Thank Goddess for people like Roxana who opens her heart and home to animals in need. We need more queens like her! Maybe its your calling as well, dear honey bee?
What are the abandoned and strayed animals like in Mexico, and how do you think they can be helped?
Animal cruelty is very widespread in Mexico. It doesn’t matter your social status, it’s really a deeply rooted lack of respect for our furry friends. To give you an image: In every corner of my city there are dogs abandoned, sick and run over. Old ones, puppies, pregnant mommas.. I call it “The hell of dogs on earth”.
How many animals have you taken in since the start of your project?
We have been rescuing dogs and cats from the street for 12 years now. At one point we had almost 400 animals in our shelter. 250 have found new homes since then, 50 was too sick to make it and right now we are keeping 96 with us.
What introduced you to the idea of creating a shelter or home for animals in need?
I was born into a herd! You see, my mother also rescued sick and abandoned dogs and cats, putting up signs giving them up for adoption after nurturing them back to health. When I was born we had 12 rescued dogs. My whole life has always been about helping animals in need. My mother never stopped helping and neither will I!
When I got married, my husband and I had 6 dogs. They were like our children. One of them ran away, and we looked for her for months. During our hunt for our baby we saw how the situation for strays in Mexico really is… And it’s horrible! Me and my husband saw dogs that were dirty, fleecy, sick, etc. For us, it doesn’t matter the race, size or condition, we always try our best to help and are investing everything we to save their lives. We feel like there’s no better investment we could possibly do with our money.
Are there other ways to help homeless animals in need, if for example you don’t have a home to open up to them?
There are several ways you can help. You can sponsor one of our puppies who’s in need for treatment. Running our shelter is quite expensive and we are doing it all with no funding but only our own resources. If you decide to sponsor someone you are sent photos and videos of progress until their adoption is completed and they are in their new home! We are constantly uploading photos and sending videos of our daily life with our furry friends. If you are willing to sponsor one, our paypal account is: kzamora@cmi.mx. It would mean the world to us to be able to help and feed more dogs!
Another way to help is to share pages and post, spreading the word and gaining momentum. If everyone gives 1$, it would make the world of a difference. A word of caution though; if you are thinking of donating to an organization, always to a background check as there’s unfortunately a lot of scammers who profit from animals suffering.
We are trying to turn this impossible situation in Mexico around by running sterilization campaigns. We are roaming the streets looking for dogs that are in heat or pregnant, take them in and sterilize them. This is the only way we will see a decline in the number of street dogs! So yes, to answer your questions in a few words: donate to good organizations, adopt and spread awareness by sharing posts online!
What do the animals you’ve taken in mean to you?
They are my family. We are defending their lives with our own.
The interview has been translated from spanish and edited by the writer.