Gretchen's Weekly Story and the Animals

We drove south to Manzanillo this week for a two-night stay.
Manzanillo isn't very pretty, but the drive down on highway 200 is beautiful. One winds around the jungled coastal road and then up into the foothills of the Sierra Madres, where scattered pine trees remind one that it is almost Christmas. About an hour north of Manzanillo, one looks down onto a gorgeous coastal plain, near the town of Cihuatlan. This very southern part of the State of Jalisco is filled with an enormous expanse of shiny-leafed banana trees nestling beneath tall coco palms. The miles and miles of these plantations are bordered by the shadowy Sierra Madre mountains to the east and the bright Pacific ocean to the west. The name "Cihuatlan" is derived from the indigenous words "Zihua," meaning "woman," and "tlan,"
meaning "place." When the Spanish arrived in the early 16th century, the village was described as an "island of women," as there were apparently 500 women and only 20 men living there. Not much fun for the women.

Saturday night - Valle de Banderas - Sensational concert in the central plaza of this municipality celebrating its 20 years. Following beautifully performed and costumed folkloric dances, the well-known singer from Oaxaca, Lila Downs, sang her updated versions of classical vernacular songs, as well as some of her own compositions, some of which are influenced by the native Mesoamerican music of Mixtec, Zapotec, Maya and Nahuatl cultures. Brilliant fireworks overhead next to the church. After all the celebrating, the plaza and town were left in immaculate condition.

Sunday, December 12th, was the last night of the "pilgrimages" of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I will miss Calle Juarez being closed to cars and buses. It was so pleasant having it as a pedestrian-only street.
The buses are particularly noisy and disruptive as they plunge one after another in rapid succession through town. The bus union is very powerful here. Interesting - unions are except from taxes.

MAGISTERIO CLINIC - December 9-12

This was our second visit this year to the very humble, inland colonia filled with dusty dogs and cats. Several were pregnant or nursing.
The clinic was held in an empty classroom in the primary school. At lunch and recesses, crowds of curious children clustered in front of kennels, windows and the front door. Some of them had pets there for surgery. Most of the owners of dogs and cats in Magisterio were happy to have their pets sterilized. There are still owners who want their pets to have "just one litter." We saw a beautiful Doberman whose polite and friendly owner said she was barely pregnant by a dog or dogs in the neighborhood. He plans to breed her with "one of her kind" after this first litter is born. There are others who don't think it's important to have male animals neutered. If they don't care about the females that are being impregnated, a photograph of a dog with VD might change their minds.

Sterilizations: female dogs-34; male dogs - 17; female cats - 16; male cats - 11 TOTAL= 78

NEW CLINIC VOLUNTEERS: Lynne Clock, former surgical nurse in Kansas City, will work buddy system with her friend, Pamela Evans; Laura Chavez on Saturdays while she's here; Pat Kelly, whom I met at the Pet Picnic; Stephanie Dubinsky and her friend Jess, visiting from Vancouver Island; Kayla Okafor and 6-9 volunteers bringing vet supplies from a pet hospital from Denver will be at the January 20th clinic in Magisterio.

Written in Facebook by Oscar Guadarrama, vet from Toluca.

"We successfully carried out our first volunteer training workshop for supporting sterilization clinics in Toluca. We're very grateful to PEACE in Nayarit. (www.peacemexico.org) Without their help and support this first effort would not have been possible."

Dr. Guadarrama had brought 6 other people to the clinic in Guayabitos, Nayarit, to learn more about how PEACE runs its clinics.

DONATIONS: Margo Landry - 2,000 pesos for Vallarta s/n clinics plus three large bags of used clothing that PEACE will distribute in needy neighborhoods.

Rita Kuntz - 200 pesos for sterilization of a neighbor's kitten at Magisterio clinic. Money will to go free clinics in Vallarta.

RESCUED: Small, fluffy white female 8-month-old French Poodle hit by a car and found on the street by Chelsea Peters - recovering beautifully - needs home. Contact: Marcela Escalante, who is fostering her: marcelaescalantem@hotmail.com or 044322 14 68 261

ADOPTED: Grey female French Poodle removed from the Acopio (pound) by Silvia Alvarez and adopted by a friend of Jhovanne.

Kitten rescued on the street by Teri Jo Wheeler. A grandmother of one of her students at the American School fell in love with it.

All four of Alma Cardena's four black labs living in Boca. I had e-mailed Kai Doyle, who has a home in El Tuito and knows Oscar Martinez from the Botanical Gardens. Oscar has a ranch in Tuito and took the two dogs home with him. The other two dogs have been adopted by Tejano, the caretaker at the Cardena sisters' property, Chee Chee's. Once it is sold, these dogs will also be living in El Tuito.

Three of Manuel Zapata's four rescued chihuahuas - accomplished via e-mails. One still needs a home. Contact: manuel040168@hotmail.com

NEED HOMES:

"Pantera," a one-year old spayed small black lab mix - 10 kilos.
Owner ill and can't keep her. Photo available. Contact:
marcelaescalantem@hotmail.com;

Four-month old female brown and white Pit Bull- vaccines all current.
Owner unable to keep, as she works long hours. Contact: pm@pvrpv.com photos available.

Always - animals at the Acopio - www.elrincondelhueso.blogspot.com-
new photos every Tuesday. Please consider adopting there before the pound closes for Christmas vacation.

NEEDS HELP: Paraiso Felino -Janina Erban's cat sanctuary in Nayarit, where she and her mother are currently caring for 100 cats. If you would like to donate, please write "Paraíso Felino AC" on the memo of the check and advise Janina re name, date and amount.
paraiso_felino@hotmail.com Checks can be sent to the PEACE address in Colorado.

UPCOMING CLINICS - WE NEED VOLUNTEERS!

Thank you to the small corps of volunteers who have been working the clinics. You know who you are and you have been great. We would like to see some nationals and some men involved in these efforts to reduce the homeless pet situation. The more volunteers, the more surgeries performed.

12.16-12.19 - Wednesday-Saturday -Cañadas, Jalisco 12.23-1.2.10 - NO CLINICS 1.6.10-1.9.10 - Wednesday-Saturday - Turtle camp near airport
1.11.10- 1.15.10 - Monday-Friday- Paso Ancho 1.18.10-1.22.10 - Monday-Friday Magisterio 1.25.10-1.29.10 - Monday-Friday Acopio

TO ADVISE WHEN/WHERE FOR VOLUNTEERING AND FOR DIRECTIONS:

paulina@peacemexico.org or 044 322 102 3327 or - lalo@peacemexico.org

PEACE ROAD CLEAN-UP: Saturday, December 12th - Punta de Mita. A crew of volunteers were provided with bags, gloves and water for this clean-up project.

PEACE PICNIC 12/4: $16,130 pesos raised for clinics.