When Kaitlyn Stone was looking for something to do this summer, spending a week in Mexico at a pet clinic was probably the last thing to cross her mind.

But after helping spay and neuter almost 200 pets and learning about issues of animal treatment and euthanasia, she now wouldn’t trade the experience for anything else.

Earlier this year, Stone got involved with World Vets, a nonprofit organization that visits Third World countries to provides veterinary assistance, bringing doctors and supplies to help towns deal with their pet populations.

“I’ve always been interested in animals and animal welfare,” said Stone, a 19- year-old student at UNH. “I thought it would be great to visit another country and get a cultural experience.”

Stone first heard about the program through an advertisement on Craigslist.com and after researching the company, she decided to take part in the organization’s week-long visit to Loreto, Mexico, from May 31 to June 7.

“We had two days off,” said Stone. “We had four full days of surgery at the clinic, Animalandia. We’d get there at eight (and work) until six doing surgeries.”

While they were there, locals from all over the area would bring in their pets.

“Many locals would bring pets in a wheelbarrow,” she said. “They’d come with bicycles with milk crates attached to hold the animals.”

According to Stone, four doctors performed surgeries, with four veterinary students, two veterinary technicians and Stone, who was one of two assistants.

By the end of the week, the team performed 194 spays and neuters. The team also worked on pets who had been involved in car accidents, had skin problems or were lame.

“I was an assistant in charge of recovery,” said Stone. “They would bring animals out to me after surgery. I would give them vaccines and monitor their breathing and heart rate; make sure they were waking up without a problem.”

While helping the doctors, Stone began to learn about how animals are treated in other parts of the world.

“We had one dog come in,” she said. “He looked like a Maltese. He clearly hadn’t been taken care of in years. The owner came in to have him shaved, (but he) didn’t want him neutered. It blew us away how people didn’t know basic care and how an animal should live. He thought the dog was happy as he was. We shaved him, but didn’t neuter him because the owner said no.”

Stone and the team also had to euthanize some pets who visited the clinic, ranging from a barely 8-week-old puppy to a Chihuahua who had been hit by a car.

“It was absolutely awful. I tried to think more with my head than my heart,” she said.

There were happy endings, too. Some animals were saved from being put down. When a group of stray dogs with no owner was brought in to be euthanized, Stone chose to save one of them, a mixed breed of mostly beagle, which she has named Lucy.

“I went down planning, ‘I’m not going to bring anything home,’” she said. “But, had I not taken her, she would’ve been dead.”

The clinic also brought home two other puppies and two kittens. To bring Lucy back to the U.S., Stone had to get a health certificate signed by a veterinarian in Mexico verifying the dog’s health.

Back at home, Stone plans to put her knowledge to work and help animals in the U.S.

“I’m really interested in animal behavior. I’ve been considering a law enforcement job, maybe as an animal cruelty investigator,” said Stone, who is currently majoring in psychology, with a minor in animal science. Her parents have been very proud of her achievements and her courage to travel that far away from home.

“We weren’t sure she was going to do it,” said her mother, Tracie. “We knew it’d be a great experience for her. She did her homework and did what she needed to do. And, now we have a new member of the family.” “It was a great experience,” said Stone. “There’s so much hands-on experience. I would love to go again.”