Poisoned dog in Panajachel.

Yesterday afternoon we saw this poor, young dog struggling to get up out of the drainage ditch, it was frothing at the mouth.
We immediately assumed that the dog had been poisoned.
Quickly, we picked it up and put it in the back of the pick up, getting to the vet's in just a few minutes.
The vet immediately started pumping out the dog's stomach.......and by late yesterday afternoon the dog was beginning to recover.
We don't know if it will totally recover or whether it will continue with the spasms and therefore have to be put down.

This is the second poisoning in a few days. One of our own dogs got out of the yard and was poisoned. Unfortunately, we did not find her in time and she died.

It is a horrible, long , painful death.

This is one of the reasons that we do the spay and neuter clinics so that less dogs and cats will have to suffer terrible fates like this.

Oso finds a home in Guatemala!

Oso is a young female puppy...about 5 months old.
She was found on the street when she was very little and in very bad condtion.
She has lived at Mayan Families ever since. She is a lovely dog, very loving and happy.
Today she found a family! I hope that they will love her and give her a good life.
I wish all the dogs here could find a family to love them. But it is impossible and that is the reason that we are so active in encouraging people to spay and neuter their dogs and cats. It is so hard to find homes for them , good homes are even harder to find.
It costs us $20 US to spay and neuter a dog or cat.
If you would like to help, please go to www.mayanfamilies.org and go to the donate now link....
thanks!

Fluffy finds a home in Guatemala!

Little Fluffy was one of three kittens abandoned at our door a few weeks ago.    She was the littlest of the bunch and a sweet, sweet little kitty.

She has now found a new home!   But her two sisters , Champagne and Blankita are still waiting.
They are beautiful kittens and we hope that they will find a loving home soon.

We also have a very affectionate calico kitten who wants a home and just a few days ago we had five brand new kittens still with their umbilical chords attached.  We are now bottle feeding them.

Spaying and neutering is our only means to combat the overpopulation of cats and dogs and we are actively doing this every month but we need to help to  reduce the amount of unwanted animals and the terrible suffering that they endure.  Just $20 US will pay to spay or neuter a dog or cat.....if you can, please help.
 http://www.mayanfamilies.org/DonateNow
and nominate your payment for the Animal program.
Thanks!

Doña Rosa

Like many Pana women, Doña Rosa spends a lot of time torteando (making tortillas)--she has 16 very hungry canine mouths to feed. Pana has a huge population of stray dogs, and Doña Rosa is doing more than her part to solve the problem: she keeps 8 dogs in her house, and feeds and brings water to another 8 street dogs every day.  “People don’t feed the dogs here,” she says, explaining why she spends so much time and money caring for them, “but they feel hungry, thirsty, and cold, the same as us.”

Doña Rosa, who is 55 and indigenous Maya, sells tipica in the street, but tourism has been down and business has been bad.  Her husband, Don Julian, who is 67, works 3 days a week as a gardener, and sews little drawstring bags for sale in Mexico.  Money is tight, and they often can’t afford dog food, which is quite expensive here in Pana, so Doña Rosa feeds them tortilla and salt.  Even that, though, has been expensive, since the price of corn went up. 

Doña Rosa needs support to continue her work with Pana’s dogs.  She doesn’t like to ask for help from Mayan Families, she explains, because she knows that they have many other projects and people to help and operate on limited money. She told us that she would depend instead on God and patience to help her in her efforts to protect the dogs here in Pana. We’d like to find a sponsor to help Doña Rosa with the cost of dog food, so she can keep providing food for the 16 dogs that depend on her.

Cat back home in Solola, Guatemala.

This feral cat was released today back in Solola. She had three newborn kittens in one of the govt. offices and they were going to throw the kittens in the street and poison the mama cat. Fortunately, the secretary is an animal lover and called us to help save the kittens. We picked up the kittens and the next day went back with a feral trap and caught the mother.

She has quite the story to tell the other cats now. How she was kidnapped by aliens, they stole her babies when they were six weeks old ( we were lucky to find homes for the three kittens....two with Peace corp people) and how she was fed strange food ( canned cat food and dried cat food. ) , then she was operated on so that there would be no more kittens and then transported in a strange contraption back to where we found her. She was so wild that I never really saw what she looked like but Joel and Samuel told me that when they opened the cage door, she ran out fast and didn't look back!

Cristina falls in love!

10 days ago while riding in a tuk tuk I saw this tiny little puppy shivering on the side of the road. She had obviously been dumped there and she was just terrified. I stopped the tuk tuk and picked her up.
I had an appointment to get to and saw fellow animal lover, Cristina on the street. I asked her if she would mind this little puppy for me for a few hours. Well........Cristina fell in love with this little shivering puppy and they now go everywhere together.
This puppy was lucky but we have so many more who aren't. This is why we do the spay and neuter clinics every month so that there will be less puppies abandoned to suffer on the street. It costs just $20 US for us to spay or neuter an animal.

Toulouse and Charlie.

Toulouse, one of the cats that we raised by hand and bottle fed after he was thrown into the trash can when he was just a day old....is returning the favour and caring for a new little kitten, Charlie, who was found abandoned on the main street. Charlie is a real character, his markings give him a moustache and beard. He is available for adoption if anyone would love to have a beautiful little kitten with a ton of character.
Our animal spay and neuter clinic is held once a month and we are always glad when cats are brought into be sterilized. We have seen so many little kittens tossed in the trash or thrown onto the street.
It is just $20US to sponsor an animal to be spayed or neutered and it stops a lot of future suffering.

Dog rescue.....

This poor dog was chained to the fence and left all day on the street. He had nothing to eat or drink. He was first spotted around 8.am. but he would not let anyone get near him to unchain him. Eventually, we received a call for help and Dwight went down around 4pm. to try and get him released. Dwight and Samuel were able to use the capture pole to secure him while they unchained him from the fence. Unfortunately, they could not get the chain off him and he left running, still draggin the chain after him. Someone had deliberately chained him to the fence on the street. It was not a private house, it was a vacant lot. We wish him luck on the streets.

Dog of the week to help Mayan Families Hope for the Animals in Guatemala!

Caroline Tiffin, Guatemalan people and animal lover , wrote to tell us that her sister's dog, Spike , won the competition for Dog of the Week at www.dogspurpose.com and the money that he won from this competition will be donated to the Mayan Families program.....Hope for the Animals......
This donation will enable three dogs or cats to be spayed /neutered and will stop a lot of future suffering!

Thank you so much to Caroline and her sister.....Congratulations to Spike!!! Thank you to everyone who voted and thank you to everyone who looks for ways to help. There is so much need and so many different ways that people can help.

Puppies currently for adoption

Each of these adorable puppies (from numerous different litters) will be spayed or neutered and vaccinated free of charge before being given away to a loving home! Contact Mayan Families for more information about each individual dog.

Puppies currently for adoption

These are some of the puppies that we have that are currently available for adoption.
This little black and white cutie has found a home!

Muñeca

"Muñeca" is a one-eyed, female chihuahua mix. This extremely sweet and loyal dog is spayed and free to a good, loving home!

Tabby kitten for adoption

"P.K." is a long-haired tabby kitten who is desperate for a loving home. This sweet, gentle kitten who longs for affection is free to a good home, and will be spayed/neutered before its adoption date at no cost!

For adoption

"Cali" is a rare breed of kitten, and only about two months old. She's a tiny, sweet kitten who needs a home full of love and attention. Before the adoption, Mayan Families will pay for her to be spayed. Cali is free to a good home.

"Cali" es una rara especie de gatito, and sólo dos meses de edad. Es un pequeño, dulce gatito que necesita un hogar lleno de amor y atención. Antes de la adopción, Familias Mayas pagará por ella para ser esterilizados. Cali es libre de un buen hogar.

German Shepherd in Guatemala City

This dog was found in the streets of Guatemala City and is in desperate need of a home. For more information, contact Magda Mejicanos at magdamejicanos@yahoo.com.

Calicat in Guatemala.

This is little Calicat sleeping in my muddy shoe. Calicat and her sibling were brought to us when they were about 24 hours old. We bottle fed them and gave them all the care we could but still Calicat's sibling did not make it.
But Calicat is like a miniature kitten. She is now probably 2 months old but is so tiny. She is such a sweet kitten....we are looking for a home for her but it has to be a special home where she will be loved and looked after.

She is the 9th little kitten that was brought to us in a very short period of time. We are really encouraging people to spay and neuter their cats at our monthly clinic so that little kittens like Cali do not die a horrible, slow death being left in a trash can.

April Clinic in Guatemala.

We held another successful monthly spay and neuter clinic in Panajachel last Saturday.
24 dogs and 1 cat were operated on.
One dog was turned away because it was too underweight. We sent it home with food and hope that it will be heavier by next month.
Dogs came from as far away as San Andres and El Barranco.
Thank you everyone who has donated to help make these clinics such a success.
With these 25 animals spayed and neutered there will be a lot less unwanted puppies and kittens.

Our next clinic will be held the last Saturday of May.

Two little puppies!

These two little cuties were abandoned outside one rainy night. We found out that all the other puppies in the litter died. They are looking for a good loving home. They will be spayed /neutered and vaccinated ......anyone looking for a loving friend ???