We arrived in Curitiba Saturday night, picked up by our host family. Dr. Simone and her husband were very generous. They cooked us an amazing meal and truly made us feel at home. We spent Saturday at a farmers market (well kind of a farmers market). There were tons and tons of booths all selling very random items, sadly nothing caught my eye except for the food...of course. They had stands selling a variety of Brazilian foods and they all spelt enticing! I bought a cheese empanada and a chocolate/banana empanada for dessert. Amazing.
The next morning was our first day of work. We went to the Paseo Público (a miniature Central Park) and met Biondo. Biondo is how we were able to get to come to Brazil in the first place. He has a relationship with two of the veterinarians at Purdue and helped us arrange everything (well sort of). He speaks wonderful English and is a delight to be around. He sent us to the the zoo for the day and there we met Manuel. Oh man was this guy a sight. He is the veterinarian at the Curitiba Zoo; let me paint you a picture. His lab coat (that every vet where's here) was camouflage not white, it went all the way down to his knees. He had a long grey pony tail half way down his back and a pair of cracked eye glasses. I was so excited to spend the day with him. Similar to everyone we meet, he was timid with his English at first and passed us off to a Biologist who specializes in avian repopulation. He told us all about the successful breeding program they had there and showed us all the endangered species (not on display for the rest of the park). I should mention that on Mondays the zoo is closed to visitors; staff only. We had the place to ourselves and it was fantastic. Eventually, Manuel picked up some courage and spoke more English to us, which is way better than he thinks. He gave us a private tour during feeding time, so all of the animals came out and put a show on for us! My favorite were the hippos. There is a baby hippo, 3 months old that they only Just brought into the public enclosure the day before, we got to feed the mighty beasts, which turns out the best way to examine their teeth!
(Hungry hungry hippo; holding food to examine teeth)After lunch, we went into the veterinary hospital portion of the zoo and he explained his work. It turns out that he does not have legal access to any sedate/anesthetic for wild animals, like we use in Africa (M99 for example), so he never truly examines the biggest species, hippo, giraffe, etc. That was a shocker for me to hear. In the US we preach that a full exam involves actually getting your hands on the animal. I can't see how that is possible without drugs at least once a year? Every place is different, that is what traveling teaches me daily. We were able to watch while Manuel and the keepers captured a very large Caiman alligator for transport. It was quite a show and we learned interesting handling techniques, including pushing the eyes to stimulate the vagus nerve which relaxes and calms them down. The rest of the day was low key, we learned about the program for school children that the zoo puts on in order to educate the youth. I loved this. They taught about the environment, science, animals, etc. It reminded me of when I was young and spent a night at the zoo; every kid should get the opportunity!
(Playing cowboy with a Caiman)Tuesday was an eye opener. Again, no one knew what to do with us. We had planned to split up but ended up remaining in our wolf pack of five. We spent the day with the equivalent of the SPCA, animal cruelty response team. Like I said it was an eye opening day. You have heard of hoarders I am sure, and even animal hoarders, but it is a whole new world seeing it first hand. This organization is only 3 years old and doesn't have anywhere to put the dogs so sadly they can't confiscate the animals. They visit the owners every month and make sure the animals are being fed and also give the owners some psych therapy. We went and visited a lady in the favela (slums) with 70 dogs. She said that she doesn't go pick up dogs anymore but people drop them off at her house. She had dog feces on her and could barely get out of her house without allowing any of them to escape. The second house was emotionally devastating. It was in the nicest area I have seen since being in Brazil. The lady used to be rich with a beautiful home, but then her mother died and everything went downhill. The current number is 160 dogs. They have completely destroyed her house. They took over the front years, back yard, home, car, piano, everything you can imagine, there are feces everywhere and just as many dogs. The saddest part is that she is running out of money and food so the dogs are very thin. The experience made me appreciate what organizations like animal control and SPCA do but I know it is not my calling.
(This used to be a nice car. Now all the windows were shattered, no cloth on the sets, everything was eaten. There are 130 more dogs in the house and back yard because she tries to keep them out of the front yard...Very heartbreaking sight)The end of the day we went to visit a community dog. Brazil has a problem with stray dogs however every time they try to adopt them out, the dogs run and return to the bus stations where they were before. So this program for Community Dogs was established. Each of these dogs are castrated/spayed, vaccinated, fed and cared for by an individual. However, they live and stay at the station. It is actually beneficial because they are people friendly but territorial so that they keep other dogs away from these crowded public areas. It was a very interesting concept but after visiting, you can see how we'll cared for these dogs are, in better condition than many living in a home with their owners. It was a great couple of days, very different than Foz but wonderful nonetheless. The next days will be at the hospital and university, hoping they are just as exciting!
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