Our teachers, Tony López and Julia Salido, led entertaining activities for children to raise their awareness of pets’ needs at programs organized by various groups for youngsters during the summer recess from school. The events took place at Moo Duk Kwan Abejas gymnasium in Villas de Guanajuato on August 5, Academia Mentores on August 4, Puntas del Sur on August 10, the Iconográfico Museum’s La Manchita annex for children on August 11; and the subdivision El Manantial on August 12.

During the events, Tony and Julia read stories to the children, played educational games, had the children make their own dog and cat masks using paper and crayons, and at one event introduced them to a live kitten Tony had found abandoned in a dumpster. Each child received an Amigos coloring book to take home.

Our Fundraising Committee was busy planning for our Christmas Market, to be held in late November, the exact date and location to be determined by the municipal government. Our board also began planning for our 25^th anniversary celebration next year.

We responded to several requests from the public for advice on responding to neighbors’ mistreatment of pets. Our media specialist, Joslyn Lewis, posted 8 messages about pets as companions and their needs on our Facebook and Instagram pages.

We are grateful to all our members for their dedicated work on behalf of the community. They include our teachers Tony López and Julia Salido, our campaign manager, Julia Salido; our veterinarians, Verónica Almaguer, Ricardo Montes de Oca, Abril Herrera, Arturo Rocha, and Juan Pablo Rodríguez; and our volunteers, most of whom (but probably not all) are listed here: Karla Ahumada, Julie Boyles, Mary Beth Canavan, Liz Carranza, Rosemarie Conde, Fran Fonseca, Joel Gaytán Pacheco,Jann Lee, Joslyn Lewis, Beth Lozano, Andrea Martín Muñoz de Cote, Adhán Mata López, Frany Méndez Móntiel, Gisele Phillips, Gabriel Ramírez, Terri Rasmussen, Tom Reavley, Pamela Rodríguez Vega, Blaine Southward, Cecilia Spero, Jim Sullivan, Vicki Wagner, and Sandra Ward. We also thank the community members who recognize the value of sterilizing their pets by bringing them to our campaigns.

Dr. Rodríquez received his MVZ degree at La Salle University Bajía in 2001. He also has diplomas in Canine and Feline Dermatology, Equine Anesthesiology, and Veterinary Anesthesia.  He works in private practice at clinics and veterinary hospitals in the area of Guanajuato, performing surgeries whenever other veterinarians request his assistance. 

He decided to study Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science because he has loved animals since he was very young and wanted to understand the diseases that affect various companion and livestock species. He enjoys developing strategies for disease prevention, control, and eradication, as well as devising innovative solutions that prioritize animal welfare.

Juan Pablo and his wife, Rosalba, live in the village of Paso de Perules with their daughter, Pamela, and son, Pablo Mateo. All of them are passionate about horses, and they have four of them, as well as four dogs. Besides his professional activities and involvement with his family and animals, Juan Pablo enjoys playing an active role in his community. 

He and Rosalba have reason to be proud of their children. Pamela competes in barrel racing with her mare and has achieved high rankings at both the state and national levels. Pablo Mateo is in his fifth semester of high school at the University of Guanajuato and plans to study veterinary medicine at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He is demonstrating his interest in the field and gaining practical skills by volunteering at our sterilization campaigns. When Pablo Mateo cannot attend our campaigns, Pamela volunteers in his place.

On July 12 we sterilized 27 dogs and 36 cats, including 14 male dogs, at Salón Ramírez in the village of Yerbabuena. On July 26, at Sportmind Gym in the village of Santa Teresa, we sterilized 101 animals—41 female dogs, 10 male dogs, 36 female cats, and 14 male cats.  Dr. Ricardo Montes de Oca also gave a tutorial on our rapid spay technique to Dr. Juan Pablo Rodríguez Fonseca, who has joined our surgical team. The two campaigns and the tutorial brought our total number of sterilizations for July to 164 and the total number for the year to 909. We also distributed copies of our educational coloring books to children and their parents who attended the campaigns. 

The following  photos are from the July 26 campaign. 

At the beginning of the month we began displaying new messages on the backs of two city buses. One shows an elderly dog and the caption (in Spanish), “Please don’t abandon me when I grow old.”

The other shows an obviously homeless dog sleeping on a piece of cardboard. The message is “Make me part of your family.”

Our Facebook and Instagram accounts displayed two educational messages each week. Here are several of them.

Finally, we are publishing this, our monthly online newsletter, on July 31.

We are grateful to our two teachers, Tony López and Julia Salido; our veterinarians, Drs. Verónica Almaguer, Abril Herrández, Ricardo Montes de Oca, Juan Pablo Rodríguez, and Arturo Rocha; our campaign manager, Julia Salido; and our many volunteers during the month, most (but probably not all) of whom are listed here: Karla Ahumada, Julie Boyles, Valentina Breslauer, Yiye Breslauer, Mary Beth Canavan, Fran Fonseca, Joslyn Lewis, Beth Lozano, Andrea Martín Muñoz de Cote, Adhán Mata López, Frany Mández Móntiel, Victor Milán, Blaine Southward, Jim Sullivan, and Sandra Ward.

As this reporter approached Santa Rosa just before noon, Mother Nature unleashed a ferocious thunderstorm, driving rain mixed with hail that turned the main street of into a raging river. Two of our team members got stuck in the mud on their way to the campaign site, but a 4X4 got them out. And inside the clinic there was no electricity, which meant that the animals could not be shaved for their surgeries and the surgeons were having to rely on battery-powered flashlights to illuminate the patients that had already been anesthetized. 

People and their pets normally wait outdoors for their turn, but Julia Salido, our campaign manager, invited them into the registration area to avoid the pelting rain. She assured everyone who wanted to leave because of the rain that we would return in two weeks to sterilize their pets, but most people decided to wait out the storm. Within half an hour, the power came back on and the campaign resumed.  

As is always the case when we face a new challenge at a campaign, everyone took the storm in stride. People remained cheerful and courteous, quietly forming a queue for the weighing station. By the end of the campaign, we had sterilized 67 animals—27 female dogs, 6 male dogs, 31 female cats, and 3 male cats. 

A new veterinarian and new vet assistant participated in this campaign, Dr. Juan Pablo Rodríguez Fonseca and his son, Pablo Mateo Rodríguez Vega. Dra. Sandy Hernández was on a well-earned vacation.

We had an unexpected patient at the campaign, a female puppy with a broken hip that several of our volunteers saw hit by a car as they approached the clinic. They brought her inside, covered her with blankets to treat her for shock, and made her as comfortable as possible while the campaign took place. 

Our team asked our lead surgeon, Ricardo Montes de Oca to operate on her hip at his clinic afterward and to vaccinate and sterilize her once she recovered from the hip surgery. Several volunteers contributed to the cost of the puppy’s surgery and postoperative care. Julie Boyles,  another Amigos volunteer, fostered her during her recovery and took the fateful step of giving her a name, Lola. Lola and  Julie’s other dog, Kobe, quickly bonded, and now lucky Lola has a new home.

We are grateful to our team members for their hard work: Julia Salido, our campaign manager; surgeons Dr. Ricardo Montes de Oca, Dra. Abril Herrera, and Dr. Juan Pablo Rodríguez; and our dedicated volunteers Karla Ahumada, Julie Boyles, Mary Beth Canavan, Rosemarie Conde, Mia del Ángel Gutiérrez Rangel, Tony López, Beth Lozano, Vero Mares, Adhán Mata López, Lupita Palacios, María Antonia Paz Martínez, Pablo Mateo Rodríguez Vega, and Dulce Sandoval. We are also grateful to the people who braved the storm to attend the campaign.

Case no. 21 of the day was also case no. 28,000 for Amigos. This new celebrity is a mixed-breed female dog with huge ears named Bingo, about two years old, who was rescued in the village of Cienega a couple of months ago. She had been tied up and was nearly dead from starvation and injuries that were probably caused by being a bait dog used in dog flights. Today she’s a playful and friendly addition to her human family. We celebrated her new status with a certificate of recognition, some guitar music, and a round of applause. The dog treats she received will be shared with other dogs.

Beth Kaiser, one of our clients on the 31st, who pitched in to help our team, made the following comments afterward: “I cannot get over what pros all the vets and techs were and how organized the entire group is. I have to say I’m really impressed. One standout aspect was the zero judgement atmosphere: Here to help anybody willing to take the help. I loved that there wasn’t so much as a sideways glance at the cats who arrived in plastic potato sacks.”

Our hosts, Marion Pritchard and Mick Connelly, donated used but freshly washed collars, halters, and leashes for pets who did not have them. We welcome such pet supplies, especially now that tariffs have made new ones more expensive or just unavailable at less expensive stores.

Our thanks to the sterilization team for their hard work on the 31st. Team members were Julia Salido, campaign manager; veterinarians Sandy Hernández, Abril Herrera, and Ricardo Montes de Oca; and volunteers Karla Ahumada, Julie Boyles, Mary Beth Canavan, Rosemarie Conde, Paulina García, Mia del Ángel Gutiérrez Rangel, Beth Kaiser, Tony López, Beth Lozano, Vero Mares, Adhán Mata López, Dulce Sandoval, and Sandra Ward. Our thanks too to Marion Pritchard and Mick Connelly for providing not only a perfect space for the campaign but also snacks and lunch for the volunteers.

During her successful career in sales, sales management, and marketing in the U.S., Terri was vice president of sales and marketing with Giftware Holdings. Previously she had been director of sales for the Dakin Company and director of marketing for Applause Inc. 

In Guanajuato, after spending several years helping in the recovery area at our sterilization campaigns, Terri created an annual bazaar that became a successful source of funding.  During Covid, she turned her attention to creating Terri’s Tiny Tiendita.  Her shop, whether set up in her home or as a pop-up at one of our events, is packed with a colorful array of gifts, crafts and decorative accessories. Best of all, the profits go to support our sterilization and education efforts.

Terri loves all animals, but she’s especially partial to cats and currently has two feline rescues. She also has a cute rescued Chihuahua mix named Millie.

As a board member and a member of our Fundraising Committee, Terri will continue supporting our fundraising efforts with her Tiny Tiendita and by sharing her management and marketing expertise.

If you are interested in volunteering at, or just observing, a campaign, you are welcome to attend. We can put you to work doing something useful but not too challenging. If you just want to observe, we think you’ll find the work we do fascinating and inspiring.

Today, May 31, we are having another sterilization campaign, this one at a private home in the village of Molineros. We expect to have something to celebrate at the campaign and will report it in our June newsletter. Stay tuned!

Our thanks to the sterilization team for all their hard work on the 17th. Team members were Julia Salido, campaign manager; veterinarians Verónica Almaguer, Sandy Hernández, Abril Herrera, Ricardo Montes de Oca, and Arturo Rocha; and volunteers Karla Ahumada, Julie Boyles, Mary Beth Canavan, Fran Espinosa, Adhán Mata López, Tony López, Juana Mondragón, Fran Méndez Montiel, Mia del Ángel Gutiérrez Range, Bianca Lizbeth Rico Vásquez, Estefan Lira Rodríguez, and Dulce Sandoval.

Except for her two dogs, Genie lives on her own. Being a pragmatic person, she decided even before they died that she would not allow her grief over their loss to deprive her of the companionship and pleasure that another dog would give her. Part of that pleasure would be providing a home to a critter who badly needed one.

When Lucy died, Genie contacted Julia Salido, an Amigos board member who has rescued many dogs and cats. Julia introduced her to Luly, a small (3.5 kilos) adult wire-haired terrier mix with enormous ears. Luly is spayed and housebroken and has had all her vaccinations. Julia agreed to start training her to walk on a leash. “She’s a quiet little girl and a little on the timid side,” Genie observed upon their first meeting.

Julia had rescued Luly from the city’s Animal Control Center (CECAA) six months earlier and was looking for the right person to adopt her. Genie fit the bill, given her experience with raising dogs and her availability as a constant companion to this one.

By her third day with Genie, Luly was scampering around her apartment, greeting a visitor, making herself comfortable in both beds Genie had provided, and luxuriating on the sofa while Genie petted her gently. And she knew just what to do when walking on a leash outdoors.

At 90, Genie was concerned about the possibility of Luly’s outliving her. But Julia assured her that if that were to happen, she would find another home for Luly. She even offered to go with Genie and Luly to the veterinarian whenever that was needed.

So, both Luly and Genie have lucked out, thanks to Julia.