Part-time Guanajuato residents Barry Evans and Louisa Rogers have become Dear Friends (Queridos Amigos) by making several generous donations to Amigos. Their support helps make it possible for us to sustain our program for the benefit of our city’s companion animals and the public.
Barry and Louisa first came to Guanajuato in 1999 to study Spanish at Escuela Falcón for a few weeks. Enchanted by the city, they returned in 2001, and again took classes at Falcón. There they became friends of Tom Reavley, who was teaching English at the school. Tom has been a board member of Amigos de los Animales almost continuously since the Mexican government approved us as a nonprofit association in early 2002, and it was through him that they heard about our work.
After house-sitting for absent residents a couple of times, in 2005 Louisa and Barry bought a house just down the street from their Falcón host family. They have spent part of every year in Guanajuato since.
One of the very few things they did not like about Guanajuato was seeing dogs living on roofs in isolation from their owners and without protection from the elements. “We think people’s consciousness about dogs has changed significantly in the last twenty years,” Louisa recently told us. “You see many people walking their dogs, for example, and fewer dogs are kept only for security. We credit Amigos for being a big part of this change.”
For Louisa and Barry, “contributing to Amigos is a way to both be kind to animals, and to give back in a small way for all the graciousness and hospitality we’ve received from locals in our second home of Guanajuato.”