A 10-year-old group that works for the adoption and neutering of rescued animals scrambled to put up an impressive photography display in Guadalajara’s Chapultepec pedestrian strip after municipal authorities unexpectedly chose them from among scores of other applicants wishing to utilize the much-visited public display space.
“We are very grateful,” said Maricarmen Portilla, a lawyer and one of three founders of the Guadalajara-based organization Pet Help. (“We chose an English name,” explained another Pet Help founder, Aidee Madariaga, in perfect English, “because we hoped that eventually our work would transcend national borders.”)
The striking photos, which remain on display for several weeks, and the explanations of group leaders about the need for animal rescue can be poignant.
“40,000 cats and dogs are euthanized every year in Jalisco. Three tons are incinerated every month in each pound in Jalicso. And, sadly, we know that they are not sacrificed as they should be, but often without sedatives, so the deaths are painful,” said Madariaga, who works in a vet and pet supply store. She added that, while animal control authorities don’t publicize these statistics, student doctors who work with animals as part of their social service, have passed along the figures.
“That is why our focus is on spaying and neutering,” said Portilla. “It’s the only way this problem can be solved.”
Because Mexico is a country with many pressing social needs, she said, animal care rates low on the list of concerns. It is estimated that there are about 350,000 loose animals on the streets of metropolitan Guadalajara, including Zapopan, Tlaquepaque and Tonala, especially in lower income areas.However, all is not gloom and doom, she stressed. “The good news is that more and more people are rescuing dogs and cats. And when they do, they are immediately faced with questions, such as finding someone to adopt the animal. So they contact us through our web site [www.adoptandounamigo.com]. It has really helped us grow and get the word out.”
“There are several rescue groups in Guadalajara and some in Chapala,” said Portilla. “We’ve worked with most of them. Our group is somewhat unique because we never have our animals euthanized, except in extreme cases.”
One of the photos in the Chapultepec display shows a dog who had lost use of both hind legs and was fitted with a wheeled device on the hind quarters. Portilla said that a permanent home hadn’t been found for the dog — Pet Help doesn’t have a shelter but puts animals in volunteers’ homes until an adoptive home is found — until they recently located an unusual shelter in Mexico City for crippled dogs.
On the afternoon I was waiting to meet Portilla, I witnessed an incident that showed the plight of stray dogs. As if on cue, a black and brown mutt sauntered along Chapultepec near the photo display, an area choked with cars at 5 p.m. He set off tentatively across a busy intersection, as some pedestrians tried to get him out of harm’s way. He then had several near misses before being hit by a car, to the accompaniment of my screams. But he somehow emerged from the disaster, apparently not badly hurt, and took off down a side street. I followed him but then came back for my appointment with Portilla, who accompanied me to look for him.
“What would you have done if we’d found him?” I asked her later over coffee.
“I’m not sure. Maybe nothing, if he wasn’t hurt. If he was, maybe try to see if he’d follow me to my car and take him to a vet. But those are exactly the kind of quandaries people have when they rescue an animal.”
She noted that since the mutt was a large dog, it would have been hard to find him an owner. “In the last year, we found homes for 1,000 animals,” she said, adding that one of Pet Help’s main aims is convincing people not to buy dogs but to adopt and neuter street dogs. And that means eschewing pedigreed dogs.
“We sometimes do rescue pedigreed dogs. And sometimes people look on our site for specific breeds. We’ve had labs, beagles, schnauzers, poodles, cockers, even pugs. We had a beautiful golden retriever with beautiful behavior. He would have cost at least 5,000 dollars in the States. But we adopted him out for what we always ask — 400 pesos, which includes neutering, shots and treatment for parasites.”
Pet Help, (33) 3563-6529, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., www.adoptandoamigos.com