Because Guatemala as a country is just starting to enforce animal welfare laws and create governmental organizations to address these issues, many small charities have been operating for years here on their own. These NGOs have different views on how best to assist street dogs and cats but they all were formed with the intention to do what's best for the animals.
Today I'd like to give a shout-out to Guatemala Hope for the Animals, which operates in Panajachel and around Lake Atitlan. They have a shelter which houses many dogs and cats available for adoption. They also assist with street dog injuries, which is so important here. If a dog gets hit by a car, no one helps it! People will literally walk right by a dog with a broken leg or one bleeding from the neck. Many Guatemalans love animals but their own lives are so hard and they are struggling with poverty themselves, they know they cannot spare anything for a dog. Luckily there are charities like Hope for the Animals that can step in and help -- with a bit of emergency fundraising to offset costs, of course.
Here are two puppies that are currently looking for homes either here in Guatemala or possibly the States or Canada.
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| Adorable Guatemalan street puppy for adoption. |
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| Cutie pie puppy available for adoption in Guatemala |
If you can afford to donate, instructions for PayPal or bank transfer are on their page. Even a small donation can go a long way to helping street dogs and cats here in Guatemala. Food is cheap! And they always need to buy things like bleach, newspapers, blankets, dewormer medicine, and of course toys to amuse the doggies and kitties. 😀
They will soon be setting up an Instagram account to share more pictures. I will try to remember to edit this page later and link it for you all. Cheers!
Do you know if there is a place in Panajachel today (02-22-22) that can rescue abused puppies?
ReplyDeleteKaija
AYUDA is still active in Panajachel.
Deletehttps://ayudagt.wordpress.com/
Very sad to see injured strays on the streets of Panajachel that nobody cares for. I saw a man hitting a stray just because he was taking refuge in front of his shop. I am just here for a week and will donate money but can do little else. Guatemalans are very God fearing and superstitious. Just build a shrine to some fake saint- who cares for animals. Might do the trick. There needs to be a campaign to encourage them to share with community dogs like they try do in Turkey and India.
DeleteSad to see how badly dogs are treated in Panajachel, I an a tourist and will be gone in a week so can donate and do little else. There is an injured dog near calle santander opposite Cafe Parrillida. If someone can help.
ReplyDeleteI was just in Panajachel and found three puppies. I contacted 3 animal rescues and 2 vets. They all refused to help even though I offered to pay for the veterinarian services. I could had brought those puppies home but couldn’t do it without help since I didn’t know anybody there. Ayuda told me to contact another rescue in Antigua. They also said no. I can’t stop thinking about those poor puppies. Do you know of an organization there that really cares about the stray dogs? I really want to help.
DeleteAll of the animal charities care about the dogs -- they are just overwhelmed. There are so many dogs in need of help and none of use have room or money or time. We can only do so much.
DeleteThis is the reality of animal rescue in a developing country. It is a heartbreaking thing.
I think my friend sent me a photo of the 3 puppies -- blonde, weren't they? I couldn't take them because I have eight dogs already.
You can still help by donating money to animal rescues here in Guatemala. Follow their Facebook pages and help with cash when you can, especially for urgent cases of injured dogs and animal abuse.
I hope you can come back to Guatemala again! Maybe next time you can volunteer with a charity, meet some great people, and help more puppies!