OFF THE BEACH

POISONED POSSOM – I leaned down in the early morning to see what the small, dark object was on the green tile floor in our bedroom was.  Curled up into a ball was a baby possum, presumably brought in by my Siamese cat.  A tiny, pink foot slowly appeared, and then a little face with bright, black eyes, pink nose and smooth,  oversize ears.

Skipping ahead to the next day, our gardener, Esau Bello, told me that he had found the dead mama in our garden, picked her up to bury her and was astonished and sad to see a baby attached to one of her teats.  Esau brought the second baby to me and I took the two baby possums for an overnight of kitten milk and mangos at board member Trisha Aljoe´s.  The following morning,  I delivered them to a possum expert for care until old enough to survive on their own.  The mother possum had been poisoned and is the fourth to crawl into our garden to die.  It is almost certain that she she would have had other babies.

Possums give birth three times a year to litters usually consisting of six to nine young, but the number can be as high as twenty-five.  As possums have only thirteen teats, it would be extremely unlikely that more than thirteen babies could survive.

TINY SIBLINGS – HERMANITOS PEQUEÑITOS ENCONTRADOS EN MI JARDIN- Y LA MAMÁ ENVENENADA QUE LLEGÓ  PARA MORIR.

LAS ARALIAS (any plant of the genus “aralia):  This colonia, a couple of miles east of Costco and La Comer, is the easiest and quickest one (15-minute drive) to get to from centro. 

PARQUE LOS SAUCES EN COLONIA LAS ARALIAS

 It´s a quiet, middle class neighborhood with a large, leafy park, los sauces (“the willows”),  where pet owners walk their dogs on leashes.  The clinic took place in a privately owned bodega across the street from the park. 

BODEGA DE SOFI GONZALES – LAS ARALIAS

When I arrived at 8:30 in the morning, pre-teenage girls were being supervised by their teacher as they ran in circles over the recently watered grass.  Forty-six cats and dogs were registered for surgery by 9 AM.  (Santa) Elena Moreno, who seldom misses a clinic, was there with thirteen dogs belonging to neighbors.  Elena has brought 520 cats and dogs to PEACEAnimals clinics since January 1 of this year.  

ESPERANDO REGISTRAR SUS MASCOTAS – LAS ARALIAS – REGISTRATION LINE

STERILIZATIONS IN LAS ARALIAS  – JUNE 6-9: 

MALE DOGS – 13; FEMALE DOGS – 37; MALE CATS – 37; 
FEMALE CATS -60   TOTAL: 147 

PLUS PREGNANCY TERMINATED for 1 cat with 3 fetuses 

DONATIONS AT LAS ARALIAS: 1,510 PESOS

THIS IS THE THIRD CLINIC MADE POSSIBLE BY A GENEROUS GRANT OF $10,000 USD (5.5 CLINICS) FROM A FOUNDATION THAT WISHES TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS. 

LAS PALMAS

LAS PALMAS (DE ARRIBA): A 35.8 kilometer drive northeast from our home in centro and approximately half way to San Sebastián.  At 140 meters above sea level, it is not as hot and humid as the Puerto Vallarta, but no one was at the plaza on Thursday.  The town is small, quiet, clean and cobbled.  A few rancheros ride by on horses, but very few people, with the exception of mothers picking up children at school, are seen on the streets.

LAS PALMAS – MUNICIPIO DE PUERTO VALLARTA

LOCAL EN EL MERCADO MUNICIPAL – LAS PALMAS

The clinic took place in the large, empty municipal market located about a dozen blocks below the church.  Almost immediately after arriving, loud music started to play for an enthusiastic zumba class.  None of the women there wanted to have a pet sterilized.

There were men who brought in their female dogs for spaying, but very few were willing to have their male dogs neutered.  Because of a ranch mentality, i.e., male dogs “won´t work” if neutered,  las Palmas has been a location with low spay/neuter numbers.  Two men came in with a male Chihuahua whose genitals were completely covered in large venereal tumors.  Dr. Poli said the dog could start receiving chemotherapy treatments after being neutered.  Their response was that they didn´t want to neuter the dog – they wanted to breed it.  

  

DR. POLI Y DR. ANTHONY – CLÍNICA EN LAS PALMAS

STERILIZATIONS IN LAS PALMAS – JUNE 13-16

FEMALE DOGS – 29; MALE DOGS – 12; FEMALE CATS – 31;
MALE CATS- 20;  TOTAL:  92

PLUS pregnancy terminated for 1 cat with 3 fetuses and 1 dog with 6 fetuses

DONATIONS AT CLINIC IN LAS PALMAS:  730 pesos

THIS IS THE FOURTH CLINIC MADE POSSIBLE BY A GENEROUS GRANT OF $10,000 USD (5.5 CLINICS) FROM A FOUNDATION THAT WISHES TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS. 


DONATIONS TO PEACEANIMALS:

Sue Hunter – $17 USD (monthly)
Susan Hunt – $200 USD – in memory of “Zorro”
David Zimmerman – $250 USD – earmarked for clinic in Volcanes organized by Megan Gallagher
Leslie Taylor – $500 USD – ditto

“ZORRO” – $200 USD – DONACIÓN EN MEMORIA

MISCELLANEOUS DONATION:

Anonymous – 500 pesos for “Loup,” the beautiful German Shepherd AyudaMutt rescue.  His femur, broken when hit by a car in Boca, is mending well after two surgeries. Vet bills have been high. In boarding now, Loup will be ready for adoption next month.  Contact AyudaMutt via FB.

DR. PACHECO – CLÍNICA EN LAS ARALIAS

FOR PHOTOS/NAMES OF RESCUED DOGS THAT NEED HOMES, THE CITY SHELTER (FORMER CENTRO DE ACOPIO) HAS A CURRENT ROSTER THAT INCLUDES PHOTOS, NAMES AND DESCRIPTIONS.

DR. POLI –  LAS PALMAS