Operación Compasión, a community-driven initiative to provide free sterilization for the cats and dogs of families of limited resources living in the Jocotepec municipality, is sponsoring a fundraiser, the Spay-ghetti No Balls Dinner, on Saturday, November 22, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Raquet Club.
The meal includes all-you-can-eat spaghetti with vegetarian or Bolognese sauce, Caesar salad, garlic bread, one glass of wine and dessert. There will be a cash bar and silent auction. Tickets for the event cost 200 pesos and are available at the Raquet Club office, from Dee Mistrick (387) 761-0041, or from Cheryl Kennedy (376) 765-3306.
The group is doing everything possible to prevent the birth of unwanted animals that are too often abused, neglected and abandoned, say Operación Compasión representatives. “Spaying and neutering dogs and cats is a public service that helps not only the animals but is a service to the community and local pet owners.”
This program, which is provided completely free to pet owners of limited means, is entirely staffed by volunteers – there are no paid staff members. The services are offered under the organizational umbrella of the non-profit group Salud y Derecho Ambiental.
The program will initially focus on the village of San Juan Cosala. The Spay-ghetti No Balls Dinner is part of Operación Compasión’s effort to raise sufficient funds to conduct another three-day spay and neuter campaign in San Juan Cosala in early 2015.
An unspayed female cat, her mate and all of their offspring, producing two liters per year, with 2.8 surviving kittens per litter can total 11,606,077 cats in just nine years. In six years one unspayed female dog and her offspring, can produce 67,000 dogs, according to Spay USA.
A three-day sterilization campaign requires approximately 60 unpaid volunteers and a team of veterinarians from the non-profit Haghenbeck Foundation from Mexico City. Haghenbeck pays the salaries of their vets who travel all over Mexico working in free spay and neuter clinics. The hosting organization only has to pay for travel costs. The experienced veterinarians can each perform 20 to 25 surgeries per day. Each clinic is held in a building that is provided free of charge by a company, individual or governmental organization.
Jocotepec Mayor Juan Oshea Cuevas has authorized the clinic and is providing lodging support. While none of the government organizations can fund the 25,000-peso three-day sterilization campaign, the Jalisco Health Department and San Juan Cosala town administrator Jhonatan B. Rivera Yanez are offering assistance.