CENTRO, very close to the beach, is an old Vallarta neighborhood starting just across the street from the malecón (cement “boardwalk”). Happily for those who live and work here, centro has basically remained untouched by development. Homes, many built in the 50´s, are interspersed with high end art galleries and restaurants, most of which were houses in the past.
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| CARMEN PORRAS |
El Arrayan was the location for the clinic in centro. Claudia Victoria and Carmen Porras, animal activists and rescuers, are owners of el Arrayan, a very popular restaurant in centro. Serving traditional Mexican cuisine, el Arrayan (pet friendly) has been voted best Mexican restaurant in Vallarta every year since 2004.
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| PERRA ESPERANDO ESTERILIZACIÓN – EL ARRAYAN – CENTRO |
Because parking is difficult in centro, Claudia and Carmen secured special permission from the city for a large space in front of the restaurant for the truck holding clinic supplies. The indoor, patio-like space of Arrayan was roomy and airy for the vet team and volunteers, who were all treated to delicious daily lunches from the Arrayan kitchen.
Among the volunteers helping out was Sam Nelson from Belgium.
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| SAM NELSON Y FRANK OHLY – VOLUNTARIOS- CLÍNICA EN CENTRO |
Sam has been working at the LADRA shelter since November and will fly home with two of LADRA´s rescue dogs. One of them is from Shakira´s (the rescued Xolo) litter.
STERILIZATIONS IN CENTRO – SEPTEMBER 11-14:
Male dogs – 22; Female dogs – 39; Male cats – 23; Female cats – 46
TOTAL: 130
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| DR. PACHECO, EL ARRAYAN – CLÍNICA EN CENTRO |
PLUS pregnancies terminated for:
1 dog with 10 fetuses; 1 dog with 9 fetuses; 1 cat with 4 fetuses; 1 cat with 4 fetuses – 27 animals not born to suffer.
The clinic in centro was underwritten by a generous grant of $3,000 US. from the Goldrich Family Foundation. This gift will pay for 1.68 clinics.
EDUCATION PROGRAM: Leslie Caratachea presented to 50 primary students at the 20 de noviembre school in centro.
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| PLAZA – VALLE DE BANDERAS |
VALLE DE BANDERAS – An approximate 50-minute drive northeast from centro Vallarta, this is a small, pretty and immaculately clean town with red, white and green (colors of the Mexican flag) plastic cut-out banners strung across the main street leading up a hill to the plaza. The surrounding area is very rural and currently very green. The clinic took place in a very large, white cement walled-in field that serves as a government event location. Some pet owners lined up as early as four o´clock in the morning to insure a space.
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| DESPUÉS DE CIRUGÍA – AFTER SURGERY – VALLE DE BANDERAS |
Male Dogs – 31; Female Dogs – 62; Male Cats – 14; Female Cats – 16 TOTAL; 123
PLUS pregnancy terminated for 1 cat with 7 fetuses
DONATIONS AT CLINIC IN VALLE DE BANDERAS:
1,820 pesos
The clinic in Valle de Banderas was partially underwritten by the generous donation of $3,000 USD from the Goldrich Family Foundation, which paid for 1.68 clinics. Combining 130 cats and dogs sterilized in centro Vallarta and 84 (68%) cats and dogs sterilized in Valle de Banderas, a total of 214 animals were spayed and neutered as a result of this gift.
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| AFTER SURGERY – DESPUÉS DE ESTERILIZACIÓN – VALLE DE BANDERAS |
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DONATIONS TO PEACEANIMALS:
GreaterGood – $1,334 USD
Michael Turner – $50 USD (monthly)
LATE RAINS. Rainy season in Puerto Vallarta is June to mid-October. This year, the first rains didn´t arrive until the 26th of June After a two-week lull, intermittent rains continued throughout summer. The rains almost always come at night, after winds begin to blow. Although the seemingly solitary cicada remaining in our garden gave its last electric buzz two weeks ago, rain returned with hurricane Lorena. The hurricane didn´t arrive in Vallarta, but it brought torrential rain last week-end. Cars seemed to be floating down Francisco Villa, one of the two main streets in and out of town. In the neighboring state of Colima, just a few hours south of Vallarta, 7,400 acres of banana and papaya crops were damaged or destroyed.
Days continue hot and humid, with temperatures in the low
90´s and humidity at 84%. The hottest day ever recorded in Puerto Vallarta was 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 Celsius) in June. It has been the least amount of rainfall recorded in fifty years. One of the local lagoons was completely dry for the first time in history. Water was trucked in to save the turtles.
Early morning on the malecón near the arches, a grinning fisherman holds up a large fish that has just been flung high up into the air by a white crested wave. The fish, much to its surprise, has landed on the wet cement near the man´s fishing rod and plastic bucket. The equally surprised human walks away with his rod and the fish in the bucket. Walking with dogs a bit further north on the malecón, a tall,
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| ESCULTURA DE UNA OLA – MALECÓN (WAVE SCULPTURE) |
slender young man with a moustache excitedly shows me a video he just took of turtle hatchlings struggling to extricate themselves from between rocks where the roiling, pale grey-green bay had tossed them. The green patrol – 911 – is called to rescue. In the early evening while it is still only sprinkling, a sultry saxaphone is playing “Besame Mucho” on the malecón.
A few days later, there is a new sign on our dead-end street in centro.
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| LOST IN TRANSLATION |
In 2018, PEACEAnimals sterilized 5,792 cats and dogs.
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| CLÍNICA EN VALLE DE BANDERAS |
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| CLÍNICA EN VALLE DE BANDERAS |
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