1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

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

6. 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!

 

BUTLER IS STILL WITH US

Butler is an adorable little dog. He came to us when he was about a year old. Someone found him abandoned and sick. Plus he must have been mistreated because he was so afraid of people I had to drag him out of the van that delivered him. So we treated him for ehrlichia and sent him to a quiet foster family where he did really well.
When it was time for the family to leave, Butler came back to us, still shy but workable. He stayed upstairs at the house which really annoyed our dog Sol but he got over it.
I decided that Butler was still too shy to send to a rescue so he stayed with us and he’s still with us. Jeff keeps asking when he’s going to his new home or rescue. Ha ha ha

UPDATE ON JUST-IN AND OUR NEW DOG

Just-in is doing better every day. We are treating him for Ehrlichia and it’s making a big difference. He likes to keep to himself and doesn’t respond to people with enthusiasm. I don’t think his owner paid much attention to him. I see this all the time. We’re working on him though, we make a big fuss over him all the time.

We took in a wonderful, handsome, smart, guy the other day. He was picked up off the street and given to a family as a guard dog. The caretakers didn’t like him plus he barked because they never let him off of his chain. After being here for an hour we could already see that he’s just one of those special dogs. He needs to gain weight and learn to trust people but he’s well on his way. Loves walks.
Our poor Perrafaira (above right) was attacked by a big dog last night. She had multiple puncture wounds and wasn’t using her back leg. We cleaned her up and I’m sure she’ll be okay but she’s an older dog and I think it really upset her. She gets extra hugs today.

MORE THAN FISH IN THE SEA

Two days ago some men that live on a boat in one of the Isla Mujeres Harbours literally fished this little old dog out of the ocean. They kept him over night and then brought him to me. He was in such bad shape, I can’t even imagine where he came from or how long he’d been swimming. His eyes and ears are infected, his nails were so long that his toes were twisting sideways and he has a bad case of ehrlichia. These are only the things that we can see.

Justin was the name of one of the men so we called him Just-in. Ha Ha. We bathed him right away, he was crawling with fleas and then he slept for 24 hours. We would wake him up for some liver every once in a while. Last night he started to move, what a treat that was. He even resisted when I cleaned his ears. Yahoo – go – Just-in. He looks fat but it is the water in his abdomen from the Ehrlichia and we think he’s blind plus we’re not sure how well he hears, I’ll keep you posted.

WHY DIDN’T WE THINK OF THIS SOONER

I got a phone call this morning from Judy. She told me there was a sick dog in the Guatalupana which is the poorest section of the island, still without electricity or running water. I met Judy there and we went to visit the dog. He was really grumpy and really skinny. I promised to bring some medicine for Ehrlichia which is probably what he has, they all have it.
While we were there people kept asking us to look at their dogs and “did we have anti-parasite medicine” or “when can we get our animals sterilized?” What a difference. Partly due to a heightened awareness and partly because of the terrible condition of the dogs.

The kids followed us everywhere. They brought me two sick pups who I took home with me and then it dawned on me. Let’s do the clinic right there. That way the owners can stay with there dogs. We can just do maybe 12 -15 but we can do it every week. Within a few minutes I had Pepe, the vet, agree to come and a family offered their house. Wow. If this works out we’ll go every week until we have the area under control. We can give out deworm medicine and tic and flea prevention. In a few months it will be a showcase of “how too.” We hope. Let’s see how it goes.

Isla Animals: Sixty Puppies Adopted in 3 Months

We are back up to twenty one puppies, even after sending out over sixty in the last three months. But of course, it’s wonderful news because if we keep the puppies from hitting the street and keep spaying and neutering the adults we’ll catch up with the overpopulation of cats and dogs in Mexico sooner than later.

This past weekend Dr. Pepe Vegas came to the house and spayed fourteen female pups and neutered four male pups, all in my laundry room. It was a mini clinic. He also did a tooth extraction and gave the first treatment for heartworm to Cecilia. I adopted Cecilia out to a local family around four years ago and then found her in the street last week, poor thing was bone skinny. She tested positive to both ehrlichia (a tic born disease) and heartworm. I’m sure she will fatten up when we get these things under control and she’s glad to be home.

We also had another small victory last week. There is a large white lab that guards the airport tower on the island and she has been popping out puppies for years. Last week the men that work there finally agreed to have her spayed. Yahoo. And we got her last four puppies, they are incredibly, grit your teeth, adorable.