Bonnie Mae was spayed

Post for Tuesday - May 25, 2021

I had placed a call to my Mexican veterinarian last month to set up an appointment to spay Bonnie Mae and Molly only to be told that they did not have any appointments until late May. I had also inquired about crossing the border since it is still officially closed to "non-essential" travel. They told me that visits to the vet or any doctor. dentist or lab was permitted and since I am a US citizen they had to let me back into the country.

Monday night I could not go to sleep, I was lucky I slept two hours...a few minutes here and there. Cats have to be fasting and since these are outside cats I can not control their behavior.  If I do not feed them early enough to suit them...they simply eat a bird or like they did this weekend a baby chicken from Mr. Joe's house who made the mistake of coming for a visit.

The cats congregate around the old washing machine where I feed them. Paquito and Nico I allow to come into the kitchen since they are older and would not take kindly to sharing their food with the younger generation...they don't even like each other.

I have been bringing in Bonnie Mae since she is nursing and I feed her canned food in addition to her dry food. I did the same this morning, she thought nothing of it and once in the kitchen, I placed her in the cat carrier. Of course, she started crying and wanting to get out so I took her to my room and turned the TV to an "Easy Listening" channel, and turned off the lights to soothe her and it seemed to work.

We were soon on our way to Clinica Veterinaria Chavarria in Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila - México.

I lucked out by finding a parking space across the street from the clinic. I usually have to make several turns around the block only to end up parking two blocks away. When you are carrying an overweight Paquito or Nico that can be challenging with my bad back.  Bonnie Mae is very thin now and does not weigh much.

As I sat waiting for our turn a lot of people started arriving with their pets. This is a very busy Veterinary Clinic...no wonder it took so long to get an appointment. The phones were ringing off the wall and the two girls at the front desk could barely keep up.

She got her shots before the operation...rabies, deworming, and some other shot that I do not recall the name.  Bid her farewell and left her in their capable hands.

Since I have not been to México since 2019 much less after five o'clock I did not know what the traffic would be like so I asked the receptionist (daughter of the veterinarian) and she said there was no traffic at all. Found that hard to believe as many American citizens live in México but work in the USA...but who am I to question her as she lives there and should know.

What would be my surprise at 5:00 p.m. but to find the line to cross into México to be backed up to the old toll booths that they have yet to demolish...so much for no traffic!

Even though by now it was 6:00 p.m. the vet's office was packed.  It has a small reception area and for some reason, people feel the need to bring their whole family with them. Thank goodness I am fully immunized and was wearing my mask and face shield or I would have waited outside until they were all gone.

It was another 35 minutes before they would call my name and bring Bonnie Mae. They administered a pain medication in the form of an injection.  She was very quiet on the way home and we did not encounter that much traffic to cross back to the USA.

When we got home I put her on the side porch but kept her in her pet taxi until she decided she was not having any of that and wanted out.  I noticed that her carrier had been washed at the vet's and there was still some water in it. I fed her and tried to keep her kittens away especially since I had already fed them. They now eat solid food but still want to be nursed in particular Donald who reminds me so much of Paquito when he was a baby and always wanted his mother's full attention...his siblings be dammed...but that is the way cats are.

In case you are interested here is the breakdown of today's charges. They are in Mexican Pesos. You can pay in dollars Mexican merchants love dollars but I always pay in Mexican Currency except for the dentist since he lets his regular patients pay by check.

Spay                                             1900.00

Shots                                              380.00

Pain shot                                          70.00  

TOTAL                                         2350.00  Pesos divided by an exchange rate of $18.00 

                                                      pesos to one American dollar equals $130.55 USD

To the above amount, I have to add two trips to Mexico at $4.00 each and two trips to the USA at $1.50 each that comes out to $11.00 dollars for tolls.

Today's exchange rates

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