Travel book, sutures, surgical equipment.

Judging by Mary McKinney's packing, her trip to Ambato, Ecuador, this weekend will surely not be dull.

Sight seeing might have to be on the back burner, the Spirit Lake shelter veterinarian acknowledged on Monday, as she plans to help neuter and spay several hundred animals on her nine-day excursion.

"It's just something I've always wanted to do," said McKinney, a former Air Force intelligence officer who shrugs off an overseas jaunt as old hat. "It's one of the reasons I became a vet, is to do things not only in the community but worldwide. The need is there."

McKinney, who changed careers and graduated Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine in 2005, will be joining volunteer veterinarians from across the country on the trip organized by veterinarian Lew Seidenberg of Grayslake, Ill.

The group's goal: To spay and neuter 600 dogs and cats.

McKinney, who heard about the venture through her membership with the Association of Shelter Veterinarians, isn't daunted by the figure.

"Last week I did 28 in a day by myself," she said, adding that she works at the Spokane Humane Society. "A large number is a typical day for me."

Perhaps it seems like expending a lot of time and energy, to hop on a plane to spay and neuter another country's animals.

But McKinney has seen the YouTube videos of kittens and puppies crammed into wire cages to be sold at market in Ecuador. Those that don't sell, she said, end up in the dumpster.

There isn't widespread awareness there of the impacts spaying and neutring have on animal populations and human health, she said.

"How many animals can we save from ending up in the dumpster?" McKinney said. "If we can decrease the population because we're decreasing the number of litters born, in the long run we're helping."

She's mostly bringing her own supplies, she noted, not certain that everything she needs will be available. The group will treat animals left over from the local marketplace, and hopefully spay and neuter in outlying areas, as well.

The community is welcoming the veterinarians, she added, and the local government is subsidizing their lodging.

"The whole town is anticipating our arrival," McKinney said.

Her husband, Jim, is leaving for Ecuador with her on Sunday. Although Jim isn't a veterinarian, he will help tend to animals recovering from surgery, she said.

McKinney encouraged North Idaho folks to take advantage of the fact that they have resources like local veterinarians, the Kootenai Humane Society and the Spokane Humane Society to spay and neuter animals.

"I would like to stress how important it is to spay and neuter your animals," McKinney said. "And we're really lucky to understand that."