
pies and kittens from being born.  
      One female dog and her offspring can 
produce upwards of 67,000 animals within 
six years. One female cat and her offspring can produce more 
than 2,000,000 cats within eight years. To date, Caribbean Spay 
Neuter spaycations have facilitated more than 14,500 procedures 
in eight countries. Do the math on those figures on how many 
litters of puppies and kittens have been prevented as a result of 
these efforts. 
      “Many animal welfare organizations in the Caribbean send 
their adoptable pets to the United States and Canada, where we 
already have overflowing shelters,” said Karin. By stopping the 
importation at the source of the supply through spay neuter 
surgeries, Karin hopes to curb the number of pets being 
imported into the United States and Canada.
No Birth is the 
First Step to No Kill
by Anna Cooke 
Photography by Daniel Bechan

View this content as a flipbook by clicking here.