Animals as pets and family members is a fairly new concept and quite frankly, it's a luxury. It costs money to keep an animal healthy. And it takes education to understand the basic needs of an animal. I'll never forget hearing a local a few years ago. He really believed that the average life span of a dog was only two or three years. And why would he know any different? Without the vaccinations, neutering, proper diet and a secure yard, dogs and cats here really don't have much of a chance of living beyond a few years.
For now, I want to cover one of CAWS main initiatives...the Stray Care Program. Stray dogs and cats are a huge problem in many countries and Belize is no exception. As a group we realize that strays will likely always be part of the make up of Belize but we can do things to make the lives of the strays better. A couple of months ago we got together with a group of visiting vet students from the Belize Wildlife Referral Clinic. They donated their time and supplies and we set out to 'capture' strays in the downtown core of San Ignacio. We set up a field station for exams, treatments and tagging. Our mission is to provide basic medical care for these dogs (cats in the future, but they are much harder to catch!). The students dewormed them, gave them vitamins, treated mange, ticks and fleas, and gave them a basic exam. CAWS members then tagged the dogs with new collars and FurCode* tags so that we can monitor them on the streets and at future clinics.
Our thinking is that if we can give the dogs a fighting chance against disease and general poor health they can be fit strays. As the program grows we intend to begin a spay/neuter program with the strays as well. Now, obviously it would be perfect to get them fit and healthy and place them in forever homes with loving families. Unfortunately, that not realistic. We will always try and through communication and education CAWS will place as many animals as possible. I keep telling myself...it's a start...it's better than it was!
So with that, I am reaching out to everyone that reads my blog. Whatever your reasons for following our adventure in Belize I am asking you to support these programs. Maybe you are looking to move to Belize one day, maybe you've visited and enjoyed the beauty of this wonderful country as a tourist, maybe you're a personal friend or family member. Please, please consider making a donation to help CAWS continue to grow and improve the lives of the animals in our area. I promise you that this is much needed and will be put to very good use.
Please, check out our website. You can make donations via PayPal on the website.
If you are a personal friend of mine, send me a note and you can email me a donation and I will get it to the right hands.