Why Mexico? That’s what most people think when they learn that Pet Project Rescue does work down there. I thought it, too. After spending a few days with them, photographing and volunteering at a huge spay and neuter clinic in Cancun, experiencing what it’s really like and meeting the people who are making a difference, I can tell you why.
We arrived on November 2nd, Dia de los Muertos. Angie, with Rescate Malix (a rescue basically named for mixed-breed / mutt / street dogs) picked us up from the airport with her husband and adorable little boy. They are very passionate about animal rescue and education, and have personally rescued over 200 strays. The week before we arrived, Tropical Storm Rina hit the area, and their home and shelter facility was essentially destroyed. It sounds like they’re turning the situation into an opportunity to focus their efforts on more awareness and education, rather than physical rescue.
After a quick freshen-up, Angie picked us up again and headed to the clinic. It was held at a secondary school in Corales, a very poor part of the city. Taxi drivers always seemed surprised that we wanted to go there. The roads were incredibly bad, with giant (like, car-sized) potholes made worse by the flooding. The buildings were run-down with piecemeal, found-object solutions for walls, doors and windows. There were bags of garbage everywhere. Not many street dogs in that area though, as the continued clinics really seem to be working… in the rest of the city, you can’t go two blocks without seeing a handful of dogs.
We arrived in the afternoon when things were finishing up. It was especially quiet since the school kids had the day off for the Day of the Dead. We met the other volunteers, got a feel for how things happened, and got a few photos of animals in recovery. It’s always a bit jarring to see cats and dogs lying lifeless, waiting to wake up from anesthesia.
The following day, Thursday, we got up bright and early, slathered on some sunscreen, and headed out with Maia and Lindsay (from Pet Project Rescue) back to the clinic. We arrived to a huge group of people, waiting in line with their animals, taking shelter from the sun under some canopies in the parking lot. Some brought kennels or cages, some collars and leashes, (and a surprising number of sparkly, bedazzled collars) but some seemed to have fashioned a lead out of whatever they could find…. rope, chain, a seatbelt. However they came, they came with the same goal in mind, to stop having litters and help their pets be healthy. Going to a regular vet is often far too expensive for people, costing as much as a week’s worth of pay. When your choice is to feed your family or take the dog to vet, the choice is simple. It’s what makes clinics like these so important…. through donations and volunteers, they’re able to provide hundreds of people with care they want, they know they need, but just can’t afford. It also helps educate those who might not know they need it.
There happened to be a stray wandering around the clinic right when we got there, so Maia picked her up and got her spayed!
Some of the dogs had clearly led some rough lives, and birthed many, many litters. Many were thin and bony, dirty, and crawling with ticks. Many others, though, were very clean and well-cared-for. There’s an amazing variety of breeds down there…. people are really into Schnuazers and Mini Poodles, actually. I had an idea in my head of a “Mexican street dog” and there’s definitely plenty of mutts, most small to medium-sized, brown-ish with short hair, but there’s lots of sizes and colors that I didn’t expect.
One thing that really struck me was how friendly everyone was. The owners all had a smile for you, some commented about the “fotos” and just seemed genuinely happy. I don’t speak Spanish (I started to pick some up though!) and many of the residents and volunteers don’t speak English, but you can communicate quite a lot with gestures. Smiling, pointing to their dog, then pointing at the camera never failed!
We stayed at the clinic until mid-afternoon on Thursday, then headed out for a bit of an adventure. Tierra de Animales is a sanctuary about a half hour outside the city, literally in the jungle. Ricardo and his family have dedicated their lives to helping the abandoned, sick, abused, beaten and wandering dogs in and around Cancun. They make sure every animal is spayed/neutered, de-wormed, bathed and vaccinated. There are not nearly enough people in Mexico with the means or the desire to adopt these animals, so they work with rescues in the US and Canada (like Pet Project Rescue) to find as many loving homes as they can. There’s currently 140 dogs living at their facility. One hundred and forty. I have definitely never experienced anything like it. Some are kept separate, as they are dog- or people-aggressive, but the majority are out in the main area and were more than happy to come see us. “Enthusiastic” would be an understatement. I have to say, there’s nothing quite like being bombarded by a few dozen barking, jumping, running dogs. Wow. The most amazing part, though, was seeing Ricardo interact with the animals…. he is truly a dog whisperer, if there ever was one. They listen to him, follow him and respect him. They stop barking at his command. There were a couple scuffles amidst the commotion but he was right there, right in it, separating them, and within seconds it was over. When things settled down, Maia and Lindsay did some evaluations to see if the dogs would be a good fit for the rescue, and they’re planning to send about a dozen to Minnesota to be placed in foster homes. By then it was dark, Ricardo shared some beer with us, and we were on our way back to the city.
Before retiring to our hotels, we stopped at a small vet office to see Bella, a very special girl. She’s young, I think 6-8 months, and someone hit her in the face with a machete. She’s missing most of her right eyelid, had some skin grafts to close up her face, but is really none the worse for wear. She’s completely sweet, very affectionate, and should be up here in a couple weeks, ready to find a new home.
Friday, the final day of the clinic, was…… intense. Dustin and I only took photos for an hour or two, and when the dogs starting coming in from surgery, we were on the floor wiping up blood, picking ticks, trimming nails and whatever else needed to be done. It was busy for a while, then it was NUTS. We unfortunately have no photos of the chaos, because if we had left our posts, there was no one to take our place, and photos barely crossed my mind. Friday was the day they planned to do the most surgeries, and it ended up being the day we had the least amount of volunteers. We were in a room that was small for the regular days, and really too small for Friday. We ran out of crates, out of clean towels, and many of us were running out of patience. In a space that was maybe 8ft x 20ft, lined with full crates, we were practically stacking dogs on top of each other, waiting for them to wake up. And they were taking a long time to wake up, many of them peeing while they were out, a couple threw up, and many were waking up freaked-out and aggressive.
We stopped picking ticks, cleaning ears and trimming nails because there was no time. Dog after dog after dog was coming through the door, with no space to go, and five more waking up at the same time with no crates to put them in. There weren’t enough muzzles so they were tying ropes around their mouths to keep them from biting us or each other. Some were coming in with no documentation, we couldn’t keep up with meds. Dustin was in a smaller area of the room, maybe 5ft by 8ft, with 6-10 dogs at any given time, and hardly any help. It was during that chaos that he actually got bit on his finger, fairly deep, top and bottom. I didn’t find out until later, and I’m glad I didn’t, because I don’t think I could have handled it. The vets cleaned it, Dustin bandaged it up, and someone commented that they’d never seen someone so pale. (It’s all healed now)
I have little sense of time from that day, but it must have been at least 6 hours straight of craziness. I have to hand it to the volunteers, they did so much work and came together when it was needed the most. When it was all said and done, they performed 760 surgeries in 5 days, and at least 250 of those were on Friday. I can’t help but compare this experience with Red Lake, where they have an enormous warehouse and perform no more than 75 per day. I have no idea exactly how many dogs were in that little area at once, but I would guess at least 15 – 25 consistently throughout the day. I’m really not good with blood and medical stuff, but I had to get over it pretty quick while I was there. You had to be cautious of every dog that was waking up, because you had very little warning if they were going to turn on you. Amazingly, there were no dog fights, and only about 3 people got bitten. (Dustin’s was the worst) The other days of the clinic went very smoothly from what I hear, and all in all, it was an incredible experience, we met some wonderful people, and helped out a heck of a lot of animals.
It was so nice to take a couple days after the clinic to relax, lay on the beach and enjoy Mexico. Dustin and I took the ferry to Isla Mujeres, found a cute little hotel run by Canadians, ate some great food and drank some cervezas. We met up with Maia and Lindsay at Alison’s house before we left on Monday. She runs Isla Animals, an organization that is dedicated to reducing the population of unwanted pets on Isla through ongoing spay/neuter programs, education, vaccinations and adoption. There’s a great Q&A page on her website, addressing some of the issues and questions that are on many people’s minds.
So, why Mexico? Simply put, because they need help and we can provide it. Yes, there’s plenty of stray, abused and unwanted animals here at home that need help. There’s also a LOT of resources here to help them…. countless rescues with countless fundraisers, volunteers, fosters, and lots of people who can afford to adopt and donate. There’s a major overpopulation problem in Mexico, very little local money for shelters, vet care, food and supplies, and basically no one willing to or able to adopt. People running over animals for fun, and a government that “helps” by electrocuting whatever strays they can round up. But, there is an amazing network of people who are working very hard to lower the population, get these animals healthy, and get them to a place where someone actually wants them. Those people need our help, our donations, our support. They need us to create awareness and to have an answer when someone asks, “Why Mexico?” The only thing differentiating these animals from yours is the misfortune of being born across the border. I realized while I was there, sitting and watching the owners with their kids, their wives and their pets…. it’s a lot like providing aid to people in other countries. What kind of world would it be if we only looked out for our own? If we left everyone else to fend for themselves?
I’m so, so honored to have been invited to see this, to photograph it and to get my hands dirty. I’m very excited to continue working with Pet Project Rescue, and using these images to raise money, awareness and support for these amazing organizations. After narrowing down my photos to several hundred, I realized I can’t have a blog post that big…. So this is just a small sampling of what we documented those few days, but this won’t be the last you hear of our trip to Mexico!
Other major players who made this clinic possible are Cats and Dogs International, Planned Pethood Mexico, Air Transit, Royal Resorts and CEO Mexico.
Great post!! Every time I’ve been to Mexico, I have always worried about all the street dogs. It is so wonderful to have this spay and neuter clinic. And so wonderful for you to donate your time.
This post made me so happy it made me cry! Thank you Sarah and Dustin for coming to Mexico and taking these amazing photos. It should also be known that Dustin was bit by the Red Cross dog when the dog was waking up…just a bit ironic!!! On Friday alone we sterilized 200 dogs and 100 cats, and for perspective we usually do just over 100 surgeries (total) each day. We all powered through the madness and lots of animals lives will be saved b/c of it. Change is happening in Mexico, and with the support of so many people we know we can change things for the better everywhere. Even small changes make all the difference, and for the first time in many years we are seeing people that are willing to adopt street dogs IN Mexico, and that gives us hope. It’s not many, but each one counts!! Thank you again Sara for giving these animals a voice.
Sarah this is one of the most beautiful posts I have ever seen and read. The images are so strong but the story itself stronger. I can’t imagine what it was like with everything going on. I am a huge animal rescue supporter and animal lover myself and hearing story’s like this brings tears of joy to my eyes.
Thank YOU, Maia, for working so hard every day for these animals and inviting us into your world :)
I am bawling after reading this post!!! I have seen pictures through the years of Maia and Lindsay’s work down at the clinics but it was so great to read your “outsider’s” perspective on everything. Of course each dog in every picture is cuter than the last. Thank you for documenting your trip and sharing!
AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME photos, as usual! Thanks for accompanying PPR this year to help spread the word about what great work is being done in Mexico!
You are amazing Sarah!!! As is Pet Project rescue and everyone else that makes this possible. You photos could not have captured the passion better. Puts a huge smile on my face.
Sarah, this is *amazing*, *wonderful* and I’m truely *inspired* by your blog & the pictures. I too am a huge rescue advocate and loved hearing about the progress they are making in Mexico. Thank YOU for your time volunteering and helping to spread the word by sharing your experience.
@Sarah: please check out this link when you are not too busy: http://evocativedogphoto.com/blog/citizen-pet-article-on-dr-judith-alberta-commercial-pet-magazine-photographer/
it is about the work a Canadian vet is doing to help reduce the unwanted dog population by where we live but if this project takes off it could be all over the world soon.
we are trying to get this project as wide an exposure as possible but we understand if you can’t post this comment. ∞
Great work Sarah and Pet Project Rescue. I am also glad you answered the question “Why Mexico?” because I am sure many people wondered. But I agree, that dogs are dogs, and people are people regardless of borders. And if we can help, and someone needs it, it shouldn’t matter.
Great photos, and commentary.
Amazing pictures as always!! Way to go!
Thank you for this wonderful inside look at all that goes on during the clinic. I am a proud volunteer for Pet Project Rescue and hope to one day join them on this remarkable and necessary Mexican adventure. Your photos are amazing and I appreciate your commentary.
Very cool. :). Glad Dustin is okay!
Wow, you have documented your experience with so much honesty and emotion. It echoed my sentiments and experience so closely as well. Thank you for your beautiful words photos and message. I hope that lots of help and understanding is generated by your blog. Aviva
Hey Sarah,
Amazing photos and blog! glad you guys were able to come to the clinic. take care
Craig
Your post was absolutly beautiful Sarah! I dont think you realise the intense power your photos have over animal lovers like myself. Thank you so much for all you have done and what you continue to do. BEAUTIFUL!!!!!
Sara, What a great blog entry! Your pictures definitely tell a heartwarming story about something really really good happening in Mexico. Thanks to you, Dustin and all the other volunteers, far less stray dogs and cats will meet violent and cruel ends. Thank you, thank you.
What a beautiful and heartwarming website – I hope to rescue another dog very soon. Thanks for the lovely photos!
Yes I too loved the pics. I was on a cruse once and in St. Martiin. Watched a dog follow a guy to the water taxi and stand on the end of the dock waiting for him to come back as he went on to the ship. I think the dog had spent the day with the man. So sad there too!
I was on vacation 2 years ago w/a friend in Isla.. While the my friend volunteered often at Alison’s and spent alot of time with Lucia, a street dog who adopted her while we there there. Lucia now lives in South Mpls with my friend and her two other companions Blue and Grover.
Wonderful! Thanks for caputring this story through photography and for your work to help the animals!
WOW and double WOW! I have 3 rescue dogs, one of whom was shipped to me from rural Missouri. Bates County was unable to keep their shelter open, many dogs were euthanized, and Daisy was brought to me and mistaken by the rescue as being a “lost pet”. She was a wild feral/stray dog, starving, emaciated, broken jutting out ribs and also full of shot gun pellets. I SO identify with your photography and the imagery here on your page. I see Daisy’s face and demeanor, stooped stature, rounded body, eyes slanted, face of sorrow, tail tucked, EVERYTHING I have endured, experienced, and more with my little girl is present here in your work. I only found out two months ago from the emergency vet that she had been shot numbers of times! Working with stray feral dogs takes a unique determined strong-willed relentless spirit. Out of my 3 rescues, Daisy has stolen me – heart and soul. I applaud on every level in spite of criticism you may receive about importing additional out-of-state rescues what you are doing. People say I am a miracle to Daisy. NOT TRUE. Daisy is my miracle. She saved me on every level. Excellent work Sarah Beth. I would love to have you meet my little girl. Now I take her to a home in Minnetonka to visit Alzheimers Patients. She is still my wild child, and will never be fully tame. No matter. LOVE your work!!!
Hi Sarah, beautiful pictures, thanks for sharing, hope that it will get more people to help us daown here in Cancun. Hope you can make it for the Jenuary clinic in Bonfil.
wonderful wonderful wonderful!!! i have had the priviledge of volunteering at spay clinics in isla mujeres and cancun. what an unforgettable experience. animal lovers who travel to mexico need to contact any of the marvelous organizations mentioned above and donate cash and time. it’s a feel good experience that stays with you forever! who knows, you might even fall in love and take a little angel home with you! congratulations, sarah beth!!! Excellent work!!
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Did you see Katherine Heigle’s pro Neutering commercial? I hate Balls. Hilarious.
http://doodiepants.com/2011/12/10/katherine-heigl-hates-balls/
[…] to provide spay / neuter services for our community, and in less fortunate communities in Mexico. Check out this blog post from 2011 when I traveled to Mexico with them to document a spay / neuter clinic.We photographed 2 adorable […]
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