As an observer and occasional participant in the Amigos de los Animales sterilization campaigns, I’m always impressed by our team’s professionalism. But there’s another quality that’s even more astonishing to me: our team members’ cheerfulness.
Julia Salido, our devoted campaign manager, organizes the campaigns. This entails scoping out locations around and near the city, buying our campaign supplies, preparing the equipment, recruiting the volunteers, notifying the public via our Facebook page, and adapting to the occasional challenge, such as the loss of electricity or the lack of water at a campaign site.
Supporting Julia and our veterinarians are the volunteers, who show up faithfully twice a month and work long hours, often in cramped quarters. Everyone is pleasant and welcoming. And the volunteers’ friendliness is contagious. Pet owners step forward to help when we’re shorthanded.
At the conclusion of nearly every campaign, the team enjoys a delicious meal, usually prepared by a member of the community. We celebrate birthdays too, and of course important milestones, the most recent one being the sterilization of case no. 26,000 in January.
If you are a Guanajuato resident or a visitor and would like to join a good cause, consider volunteering at a sterilization campaign. Write to us at amigos@amigosanimalesgto.org or contact Julia Salido directly at julesma300@gmail.com. A medical background is not necessary, nor is fluency in Spanish. Being willing to roll up your sleeves, follow directions, and wear a smile are our job requirements.
Thanks to the following team members for their support on June 8: veterinarians Verónica Almaguer, Sandra Hernández, Abril Herrera, Ricardo Montes de Oca, and Arturo Rocha; campaign manager Julia Salido; and volunteers Karla Ahumada, Julie Boyles, Camille Fink, Maria Littlehales, Alan Javier López, Antonia López, Beth Lozano, Andrea Martín, Francisco Martínez Ramírez, Adhán Mata López, Diana Abilene Molina, Rubén Ramírez, and Carlos Sánchez. Our thanks too to Bert Ramírez for preparing the delicious food for our team.