Raining cats and dogs

Did I mention that we have started another dog rescue center here in San Carlos? Officially we opened in February, with a rented lot and a casita for our caretaker Juanita, and with some fixtures from the old refuge (which closed abruptly last year) and a lot of donated materials (concrete, fencing, gravel) we have created a new reality for dogs that need a safe place while they're waiting for new homes. We call it the San Carlos Pet Adoption Center.

We immediately were filled up to capacity with dogs, as you might expect, and now when we get word of even more dogs people want to bring us, we are having to turn them away. Besides the fact we're running out of space, we recently found mange on some of our charges, and don't want to take in more only to see them get it. Today we got together and bathed 12 dogs with a mite-killing shampoo, followed by a skin-healing soap and a hot-spot spray. Quite a job, but the dogs were all patient with us.

Perky looks less than perky at the moment because she's just been spayed

A young pit bull mix named Perky is tied up in a yard behind a furniture store while we try to decide who's going to rescue her. Her owner took off for California and left her here, under the illusion that she was going to be taken care of. Someone stops by to feed her, but she has no comfortable crate to sleep and feel safe in. The Capt doesn't want her here, concerned that we'd never be able to leave Perky alone at home with our dog Chica and our cat Fé.

Meanwhile, a woman named Cathy found a young mama cat with three nursing kittens in her yard, and she's worried because she has company coming, with their dog. We'd like at least to get the kittens wormed and vaccinated and when they're weaned, to have the mother spayed. But where do they go in the meantime? Everyone I've called has said they couldn't take her, but they'll call their friends. I took what hope I can from that and asked Cathy if she could set up a temporary space in her garage for the kitties.

We're learning a lot through this process. We found a vet who not only was willing to come from Guaymas to the Center to vaccinate dogs, but only charged us $300 pesos which comes to less than $30 US. That's the kind of support that keeps us going.