Two sterilization campaigns
On April 12 our team conducted our seventh sterilization campaign of the year, in the colonia of Las Teresas, where we sterilized 64 animals—21 female dogs, 16 male dogs, 17 female cats, and 10 male cats. This was the same area where we held a campaign on February 18 and could not accommodate all the pet owners who showed up that day.
Normally the campaigns take place on Saturdays and Sundays. Because one of our surgeons was unable to work on the weekend earlier this month, we held this campaign on a Friday. Although many people with pets must work on Fridays, we still had a large turnout.
The campaign ran very smoothly. The only hiccup was caused by a cat that tried to escape before it could be anesthetized. Vicky Sandoval, one of our intrepid volunteers, captured it but was bitten on one of her fingers. Dr. Ricardo Montes de Oca treated her wound, and Vicky’s finger has healed nicely.
On April 21 we held our second campaign of the month, at the preschool in the village of Carbonera. There, we sterilized 39 animals—23 female dogs, 5 male dogs, 2 female cats, and 9 male cats.
We sincerely thank our campaign team members: Dr. Verónica Almaguer, Dr. Ricardo Montes de Oca, Dr. Arturo Rocha, campaign manager Julia Salido, and volunteers Julie Boyles, Mary Beth Canavan, Caro Castillo, Rosemarie Conde, Carlos Donato, Mauricio Gaytan, Miles Henkel, Ben Larrazolo, Victoria Larrazolo, Tony López, Gabriel Ramírez, Rene Ramírez, Vania Rocha, Arianna Rodríguez, Dulce Sandoval, Vicky Sandoval, Clara Segoviano, Fátima Solís, and Axel Torres.
Two educational events for children
On April 18 we conducted two educational activities for children as part of our Teaching Children Compassion for Animals Program, one in the city suburb of Independencia, the other in the village of Cajones.
In the morning Tony López, our education specialist, met with groups of children at an outdoor educational fair sponsored by the Independencia Primary School. The event offered several governmental and private organizations the opportunity to introduce the children to their programs.
Tony gave the younger children copies of our educational coloring book Da una mano a los animales (Give Animales a Hand). She showed all the children how to play our version of the board game Snakes and Ladders, which identifies positive and negative behaviors toward pets and rewards or punishes accordingly the players whose tokens land on various sections of the game.
Then she introduced a surprise: a beautiful, well-behaved young dog named Indie, who was recently rescued by Amigos volunteer Victoria Larrazolo. (You can read about Indie’s rescue, in our March newsletter, by clicking here.) Indie is a pro. As the children gathered around him to hear his story, he stayed calm and happy while the children eagerly petted him and asked Victoria about him.
In the afternoon Tony visited Resplandor International with Julia Salido in the village of Cajones. There they talked with a group of preschoolers and their mothers about pets’ needs. Using hand puppets and Tony’s shoulder as an improvised stage, they explained that dogs and cats need not only fresh water and a proper diet each day, but also attention and companionship. They stressed the importance of vaccinating pets annually against common transmissible diseases, especially rabies, which can infect humans and is almost always fatal.
Resplandor International is a community center that provides after-school and summer learning activities for children from Cajones and surrounding villages. At its directors’ request, we will meet with children and their parents there once a month.
Two TV interviews
On April 18, Tony López and Victoria Larrazolo, along with Nayeli Vázquez of the rescue group Colectivo Guindis, were interviewed on TV Channel 8’s morning program “Despierta Guanajuato” (Good morning, Guanajuato). The topic was responsible adoptions, and Indie, Victoria’s rescued dog, was a featured guest. In the short time since Victoria adopted him, Indie, formerly a homeless, starving, and injured street dog, has become a local celebrity. You can watch the interview by clicking here.
Indie, formerly a homeless, starving, and injured dog, has become a local celebrity.
On April 25, Tony López and Julia Salido gave another interview on the TV program “Despierta Guanajuato.” The subject this time was mixed-breed dogs and their characteristics. To watch the interview, click here.
Two new bus messages
Lately we’ve been displaying messages aimed at keeping people, especially children, safe when around dogs. At the beginning of April, new messages that continued this theme appeared on the backs of two city buses.
One says (in Spanish), “Always ask permission to pet someone else’s dog.” The other says, “If you pet a dog you don’t know well, don’t touch its head.” The messages, which are based on advice to children in a coloring book published by the U.S. Humane Society, will remain on the buses for three months. They are seen by an estimated 10,000 people each day.