Help a Sayulita Animal: Volunteer for SayulitAnimals

For the animal lovers in Sayulita, there is a wonderful organization, SayulitAnimals, that constantly requires volunteers in order to operate. Fostering a dog or cat is always their greatest need, and whether you're a tourist or a local, you can help fill this need by fostering for even just a few days. Other needs include volunteering for the weekly spay and neuter clinic, escorting an animal by plane, driving animals and their escorts to the airport, and of course, cash donations are also always welcome. Regardless of how you decide to help, you'll be making a huge difference in the life of a homeless animal via SayulitAnimals.

FOSTER A DOG OR CAT

My wife, Wendy, and I volunteered with SayulitAnimals the first week we arrived in Sayulita. We received a call shortly after, asking if we could assist with a foster, and the experience of opening our home to a dog in need was amazing. Over the last 6+ years we have helped many dogs, several cats, and two duckings to get healthy, regain trust in humankind, and experience the joy of being loved.

This experience has brought so much joy and and satisfaction to our home and meant the world to these animals.

Most of these dogs have gone on to amazing lives with furever families, and occasionally, like our most recent foster, Romeo, they have become a permanent part of our familia. Whether you are in Sayulita for one month, one year, or indefinitely, you should consider opening your door and your heart to a foster. It will change both your world and theirs for the better!

• Gabriel Jones

ASSIST AT SPAY / NEUTER CLINICS

I have been volunteering at SayulitAnimals for the past 4 years. We do several big clinics a year and a smaller one every week. I could not live in this area of Mexico and watch the suffering of animals without doing something about it. I enjoy making a difference and feel like I make their lives better, and in doing so, make the lives of the people who live here better and my own life better. My job at SayulitAnimals is to prepare the animals for surgery. I weigh them and determine the amount of medication they need for the surgery. Then I shave their little bellies and wash them with a special surgical soap. From there I bring them into the vet and position them for her to work.

• Karen Puerini-Razza

ESCORT AN ANIMAL BY PLANE

We have fostered several dogs for SayulitAnimals and have also transported a few to Canada. Our own dog goes in the cabin with us, and the dogs we’ve transported have all been in cargo, as they’ve all been larger. It’s great working with SayulitAnimals for transporting the dogs. They do all the paperwork, they pay for the required veterinary health certificate, they provide kennels, and so on. A driver will meet us at our house in Sayulita, with all the paperwork and the kennel, and drive us to the airport. Once there, the driver will stay with us while we check-in for the flight to make sure there are no problems. Once cleared, the animal goes one way, the driver heads back to Sayulita, and we head for the plane. Once the pet has been loaded, an attendant will let us know that the animal is safely on board. Upon arrival up north (in our case, Canada), the kennel with the dog arrives with the luggage and we go through Immigration and Customs. The health certificate is checked, we’re free to take the dog, and in the terminal we meet the person or family who has adopted the dog.

One thing I absolutely love about doing this is seeing the excitement on the faces of both the “parents” and the dogs. It’s just such a great reunion to witness!

We’ve done this several times, we’ve never had a problem, and SayulitAnimals has been nothing but stellar to work with. I encourage those who are able to consider transporting an adopted pet to their new home and giving them, and their new family, a great new life together.

• David Beckett

DO AIRPORT RUNS

One of the ways to help SayulitAnimals in their work, if you have a car, is take animals who are being adopted to the airport for their flights north to new homes. I try to help out by doing this when I can. It's fun seeing how each animal behaves on the short trip to Puerto Vallarta. A few have some experience riding in cars, but most of them do not, and nearly all of them find the airport a bewildering and sometimes scary experience. Many of them, though, sense that they're on their way to better lives and leave with a smile. An added benefit is meeting some really wonderful people who are flying with the animals as chaperones. The airlines are now quite used to flying animals, and the check in procedures are usually pretty painless. Consider helping out by giving rides to the airport as a way of helping animals to better lives.

• Pete Knoph