Veterinary clinics at Fort Belknap a success

A collaborative series of spay and neuter clinics, vaccinations and wellness exams at the Fort Belknap Indian Community between the U.S. Army Reserve, RezQ Dogs and the tribe wrapped up earlier this month and appears to have been a resounding success.

RezQ Dogs Executive Director Anita Wilke said the U.S. Army Reserve Veterinary Corps performed 270 surgeries over their six clinics along with 252 wellness exams, with equipment and drugs provided by RezQ Dogs.

"I was blown away," she said.

She said considering the number of people there and the fact that all of this was being done in a place that didn't have a fully equipped veterinary clinic, this was an incredible achievement that provided nearly a quarter-million dollars in free care to the community.

The U.S. Army Reserve Veterinary Corps often does clinics like these to provide communities with services, but also to give their people a chance to train.

Wilke said servicing so many animals in an austere environment provides the Corps with a taste of what it's like to operate in less-than-ideal conditions.

She said all the teams at the clinics were impressive, but the people handling post-op care of the animals stood out.

She said many of the animals that came in to be neutered, or spayed were found to be pregnant, which raises the risk of complications, often results in more blood loss, and requires more specialized care and the post-op care team provided.

She said the team kept close track of vital signs, handled IVs when necessary and overall did an incredible job caring for the animals.

As routine as spaying and neutering is, Wilke said, these are still major operations, and these animals need care in the immediate aftermath and having a team like this to help owners was really great.

These surgeries, she said, will have prevented the births of, potentially, hundreds of thousands of animals.

Overall, she said, the entire team was amazing, not just providing these operations and typical vaccines, but also giving animals anti-tick medication, dewormer and doing full wellness exams for 252 animals.

She said they treated mostly cats and dogs, but also examined a few horses as well, with the Montana Horse Sanctuary providing vaccines and dewormer.

They treated abscesses, ear infections, practically everything the animals needed done at the time was taken care of.

"Everyone there was so amazing," she said. "It just went really well."

On the last day, the clinics were visited by Brigadier General Michael Pyle, Deputy Commanding General of the 807th Medical Command, and Colonel Renea Dorvall, Commander of the Montana National Guard as well.

Wilke said details are still being worked out, but, unless some situation requires their attention, the same U.S. Army Reserve teams should be coming back in August of next year as well for a similar event.