At our second campaign of the year in the city suburb of Las Teresas on Sunday, January 26, case no. 43 was also our 26,000th case since starting our program in December of 2001. The animal who had this honor was Laguerta, a beautiful female cat belonging to Alan Quezada Basurto. Julia Salido, our campaign manager, presented Laguerta with a certificate of recognition and some delicious cat treats, which we’re confident she has enjoyed since her surgery.
The other good news this month is that we took possession of our new van, a model 2025 Changan utility vehicle. Like Niña, our now-retired 2000 Ford Windstar van, this one has a gender and a name: He is Jonny Guapo.
We planned to buy a used vehicle, but finding one in good condition at a price we could afford was extremely problematic. We were therefore surprised to discover that we could buy a new Chinese vehicle for $279,900 pesos ($13,662 usd), less than any of the quotes we got for used American, Japanese, and European models. The van is a basic utility vehicle, model Honor S, with a standard transmission. It meets our interior-space and suspension needs, and it has a three-year warranty.
We thank all of you who heeded our pleas for help in raising the money to buy Jonny. Your generous support has made it possible for us to begin this year with a reliable vehicle for our busy sterilization program.
Altogether, we sterilized 160 animals in January—58 in the village of El Rodeo on January 12, and 102 in Las Teresas on January 26. Our thanks to our campaign team: Julia Salido, campaign manager; veterinarians Verónica Almaguer, Abril Herrera, Sandra Hernández, Ricardo Montes de Oca, and Arturo Rocha; and volunteers Karla Ahumada, Julie Boyles, Mary Beth Canavan, Herber Cervantes, Rosemarie Conde, Sally Fish, Manuel Herrejon Martinez, Adhán Mata, Tony López, Beth Lozano, Cintia Rodríguez Patrón, and Dulce Sandoval.