1. Remember we are a 501C3. So you can still give a donation before midnight and get a tax deduction. Here is a rundown on some of the things that a donation would pay for. $4.00 will deworm 4 puppies, what a difference that can make $8.00 a vaccine, saves puppies every day $20.00 pays for one spay or neuter, the math is incredible on how many puppies or kittens one sterilization can prevent from being born $25.00 buys a bottle of doxycycline with 500 - 100 mg. tabs. This cures ehrlichia which affects almost every dog in Mexico, and it's also good for respiratory infections. When one pup gets one of those and there are 45 other pups in the rescue, it spreads like crazy. $25.00 pays for someone to work for seven hours cleaning up after and feeding our pups $25.00 pays for one soft carrier that one of our pups can ride in to fly to a forever, loving home $50.00 pays for one medium crate $100.00 pays for one large crate Other items that we use every day like: Vitamin B12 Wound gel Metronidazole for Giardia Ear cleaner Creams for skin problems - these are all $20 to $40 a container and we go through them fast. There are many more things of course but I just thought that it would be nice to know where the money goes. Thanks in advance to everyone who helps us help them. Happy New Year. On the left is Franklin, he's new, he was hit by a car but is doing much better now, Jeff has even let him sit on the couch. And on the right is Momma Elsa, who was used for breeding, she is so pleased to be here and even gets to sleep on the bed sometimes.

2. Last weekend I went to an area called the Guatalupana. The government on the island has been absconding with property that belongs to the islanders. So a large group of Islenos squatted on a big piece of property mid island on the Carrabean side. It has been a few years now and they still don't have water, electricity or sewage. Most of the homes are shacks and many of the homeowners have dug wells or bought large water tanks that sit in their front yards. Of course there are dogs everywhere and when we have spay and neuter clinics we go there to pick up animals. And when we get donations we go there with de-wormer, collars, vitamins, food and medicine if needed. I would love sometime to be able to vaccinate all the animals but we will need a bigger budget for that as most of our funds go to the sterilization clinics. The children are wonderful and after many, many visits the people are used to seeing me hang around making a big fuss over their dogs.

3. There has been a wonderful group of people that have supported Isla Animals for years. Cheryl House has created this group and stayed with it to help us save pups and spay and neuter every cat and dog we can get our hands on. This year has been one of the best as far as donations and we are so grateful and pleased with the work it has allowed us to do. Below is the list of donors and the beautiful dog that has sadly passed but instigated such generosity. His name was Dr. Zhivago. Thank you all for your support. 2011 ROSIE'S BOW WOW CLUB The club for 2011 raised a total of $2,950. In memory of Dr. Zhivago Extra Large Bones $300 & Over Cheryl House. In Memory of Rosie Jan & Terry Gerken (Moby) Large Bones. $100 to $299 Lael House Wojcik, Honoring - Rookie Julie House Presa, Honoring - Trucco James & Kristin Yasord. In Memory of Vago John & Jean Epler Chris & Kim Cannon Roxane Osantowski, Honoring - Tequila - adopted from Plaza Almendros(AKA, Oreo, Patches) Kelly Ragsdale Valerie Kordyban David & Karen Childers Ron & Diane Seals Medium Bones $50 to $99 Karl & Deanne House Drew & Alison House Tom & Barb Carlson Small Bones $25 to $49 Mike & Tina Lawrence Julie Howard Dan Lindner Don & Jan Hardin Honoring Goldie, Plaza Almendros Cat

4. Jeff and I just got back to Mexico a few days ago. We're having a spay and neuter clinic next week and then the normal dog stuff from there. I would like to do a sweep of the island, door to door, working on vaccinations and spaying and neutering. I mean really - we've been back two days and we already have a very weak momma with eight pups. Then I got a call about another dog with eight pups and Jeff and I are about to go pick up four. This has to stop. I called my new momma - Momma Rina after the hurricane that wasn't. Here is our new mom warming up her pups after their bath this morning, such a good mom. This must be black dog week, out of the thirteen puppies there is only one white one. We are so looking forward to moving ahead this year. With all the rescue groups and people that we are working with now, we can get more done and we're hoping that we can get some help with this. Already we have some wonderful monthly donators, and it makes a huge difference. So many people ask me what they can do to help, well it's really easy. If we can get enough people donating $10.00 a month we will have a budget to work with. Ten people giving up two starbuck coffees every month can buy enough dog food for a week, or three spays or four neuters, or twelve vaccines, or five distemper tests, or four parvo tests, or two and a half medium crates, or ten bottles of specialty shampoos, or two bottles of de-wormer, or five dog rides to the airport, or five health certificates, and on and on. Every penny goes to the dogs, there is no administration, we pay Marcelino's salary (he works at the house and helps with the dogs). IT'S ALL FOR THE DOGS. We've been home three nights and already have two momma's with their pups. There is no where else for these dogs to go. We will find homes for the pups and spay the moms. Each spayed female is one step closer to a better life for dogs in Mexico. If you already donate, ask a friend to do it too, and ask their friends to do it as well. Ten dollars a month and we can make a huge difference together. I forgot to mention in this blog yesterday that the Isla Animals Website is set up to do monthly donations. If you scroll down to the very bottom of the front page there is a donate button, click on that and then there are instructions on how to continue. Thank you everybody, in advance, who donates. It makes all the difference. We are setting up for a big spay and neuter clinic today and getting ready for all the street puppies that we find.

5. We are doing another big spay and neuter clinic in Corales near Rancho Viejo which is next to Cancun. This is our second clinic in this location. Last time we ended up with over fifty puppies. We can put the dogs back on the street but never the puppies. We often re-home the dogs if we can as well. Anyway it has been the worst year for distemper that I've ever seen. Unfortunately we lost about 20% of those pups to distemper. It only takes one distemper pup to infect an entire group of un-vaccinated puppies. So this April we're going to test every puppy that comes in. The tests are two hundred pesos a piece, about eighteen dollars, we want to have seventy five available for that last week of April. I'm asking if any of you can help by buying one or two tests it would make a huge difference. You can donate on our pay pal and make a note that it's for distemper tests and that's exactly what it will be used for. This is an extra cost that we didn't figure into our budget when we were making the original plans. On a more fun note, Isla Animals has had a small explosion of puppies. First we got a litter of nine. Pepe spotted the mom and her pups next to the bull ring in Cancun and has been waiting for them to be old enough to bring here. Then we got a moma and her seven pups. Everyone is healthy, has already been tested for distemper and is adjusting well. By the way Rusty is doing much better.

6. The race was great. There's lots of room for improvement but for a first effort we are all very happy. To all of the incredible volunteers, Jeff and I are so, so grateful. And to those who helped set things up ahead of time with the city and the schools and the race route, we couldn't possibly have done it without you. We haven't finished with the tally because Jeff is still working at the music festival but as soon as we have numbers I will post them. We had over sixty runners thanks to all of you wonderful people who signed up to sponsor school kids. And for you generous supporters who sponsored teams of five, it added so much excitement. Unfortunately we couldn't fill all the teams but next year people will have a better idea of what's going on. The whole event was fun and involved the entire community. From the island government to the police department to the Navy that allowed us to run on the runway. We had help from the Red Cross, they sent their ambulance to be on standby. We had runners of all ages from many different countries. For the first year we couldn't have asked for more.

7. What could be better than getting a puppy or dog off the street. How can you beat putting meat on a starving animals bones or help out a dog before it's abused and learns to mistrust humans. It's the best feeling in the world. Help me prevent another box of unwanted pups being left on a vacant lot. I can do all that and more if I have the funds. Help us turn this Into this It's a great gift idea for the person who has everything. You can buy them a monthly donation to Isla Animals. I will make sure that every penny that you donate is put to work. It's the most wonderful thing to know that we can count on a certain amount of money coming in each month. It allows me to plan ahead in this work that is other wise, to say the least, financially chaotic. And if you are looking for something different you can donate a certain amount of spays and neuters in someone's name. The surgery averages out to $20.00 an animal and it's the bottom line solution to overpopulation and suffering of animals in Mexico. Donate and then let me know by email bayfirestd@aol.com so I can make sure that a Christmas card is sent to your friend or family member. They will love it.

8. Thank You to the Bow Wow Club For Your generous Donation!

9. Yahoo, we are now a 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit organization

 

 

Donate $100 to Isla Animals today and get Alison's Book "No Urn for Ashes" FREE!

 

new mommas

BUTLERS AMAZING HERITAGE

It’s so incredible how after many years of doing the same thing, there are still surprises. Last May I was walking along the street with Maia from Pet Project Rescue in Minneapolis. We, of course, are there for the dogs. When we see a black poodle that’s obviously nursing, we ask around to find out where she lives so we can check on her pups. We find the house and there are eight pups, covered with ticks and fleas, filthy and neglected.
We ask the owners if we can take the whole family home for a few days, clean them up, give them vitamins etc. They think we’re crazy but say yes. So we take her home and make a big fuss over her for ten days until the owners say they want them all back. We reluctantly return them while making the owner promise to spay the mom and add that if they can’t find homes for the pups we’ll take them. When we go back to check the house is empty. Then on December I, seven months later, I get a phone call from someone who has a momma and seven pups and she doesn’t want them. Of course I take them. It turns out to be the same mom and a new litter of pups that are one day old. And sadly the mom is a mess, much worse than the first time we saw her.
Okay long story, this May the vet brought me a pup, actually over a year old, he was sick and terrified. We called him Butler, he had the same body type as my poodle mom and was the right age to be part of that first litter that disappeared but come on, it’s a big island. Than I find this picture, it’s one of the pups from the first litter. You tell me, I know it’s him.Wait did I mention that I’ve kept Butler so long that he’s mine now, even Jeff likes him.

GETTING MINI TO HER NEW HOME

Mini is such a special pup. We were doing a one day spay and neuter clinic in the Guatalupana which is a very poor section of Isla Mujeres. I spotted a group of children running around with two pups that looked in awful shape so I asked them about it. They told me that their dog had eight pups but only two had survived. Mini was the smallest. They let me take them home for some TLC. I didn’t think Mini would make it through that first night. But she did. She’s had a rough beginning but is doing much better. The other pup went back to the family that owned the mother but Mini is staying here.

A wonderful family visiting the island came to the house to walk dogs everyday. They fell in love with Mini. Unfortunately when it was time for them to go Mini was not well enough to travel. She is now. So we are looking for anyone traveling to Chicago or Cincinnati, or Cleveland, or anywhere in that area that would like to take Mini with them. She’s tiny and will fit in a soft pack that goes under the seat in front. We would do everything, pay everything and take whoever can do it to the airport. Time is the problem right now, as it gets warmer fewer airlines will fly animals. So let us know if you can help. Contact me at bayfirestd@aol.com. Lets cross our finger.

NEED A LITTLE HELP AND A PUPPY EXPLOSION

We are doing another big spay and neuter clinic in Corales near Rancho Viejo which is next to Cancun. This is our second clinic in this location. Last time we ended up with over fifty puppies. We can put the dogs back on the street but never the puppies. We often re-home the dogs if we can as well. Anyway it has been the worst year for distemper that I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately we lost about 20% of those pups to distemper. It only takes one distemper pup to infect an entire group of un-vaccinated puppies. So this April we’re going to test every puppy that comes in. The tests are two hundred pesos a piece, about eighteen dollars, we want to have seventy five available for that last week of April. I’m asking if any of you can help by buying one or two tests it would make a huge difference. You can donate on our pay pal and make a note that it’s for distemper tests and that’s exactly what it will be used for. This is an extra cost that we didn’t figure into our budget when we were making the original plans.

FINALLY A USE FOR THE BATHTUB

I got an email weeks ago about a mom and her pups. I blogged about it. The mom was older and they were living in the bushes. I tried to get the pups but the owners wanted to wait until their daughter picked one. I was stumped, I can’t be accused of stealing puppies or no one will trust me. Then I got an email from a tourist saying he’d seen some pups and the bartender at the establishment (which is on the beach) had asked him if he wanted one. Well that changes the rules.

So we went back last night and picked them up. We left the Isla Animals card so they would know where they were. By the time I got home with them I was too annoyed to offer even one back. They were starving. Puppies are cute but guess what —- you have to feed them.

They spent their first day here in our ridiculously big bath tub.

WHERE DO THEY KEEP COMING FROM

People always ask me where the dogs and pups keep coming from. If we continue to spay the adult dogs and re-home the pups, why don’t we stop getting puppies. The answer is that we need more community cooperation. People on the island buy dogs, bring them to the island and breed them. Plus there are many nooks and crannies that we don’t know about where the animals can slip through our spaying and neutering fingers and produce more pups.

Someone called me yesterday to say that they saw a mom and her pups tucked in next to a closed restaurant, behind a jewelry store. We went to check it out. She’s an older dog who has obviously had many litters. She has an owner who won’t spay her and her pups have been given away or allowed to wander off. So she’s continually breeding and any of her pups who survive become beach dogs and do the same thing. This time we are asking the owner if we can have the mom and the pups. I’ll keep you posted.
We WILL get there. Every year more people tell me about breeding dogs in their part of the island. I’m thinking of putting PUPPY POLICE on the side of my car but my car is such a rusty mess, I don’t think it would be good advertising. Not that I’m complaining, I love my little car. It’s pretty funny though, the car has so many rust holes in it that our cat can get in there to sleep when all the doors are closed.

OVERCOMING DISTEMPER

We’ve had such a bad year with distemper. It’s a horrible virus and hard to spot because all the symptoms could apply to other illnesses. Sadly it’s also terribly contagious and we’ve lost quite a few pups. The good news is that we’ve found a test that I think is very accurate. In fact I haven’t seen a false reading yet. They cost $25.00 a piece but it’s worth every penny. We’re now distemper free and have ordered 30 more tests to stay that way. Every new dog or puppy will be tested before joining our group.
Especially with our new tiny babes who are extra vulnerable.

There are seven pups in the litter, ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh are they cute, they’ve opened their eyes and are starting to move around more. We can already see different personalities coming out. How fun is that.

A BEAUTIFUL NEW FAMILY

We have a beautiful new family. The momma was tied to the fence of a rescue in Cancun and while she waited there overnight she had her puppies. Isla Animals is puppy central. No one else wants them because so many of them get sick and need to be isolated. Or because our pups come from bad circumstances and often don’t survive. ‘ But that is why, if you adopt one of our pups who has survived all the obstacles ——- that pup will be one STRONG HEALTHY dog.

POOR HENRY

Fourth day of the Isla Mujeres Spay and Neuter Clinic today. Yesterday poor Henry was neutered but before that he broke his leg. He doesn’t like men so when Marcelino tried to put him in a crate to take him to the clinic Henry jumped off of a four foot wall and broke his front leg. Dr Lynn splinted it while he was sleeping for his neuter.
The sweetest thing was that this little kitty decided that Henry need some extra TLC so she sat with him until he woke up. How cute is that.

There was tons of TLC going around. This momma dog was spayed and her pup was done as well and she watched over that pup the entire time. What a great mom.

A BUSY DOG DAY

Yesterday started with a new dog tied to the gate and ended with four other new additions. Mid day we had two basset hounds surrendered to us. Litter mates, a male and a female.

After that a tourist came to the house very upset by the sight of a nursing pit bull half way down the island so we went down to check it out. She was pretty thin and the owners were happy to have some help with her, so we are going back with food and vitamins. We also brought home the last two of her eight puppies. They were crawling with fleas and got an immediate bath.

They felt so much better after a bath and some dinner and looked wonderful.

You Can See Them All

All the new pups are on the adoption page and I moved all the adopted dogs and pups to the adopted page to make it less cluttered. Just wait until you see them. ADORABLE