I'm Going to Go To Prison For This and I Don't Care

People are a bunch of assholes.

Sahara and BabyPup and Venus died last year.

I filed a denuncia (a formal complaint) against the vet, Dr. Isael Estrada, of Clinica San Martin in Panajachel, with the Colegio de Médicos Veterinarios y Zootecnistas de Guatemala. My filing said that I believed he was negligent in diagnosing and treating these three dogs, which led to their deaths.

I haven't been permitted to talk about it. I honorably stood by this rule when others spoke badly of me on  Facebook, when people sent me panicky private messages, when people approached me in person on the street. I didn't say anything in public to protect the privacy of the case.

But tonight I received the ruling and it shocked me.

It wasn't that the College sided with Dr. Isael Estrada and dismissed my case. I expected that to happen. I expected Dr. Isael Estrada to twist the facts to protect himself. I expected the College to support their vet and their reputation, and to reject the words of some unknown woman.

What shocked me is that Selaine D'Ambrosi of the AYUDA charity that I have so selflessly supported for four years LIED to the tribunal.

"4.- Que la Señora Selaine d'Ambrosi, Socio Fundador, Presidente y Directora de Ayuda para la Salud de Perros y Gatos (programa de bienestar de los animales sin fines de,lucro del Lago de Atitlán), hace constar que la [redacted] fue voluntaria de AYUDA como un cuidador de casa, sin embargo, la [redacted] fue despedida por negligencia y las condiciones precarias en las cuales tenía a los animales". "

English: 4.- That Mrs. Selaine d'Ambrosi, Founding Partner, President and Director of Help for the Health of Dogs and Cats (non-profit animal welfare program of Lake Atitlan), states that [redacted] volunteered for AYUDA as a foster parent, however, [redacted] was fired for negligence and the precarious conditions in which she had the animals. "

This is so untrue and so hurtful. They "fired" me after I had told them I wanted to file a denuncia against Dr. Isael Estrada. Selaine's husband, Harold William, sent me this message:

Dr. Isael represents Ayuda and Ayuda represents Dr. Isael.

Based on this support structure of 9+ years, the Ayuda board of directors unanimously voted to discontinue services to you.  The puppies that were brought into Thursday's clinic are the end.  Unfortunately, and even though we believe that he is not involved with your malicious actions, this same discontinuance of services applies to Rob through your relationship with him.

As a courtesy to Dr. Isael, he has been advised of your intentions in order to prepare himself...

Both he and others have been advised of slanderous remarks you have made about him and his practice.

As a courtesy to you for appreciation of past services in support of Ayuda, I am informing you that slander is taken very seriously in Guatemala.  It is punishable by prison.  Especially in the case of an extranjero non-resident attempting to jeopardize the credibility and livelihood of a Guatemalan professional and his family. 

Your call, but we hope that no more of your frivolous and attacking remarks reaches any of our ears. 

I am advising you of these things as both an officer and co-founder of Ayuda Para La Salud de Perros y Gatos.

I told them that I was filing the denuncia as a personal complaint and I wasn't involving AYUDA. Harold replied:

If you really have all these professionals who confirm that your accusations are TRUE based solely on your anecdotal information then go for it!..However, even if he was found to be guilty of your charges it does not change the fact that your public accusations are slanderous.  Which by the way, Dr. Isael has been made aware of through his own resources (including his competition) and is now considering taking formal actions against you.

Even though he would not take you back if you walked into his practice and apologized to him and his staff, given the state of things, it would seem proactive and wise to do so anyway in hopes to head off your having to go to court to defend yourself.  The case would have nothing whatsoever to do with his professionalism.  It would be about his witnesses testifying that they heard you saying explicitly damaging things about him.

And by the way, in any case which you still might want to file against him about his practices, consider this.  Besides the Pana Muni, the University, dozens of interns who have worked under him (i.e., Walter), and surely hundreds of witnesses who would be willing to stand up for him in court, the animals in question all came through your home and lived in conditions which even you have admitted were not suitable environments for the for-profit/shelter/personal (hoarding?) in which those animals took ill.

I/we do not want to see or get involved in any of this or see you get hurt.  But you threw the first stone, kept throwing them, and now he's pissed.  Hopefully, for your own sake, you have enough sense to at least attempt to make amends.  I hope you'll think seriously about this.  There's just no way you can otherwise win.

So Selaine lied to the Tribunal of Honor by saying that they "fired" me because my house was a pigsty. In reality, they shunned me because I told them I was filing a denuncia and they were scared and angry. They didn't care about the dogs. They cared only for their reputations, their egos, and their statistics. ("Look at us, we're so great, we saved 100 dogs this year.")

Also, please note that Harold readily admits to spreading the news that I was going to file a denuncia, including telling the vet  "and others". The ironic thing is that they were threatening ME with persecution for slander, yet I had told next to no one, and here is Harold blabbing his mouth off and probably causing more damage to the vet's reputation than I ever did. Un-fucking-believable.

Anyway, the tone and accusations of these and other messages that were sent to me really shook me up. (My poor sister can attest to that!) Many people advised me to not proceed. I was really scared. I didn't file the denuncia for many months, trying to put it out of my mind.

But it was eating at my soul. Every time I stepped onto my porch, I remember Sahara lying there dead. Every time I scrolled thru my pictures, I saw sweet BabyPup. Every time I petted Velvet, I was reminded that I had failed to save her sister, Venus.

So in February, I completed the documents and with a sad but firm heart mailed the denuncia to the College of Veterinarians.

I did it because I needed to know that I had fought for Sahara, BabyPup, and Venus. They were beautiful, innocent dogs and they didn't deserve their horrible deaths. I was responsible for them. They were my dogs. When they got sick, I took them to a vet that people told me was good. But I soon learned differently.

Those are the photos that I attached to the denuncia. Here is the link to the other files. 

https://bit.ly/2Wg7Qr0

The files are mostly in Spanish, but I have included my notes in English. The translation to the denuncia is not word for word, of course. I won't repeat all the details here, for brevity's sake, but I will amend with some thoughts.

I must say this: Dr. Isael Estrada Atz is a fine surgeon. He has performed hundreds upon hundreds of spay/neuter surgeries at AYUDA's low-cost clinics at Lake Atitlan. No one can fault his surgery techniques or rate of success. The service he is doing for AYUDA is incredibly valuable. I never wanted to shut down his practice. I only wanted to incite change. I wanted his superiors to visit his office (which they never did) and give him suggestions as to how to improve so more beloved pets didn't die.

The Clinica Veterinaria San Martin office in Panajachel is inadequate for housing animals overnight. The animals are kept in a separate garage where no one can monitor them. Dr. Isael Estrada does not perform even the simplest of diagnostic tests, eg. Parvo SNAP tests, to confirm his diagnoses. He is rarely at the clinic in Pana because he has another office in Sololá, and because he spends many days helping AYUDA. Often when an owner goes to pick up their pet, he is not even present to talk to them. His staff in Pana are poorly trained, or not trained at all. There are no medical records kept to indicate what treatments have been given, if the animals are eating and how much, or if the IV fluids are being absorbed properly. (See my notes about Venus and her kinked IV. She basically died of complications due to long-term dehydration and starvation.)

I am not the only one who has noticed the poor care animals receive at his office.

Below is a link to a blog post from a few years ago about Shanti, a street dog rescued by a woman who was visiting Lake Atitlan. I personally wrote to her and she confirmed that it was Dr. Isael Estrada who treated her dog. At that time, there was no office in Pana, only in Sololá.

https://joyandjourney.com/the-best-souvenir-ever-i-adopted-a-street-dog-in-guatemala/

In her email, she wrote: 

"I really thought what happened to Shanti was a one-time thing/a mistake otherwise I would have contacted the animal rescue group. I was just happy to get him home."

I have heard other sad stories. In fact, a member of the Board of Directors of AYUDA had a dog who had to stay overnight at Clinica San Martin. When my friend went to pick up the dog, the poor thing was cowering in a crate in the garage, covered in urine and feces. He washed the dog before letting the owner see him that way.

My life has been hell here the past few months. I have had panic attacks. I didn't leave the house for two weeks, relying on "Bert" to get me groceries. When I did finally venture out, I walked with my head down, terrified to see someone who will accost me in public. I took back roads to avoid people. I wore plain clothing to not draw attention to myself. Sometimes I would turn around before getting to my destination, overcome with tears. Sometimes, I would walk out of the store crying, unable to finish shopping because my overwrought mind was endlessly repeating horrible scenarios of being approached by spiteful former friends.

Not only have I had to deal with the deaths of three foster dogs in two months, but I also had to deal with malicious gossip and "shit talk", as my friend aptly called it. I have tried to remind myself that no one cares what jerks say anyway. I have tried to maintain my ideals and my integrity. 

But I am SO FUCKING DONE. 

In Guatemala, you can go to prison for slander. That may be the case here. I am not permitted to say bad things about anyone in public. They can sue me. 

SO BE IT.

I am quite possibly the most honest person you will ever meet, and one of the most virtuous. (Outside of those religious folks!) Do you know that I have never done drugs? NEVER. I don't even smoke marijuana, which is rampant here. And I drink alcohol maybe once a month with friends. 

I have a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Guelph where I majored in Zoology, the study of animals. I worked as an Animal Control Officer with the Humane Society in Guelph shortly after graduation, but couldn't handle the euthanasias, so I quit and went to work for a no-kill rescue organization.

I buy dog food before I buy human food.

I feed my pets before I even make myself a coffee in the morning.

And every day, multiple times, I touch the head of every pet in my house and look in their sweet eyes and talk to them and give them love & attention.

I don't have children. I never wanted them. Animals have been my passion for as long as I remember. Helping animals is my reason for living. 

I want to write more but this is already very long. Please comment with any questions you have and I will try to answer. 

Thank you to my friends and family who have stuck by me, who listened while I wailed, who have offered advice and comfort. I'm sorry for the stress I have caused you. I don't know what I'm going to do next. Oh, wait. Yes, I do. I'm going to go pet Queso and Rui and Moo-Moo and Honey-Bear and Velvet. Good night.

Queso & Rui, my kitty boys. Guatemalan rescues!

My Moo-Moo. Love this dog. She is always so happy! She was from a litter of puppies that I rescued early last year. Her brothers and sisters were adopted but I had to keep her, she was too cute to give up!

Honey-Bear! She and her mother were picked up by AYUDA at the market in Panajachel. Her mother was released after her spay surgery. I decided to keep Honey to socialize her so she could be adopted. She is ready to go for anyone that needs a sweet, quiet, beautiful dog.

Miss Velvet! Her sister, Venus, was one of the dogs that died. Velvet's other sister, Violet, was adopted. Venus is smart and adorable and looking for a forever home.