I would like to use my first post to thank all of you that donated money, supplies and time to me prior to my departure. I want you to know that everything got down here safely and has been donated to the organizations as promised. I stuffed as many donated animal supplies as possible into one large suitcase (my parents brought the rest down on their visit) with the total weight being just over 100 pounds - with a little convincing at the airport no extra baggage fee was charged. I was able to raise just over $600 CAD dollars that was divided between ViDAS (Vets without Boarders) and The Peanut Pet Shelter - as well the supplies donated by many of you amounted to well over $5000 dollars. Supplies included: Many collars/leashes, soft carry bags, blankets, medicated food, cookies, bones, toys, dog flea shampoos, hand sanitizers, animal life jackets, medication, scrubs, etc. A special thank you goes to my friend over at Toronto Animal Services South - James McLean. When this amazing man heard about my plans for Mexico he went above the call of duty and made sure I had everything I needed - an example being: The Peanut Pet Shelter was in absolute need of soft carriers for their cross boarder adoption program since they send many animals into the US and Canada to their forever homes. These carriers cost far too much money down here to buy and they are found few and far between. James was able to get a total of 9 together to send with me down to them - which they could not be more thankful for - now thanks to James many happy animals will be able to be flown across the boarder and adopted out into loving homes.
Collars, collar, collars - I cannot say it enough of how important it is to have collars donated down here to Mexico. For all of you that donated collars and leashes - thank you very much - as the demand for these down in Mexico is crucial. Collars are very expensive down here for the residents so instead of putting a collar around their necks they use things like chains and rope/string. While volunteering with ViDAS down in Bacalar, many dogs came to the clinic with large chains draped around them - causing raw and bloody necks. One family even brought their dog to the clinic dragging him with duck tape. The $300 dollars that was raised by your funds and donated to ViDAS were used to purchase 500 collars - this ensured that each animal that was brought to the clinic left with a new collar. Above is a picture of a doggie that just finished being spayed and is chilling in recovery sporting her new collar. The other picture below is a young Mexican girl showing off her new puppy. This little girl was overjoyed when she was given a donated, bright pink collar for her dog to have. Not only did we teach her how to use the harness, but we educated her on how to care for her puppy :)
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