A day at the Cozumel Humane Society

The Humane Society of Cozumel is probably one of the most overlooked organizations on the entire island. This is strange to me because it seems to have the most impact, especially in a place where taking in and caring for animals is a job that not many will do. At least that was the impression I got when I visited them myself. The building itself doesn’t look like much. It’s hot, mosquitoes bite you in packs of 10 and 20 and the enclosures are well-maintained even though they aren’t the highest quality. However, the animals are very happy there. This is because the people that run this place and take care of the animals do such an amazing job with so little. So, when I went down there during the summer to see this place for myself, I was pleasantly surprised.

I went there to become a foster parent for a puppy, and when they brought him out, my heart melted. He was so cute. His name is Corcho, and he seemed just as happy to see me as I was to see him. That is, until it was bath time. He clawed and shook and tried everything he could to run away, but he was too little. It was so adorable. When the time came to take him home, everybody seemed almost sad to see him go, which was certainly understandable.

 

The next couple weeks with Corcho were interesting to say the least. Although he was the most adorable little puppy, he was in fact a puppy. So, naturally, he was nowhere near housetrained. I tried to be a strict parent with him. But he would look up at me with that puppy dog face, and my heart would just melt all over again. He really was the nicest, sweetest dog. Dancing Chef Amanda fell in love with the little guy right away and it took no time for her to realize he was going to be the perfect addition to her family.

 

In the very short time that I took care of Corcho, we really bonded. So when it was time for him to go to his new home, it was really hard on me. But as sad as I was, I was even happier knowing that Corcho had found a good home where he could be with a parent that would love him as much as I did. This made me realize how hard it must be for the staff of the Humane Society. It was hard enough for me to say goodbye once. I couldn’t imagine saying goodbye over and over again as I watch countless animals that I cared for go off to their new homes. It must be very emotional for them. But at the same time, I could only imagine how much better they feel knowing that they’re sending these animals to a loving home when they were cast aside to the streets. I think, for me, the joy I would get from knowing that I’ve saved so many lives would be well worth the sadness that comes with watching them go.

 

All the Dancing Chefs are big animal lovers and it wasn’t hard for us to decide to donate to the Humane Society of Cozumel in March. I was extremely lucky to be on the island to give the donations along with Dancing Chef Amanda; collected by our Donating Pig LELA, who managed to get to the grand total of $1,751.00 USD.

 

They are changing the lives of so many animals, not only giving them great families but educating the locals about animal rights, as well are neutering and spaying.

So, next time you’re in Mexico and see an animal on the streets, just think about how many animals don’t have to live that way, thanks to the incredible work of the staff at the Humane Societyof Cozumel. When you think of getting a new pet, ADOPT!!! Don’t buy. You can visit the Humane Society at:  http://humanecozumel.org/ to make a donation or adopt an animal from Cozumel.

Dancing Chef Stephanie.

Paws up for the Dancing Chefs!

It’s no secret that all the Dancing Chefs are big animal lovers! We already supported the pets from Joplin, which were victims of the tornado in May. Sadly enough in Mexico there are many street dogs and cats that have to fend for themselves. In Los Cabos for instance, there is no governmental agency to address the problem of homeless domestic animals living on the streets.

Luckily the Los Cabos Humane Society has taken it upon itself to promote the humane treatment of domestic animals through education, pet population control, rescue and adoption. In 2010 they performed 3100 surgeries (580 more than was budgeted!), 352 total adoptions, educated over 1500 local school children and made several much needed improvements to the Centre. This year they have a very ambitious goal of sterilizing 6000 animals in the Los Cabos area and they will be setting up a “mobile clinic” in San Jose neighborhoods working in conjunction with Servicios Publicos (department that cleans the city). Their operating budget in 2010 was $21,500 USD per month. For 2011 they have budgeted 23,200 per month to help them reach this year’s goals.

We are pleased to announce that Lela the Donating Pig has collected $327USD to allow the Los Cabos Humane Society to continue their wonderful labour.

 

Dancing Chef Heidi from Cabo has her own personal connection with the Los Cabos Humane Society. Here’s a photo of Heidi with her cats “Kaliman” (L) and “Zsa Zsa” (R)… It might not be the greatest shot but it’s not easy to photograph cats who don’t want to be photographed haha (as you can probably tell by the way Kaliman is trying to claw his way to freedom!)

 

She brought Kaliman home from the shelter when he was about two years old. A year later, she found Zsa Zsa living in a tree next to her apartment (she was only about 4-6 weeks old at the time). So, she took her in and the two have been in love with each other ever since (just check out the photo hehe) 🙂

 

During the month of September LELA is collecting funds for the HOPE Landing foundation in Arkansas. We will keep you posted on our Facebook page. Looking at all those LELA pictures of September, it will be a great month!

Olé!!!

Dancing Chef Maaike