Amigos de Animales

November 2009

Dear Amigos:

Our meeting last month was well attended and we discussed several fundraisers to help meet our budget requirements for the season. The first will be a Bake Sale at the Tienda Reyes on the road to Cabo Pulmo on December 19th from 9am until 4pm. I hope you will all bake an extra batch of your holiday goodies and bring them to the sale. You can call Betty (624-130-0340) to arrange to drop them off at her home, bring them to the Homes and Land Information Center in Los Barriles, or bring them to the Tienda Reyes the morning of the 19th at 9am.

Other upcoming events include a garage sale and dinner. Watch these monthly bulletins and the Baja Pony Express for more information.

We took 14 animals in for spays and neuters in November and continued to provide vaccinations for local pet owners who cannot afford them. We found good homes for four of the seven dogs that Bird took in from the La Rivera dump. That leaves three still in need of homes. Please, if you know of anyone looking for a canine companion, have them contact us at info@amigosdeanimales.org.

Bird is taking a well-deserved vacation this month and we need to find foster homes for these three young dogs while she is away. Wouldn’t you like a cuddly friend for the holidays? If you can foster a dog (or three) from December 11th through the 13th, please contact us. We can provide food.

Thank you for your on-going support.

Pam

October 2009

Dear Amigos:

In addition to our on-going vaccination and de-worming efforts we spayed/neutered 4 animals this month. We also found homes for 2 abandoned dogs.

November is off to a big start with the discovery of 6 puppies at the La Rivera dump. When Bird went to look for these little guys, she found 4 more slightly older puppies. She is temporarily housing and caring for all of these little guys so please help us in our search to find good homes for them. Their photos will be on the website soon.

Here’s an easy way to make a big difference: The Animal Rescue website is sponsoring a “Shelter Challenge.” Can you imagine how much good Baja Dogs of La Paz could do with $20,000?! They are in second place for the top prize but now through December 20th, you can cast a vote for them everyday by going to the link below. Please bookmark the page and tell your friends to vote every day:

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces?siteId=3&link=ctg_ars_shelterchallenge_from_home_sidetabs

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, November 17th at 10am at Phyllis Williams’ house. Everyone is invited to join us and to bring a friend who cares about the welfare of our domesticated animals.

We hope to see you there!

Best Regards,

Pam

September 2009

Dear Amigos:

I hope everyone has had a great summer! It has been exceptionally hot here and a slow tourist season for reasons of which I’m sure you are all well aware.

Our volunteers who live here year-round continued to help with the local animals’ basic care. Vaccinating, deworming, administering flea/tick preventative, advising owners on pet care issues, and taking in those without homes. Five animals were rescued and adopted, over 50 were vaccinated, and thirty-one were spayed/neutered. Most of this is thanks to Betty and Bird, two people incredibly committed to improving the lives of the animals in La Rivera and consequently, every resident and visitor. Bless you!

There is still plenty of work to be done and we are looking forward to the return of volunteers and supporters to help us identify needs and find ways to help. As you are packing up please don’t forget to throw some things into your luggage for the garage sale in February. We made a critical $15,000 pesos last year and would like to see that grow in 2010. Swing by the dollar store and pick up some collars and don’t forget your old bath towels.

2009 and been a very tough year economically for both the US and Mexico. One of the positive outcomes of the recent economic crisis is that people are re-prioritizing their lives with a new emphasis on relationships, community and making a difference. If you have been thinking along these lines, now is a great time to step up your participation in Amigos de Animales. We are in need of more active volunteers who want to take on leadership roles and help develop solutions to the changing needs of the domesticated animals in our community. I’d love to discuss this with anyone who would like to look into the possibility of participating in Amigos leadership. Please feel free to call me at home 619-781-1288 or in the office 310-494-5700.

Best Regards,

Pam

May 2009

Dear Amigos:

The May 23rd clinic was a success. 13 dogs and 2 cats were checked in, weighed, had their temps taken, prepped, operated on, and nursed through recovery under the care of the Amigos Veterinarios and our dedicated volunteers. Many animals were also treated for fleas and other minor ailments as necessary and every animal left with a new collar thanks to several people who brought them down from the US. This is important as animals not identifiable as someone's pet are vulnerable, so please keep them coming! We asked that owners who could afford to support us with a donation give at least $150 pesos for the surgery and $50 pesos for a vaccination and this brought in $2,500 pesos the day of the clinic. Unfortunately, we had several “no-shows” but we are in touch with those families and making arrangements to transport their animals to the clinic in L.B. for surgery. Thanks to all the volunteers who generously offered they time and energy, to the vets for giving up a Saturday for us, to Martin and Elizabeth for letting us turn their home into field hospital for the day and a special thanks to Phyllis, Loretta, and Lynda who made sure we were all well fed.

Betty's bake sale added $2,600 pesos to the Amigo's account this month, thanks to our volunteer's renowned baking skills and her efforts to pull it all together.

We found homes for the 6 puppies that Bird was caring for and their Mom but we still need a home for the young, lab puppy and Clara (visit: http://www.amigosdeanimales.org/adoptapet.html). Summer is a tough time to find homes, so please put the word out. We can assist with transportation if you know of a good home in the states.

5 dogs were taken into the clinic in Los Barriles for spay/neuter and our volunteers continue to deworm and vaccinate local dogs as needed. We always have animals in need of transportation between La Rivera and the clinic in Los Barriles. If you are here over the summer, this is a great way to get involved. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Contact Bird for more information (travlingbird@gmail.com).

Have a great summer!

Pam

April 2009

Dear Amigos:

Our supporters really came through for us in April. The Cabo Riviera marina project in La Rivera has pledged $2,000US to support our work! The first part of this generous donation will come just in time to cover the cost of the upcoming clinic (more on that later) and the second part will come in the fall as volunteers are retuning to Baja. Special thanks to head honcho Don Harris who represented Amigo's cause to the developers and secured their support for our efforts.

Our board and volunteers also dug deep and contributed over $700US. Thanks to everyone who has made a donation to assure that we can continue making a difference for the animals and the residents of La Rivera.

Coming up in May, Betty Baumgartner (who organized our very successful garage sale in February) is putting together a bake sale on Saturday the 16th at Rey's market on the road to Cabo Pulmo. Please tell your friends not to miss the goodies our bakers will have waiting for them. On the 17th we will be back at the church with another of our popular information stations. Phyllis Williams will coordinate this effort where we answer questions and distribute information on responsible pet care. Bi-lingual volunteers are especially encouraged to help us with this. Please contact Phyllis for more information.

On Saturday the 23rd we will hold a clinic and sterilize ~20 animals. Most of these dogs & cats have been pre-registered but if you know of a qualifying animal, please contact us and we'll put it on the waiting list or help make arrangements to bring it to the clinic in Los Barriles. Pet owners who need financial assistance are strongly encouraged to contribute at least $150 pesos for the surgery and $50 pesos for a vaccination. Thank you, Elizabeth and Martin for allowing us to take over your home for this event.

In April we were able to get 15 animals to the clinic for sterilization and over 20 dogs and cats received vaccine and dewormer. Thanks to Chuck Potter, our depleted supply of vaccine will be replenished when he arrives from San Diego with 200 more doses. Vaccination is the key to eliminating heartbreaking outbreaks of distemper, parvovirus, and other terrible diseases and our volunteers have done a great job of protecting the pet population in La Rivera. Too bad they weren't equipped with vaccine for the swine flu!

Have a happy and healthy summer!

Pam Gray

***If you are able to contribute baked goods for the sale on the 16th, please contact Betty at 130-0340**

March 2009

Dear Amigos:

I hope you all were able to attend the Festival de Artes last Sunday. It was a beautiful day and the festival was a huge success. Our booth looked great under the awning donated to Amigos by Anita Kaiser. Martin and Smokey worked their magic at the smoothie stations while other volunteers helped sell caps, provide information and take donations. We raised $3,676 pesos at the festival this year.

Our volunteers took 15 animals to the clinic for spays/neuters In March and vaccinated about a dozen more. We currently have 8 dogs in foster care including Nubie, a sweet, short-legged mix who loves to cuddle. You can see Nubie on the website at: http://www.amigosdeanimales.org/adoptapet.html. We also have 7 puppies in foster care. 6 of them are only 2 weeks old! These little tikes will be ready for adoption in about a month. Please help us find good homes for all these little guys and gals. Just reply to this email if you know of someone looking for a new puppy.

With so many volunteers in town, we've had no problem identifying animals for spay and neuter. We are currently looking at ways to hold a one-day clinic in La Rivera to catch up with the backlog. Our veterinary friends from the US have offered to help if we are able to coordinate schedules, permits, medicines, etc. or we may ask Dr. Bravo to take a day out of his busy schedule to help us get caught up. As soon as we have the details of the event lined up all our volunteers can expect a call!

We recently received a donation of an ultrasonic dental scalar (for cleaning teeth) from Estelle Shuttleworth who has a practice in Issaquah, WA. This will make a nice addition to Gretel de la Torre and Emanuel Sosa's office in Santa Cruz.

Our new caps were a hit at the Arts Festival. You can pick one up at the Information Center (next to Otra Vez) for only $12US/$160 pesos.

The next meeting will be at 10am on the 11th of April at Elizabeth Rohr's house. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Thanks for your on-going support,

Pam Gray

February 2009

Dear Amigos:

February saw the return to Baja of many of our volunteers and they were out in force at the Annual Amigos Garage sale on Saturday! Many shoppers came early but we continued to have people throughout the day and when the dust settled Amigos had $12,880 more pesos in the bank. Our bakers did not let us down and the bake sale brought in an additional $1,600 pesos!

Special thanks to Betty Baumgartner for putting together such a successful sale.

We were able to get 11 animals to the clinic in Los Barriles for spay/neuter this month but there are many more on the waiting list. We are seeking people willing to take animals from La Rivera to the Amigos clinic in Los Barriles on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings and to bring them home that afternoon. We hope to be able to schedule an all-day clinic in La Rivera in April in order to get caught up with the demand.

We held 2 more vaccination clinics in February and received donations that almost covered the cost of the vaccine. These have provided a great opportunity to meet local pet owners, provide education, and to identify animals for sterilization.

We also hosted an information booth after mass at the church in La Rivera. We were delighted by the number of people who wanted information on sterilization and proper pet care. What a difference from only a few years ago!

Finally, dedicated volunteers rescued 7 dogs this month. The dogs received medical treatment and we have found homes for 3 of them.

Our next big event will be the Annual Arts Festival at Rancho Buena Vista on March 29th. If you are unable to volunteer to help us in the booth at least stop by to make a donation and pick up one of our snappy new Amigos de Animales caps.

Our next meeting will be 10am March 10th at Elizabeth and Martin Rohr's. Everyone is invited.

Thank you for your on-going support.

Pam Gray