Going to the Dogs
“Tu perro no es muerto. El perro necisito mas tiempo a dormir.” (Your dog is not dead. He needs more time to sleep.)

Gwen Goodwin’s Spanish isn’t perfect, but it came in handy during her internship. After two weeks working with local veterinarian Hugh Davis, she spent two intensive weeks in the coastal community of Mazunte in Oaxaca, Mexico, helping to spay and neuter more than 100 dogs with a group of volunteers. Gwen’s job included prepping the dogs for surgery, monitoring their vital signs and administering vaccinations. Working conditions in the village were primitive. Surgery was performed on giant bed sheets at the municipal center, with no electricity. “We all worked non-stop to take advantage of the daylight,” says the 2004 biology grad from Candia, N.H.

The vets’ mission was twofold. Besides helping the local people control the feral dog population, they also help protect two critically endangered species of marine turtle, the Leatherback and the Olive Ridley, which nest on the beaches nearby.

Efforts to protect the turtles are hampered by dogs that eat the turtles’ eggs and young. Visiting the Mexican Marine Turtle Reserve in Mazunte dovetailed nicely with a project Gwen was involved in at Saint Anselm—Professor Barry Wicklow’s research on the range and vocalization of the wood turtle.

Gwen set her internship up on her own. Dan Lavoie, biology department chair and internship supervisor, helped her develop it into a project for academic credit. “It was a unique experience for a student who wants to practice veterinary medicine,” Lavoie says. “It drew on her science background to develop professional level technical skills, and at the same time, it fit nicely with her undergraduate research on turtles. The icing on the cake is that it was a cultural experience too, which fits in with her strong grounding in the humanities.”

Gwen’s interest in animals began with getting her first horse when she was nine years old. A champion equestrian, she plans to go to veterinary school and specialize in equine chiropractics and acupuncture.

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