The McKee Project

The McKee Project is dedicated to honoring the work of M. Anne “Mickey” McKee, who tirelessly championed the rights of animals and inspired a new consciousness about animal welfare and the environment in anyone with whom she came in contact.

Towards the end of her life Mickey spent considerable amounts of time in Africa, worrying that humans would for ever damage the beauty and grace of the continent’s natural environment.

“Humans are so cruel to one another; I cannot change that. But I can make a difference for the animals.”

As one of the first supporters of the then new organization PETA, Mickey was very outspoken in denouncing the horrors perpetrated against animals by the fur industry.

Growing up I spent countless hours in Mickey’s home visiting with the many animals that had found sanctuary there and decided that, one day, I too would help make a difference.

Christine Crawford, Founder of the McKee Project

If you would like to get involved with our projects or have your pets spayed or neutered, please download this spreadsheet (click here) and you will receive a list of all of the veterinarians in Costa Rica to choose from, including their phone numbers.

“The McKee Project promotes cultural change to improve the quality of life of dogs and cats in developing nations and strives to control companion animal population by supporting communities in starting sustainable spay and neuter programs.”

At McKee we approach animal welfare very differently from mainstream rescue organizations: we believe that if communities are not involved in the solution, animals will never lead better lives.

Thus, we change how people view and treat their animals, to improve veterinary skills, to create a new veterinarian/client relationship and to provide a framework for communities to sustainably and humanely lower the overpopulation of dogs and cats without building shelters or resorting to mass euthanasia.

Introduction to The McKee Project Methodology

Over the past 12 years, The McKee Project has developed and taught spay and neuter techniques to 650 plus veterinarians in 8 Latin American countries. The reason McKee believes this teaching is critical is that the majority of veterinary schools in Latin America do not teach how to spay and neuter companion animals, as they do not believe it is a commercially viable practice and more importantly, a humane strategy to control overpopulation. Traditionally veterinarians in Latin America are trained for agricultural animals or for food supply safety. Veterinary care for dogs and cats is not even a consideration.

The McKee spay neuter technique takes minutes, utilizing a spay hook, and makes an incision of about one inch – this is a less invasive procedure, quicker, less traumatic to the animal, and approximately 60% more cost-effective. This quicker and less invasive technique allows countries to provide service to the thousands or millions of animals on the street much more efficiently.

The result of McKee Project’s training has in fact created a cultural shift where veterinarians are shown that spay and neuter of companion animals can be commercially viable by the creation of a new client base of dog and cat owners, as well as creating a new relationship between owners and their healthier pets.

Besides spay neuter training for vets and their communities, McKee believes that pet “owners” need to be trained to invest in their animals as well. There is a cost associated with spay and neuter of companion animals, based on each veterinarians cost and owner’s ability to pay. Initially assessed by owner resources, the cost is minimal.

When spay neuter is first introduced to a community Mckee finds that 10% of the companion animals from the area take advantage of the low cost service. Over time, neighborhood animals are seen to be healthier and thrive without multiple litters. Slowly but surely more and more owners seek spay neuter.

Statistics show that 70% or more of the companion animals in each area must be sterilized in order to have a marked effect/control breeding of unwanted and uncared for dogs and cats.

Thus Mckee has a big job if we are to make a difference. Through your donations (click on the donate menu item) we can ensure this slow and culturally altering educational and training process happens in volume across Latin America, that it impacts the suffering of animals that are abandoned and abused from lack of housing, food, water, and companionship of humans.

If you want to get involved with The McKee Project please send us an email at info@mckeeproject.org, we have veterinarian training and community spay neuter programs happening regularly in Costa Rica and around Latin America. Together we can make a difference, one day at a time.

If you would like to get involved with our projects or have your pets spayed or neutered, please download this spreadsheet (click here) and you will receive a list of all of the veterinarians in Costa Rica to choose from, including their phone numbers.

CURRENT PROJECTS 2013 -2014

Mexico

McKee has been invited by the government to teach government veterinarians in Jalisco Mexico. A minimum of 60 veterinarians will be trained in the McKee Spay/Neuter Surgery Technique.

This training is made possible in large part by the Marchig Animal Welfare Trust, and is dedicated to Mrs. Jeanne Marchig, whose generosity changed millions of animal lives throughout the world.

El Salvador

The Costa Rican Ambassador to San Salvador has invited Mckee to train Salvadoran veterinarians in Mckee’s Spay Neuter Surgery Technique. This training is being arranged for the end of 2013.

Costa Rica

Over the past 13 years, McKee has trained some 300 Costa Rican Veterinarians, making spay neuter surgery safe, affordable, and now common practice for community animal welfare groups, as well as private practice veterinarians in Costa Rica.

McKee holds a regularly scheduled spay neuter training session to licensed veterinarians the last Wednesday of each month.

However, even though Costa Rica shows the highest spay and neuter rate in Central America, approximately 80% of this service is provided in the Central Valley – the most affluent area of the country.

Spay and neuter efforts in rural areas are not yet sufficient to humanely lower over population. This, coupled with lack of education, results in the reverse of the precepts of animal welfare. Thus in 2013 -2014 Mckee’s Costa Rican focus is rural area veterinarian training and government veterinarian training.

Past Projects

McKee has taught in Belize, extensively in Guatemala (in partnership with WSPA), Peru, Nicaragua, Mexico. Argentina, Panama and Curaçao.

In all countries in which Mckee has introduced its strategies, progress has been made away from cost prohibitive sheltering/mass euthanasia and humane population control has taken root in its place.

With this shift, more and more dogs and cats are being looked upon as sentient beings.

New veterinary clinics and pet supply stores open, animal abuse is seen as inhumane, and there is increased attendance at low-cost spay/neuter events, even in very poor neighborhoods.

Mckee has been the candle of hope* to end animal suffering in Latin America by humanely lowering overpopulation. Thanks to Mckee’s international surgery training program more veterinarians are trained in the small incision method and communities are supported in starting their own spay and neuter services.

*Esther Mechler, Founder Spay USA

The McKee Project is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable foundation in the United States of America. All donations are tax deductible.

To donate to The McKee Project please use this Paypal button.

General Overview

Supporting the McKee Project means supporting the communities where we are active with our outreach efforts.

First, by training veterinarians in advanced spay and neuter surgery protocols, we shut off the puppy tap preventing millions of newborn dogs and cats from hitting the streets of thousands of communities across Mexico, Central/Latin America and the Caribbean.

The rapid decrease in stray pet population that follows enables local advocates and volunteers to better care and rehome the existing street population.

Second, we train community leaders and volunteers in how to start a successful spay and neuter program, and this continues in the community after the McKee project training and support team leaves.

Third, we teach the sustainability component to animal advocacy, setting the stage for a long term program that may continue even when the start up money has run out.

So, thank you for considering donating to keep the McKee Project alive. We started as a grass root movement and still think that way: no fancy offices, no corporate vehicles, no administration staff, no glossy brochures, no waste.

Simply put, we are a group of dedicated animal lovers who believe we might have the solution to ending the tragedy of homeless companion animals in developing nations.

Your contribution is vital to our cause. Every time a new doctor in veterinary medicine learns the McKee Advanced Spay and Neuter Field Method we gain one more advocate for spay and neuter programs.

Learn about other methods besides cash donations below, we are flexible with your donation methods to ensure animals receive the treatment they so desperately need.

Coffee enthusiast? Join the McKee Coffee Lovers Club today!

As everybody knows, membership has its privileges. Your initial $50 tax deductible donation buys you lifetime membership in the McKee Coffee Lovers Club (not to mention your very first 250gr. bag of delicious Costa Rican pure Arabica Coffee.)

Once a member, you can reorder for just $17 a bag (also tax deductible) delivered straight to your front door at no extra charge. Every order allows us to allocate $10 to help an underprivileged pet as part of our commitment to helping strays. Join the McKee Coffee Lovers Club today: one cup, one stray, one community at a time.

Together we can change the destiny of millions of animals all over the developing world.

To donate to The McKee Project please use this Paypal button.

Please consider subscribing to The McKee Project newsletter. We send updates on our efforts in the community through this medium. It is important for everyone who can act on animal welfare through The McKee Project to join this newsletter, it is our central voice.

Thank you very much for your consideration.