Mindy Dutka - Community Helping Community: SOS El Arca - Playa del Sol Spay / Neuter Initiative on ”Why Do Pets Matter?” hosted by Debra Hamilton EP 216

Community helping community. My dear friend and pet photographer extraordinaire Mindy Dutka joins us during this episode of "Why Do Pets Matter?" to discuss her recent trip to Mexico. Each day in Mexico, thousands of dogs suffer terrible neglect and abuse simply because they have no home and no one to love them.  More than 40,000 homeless dogs roam the streets of Playa del Carmen alone. Even worse, most of these dogs are not fixed, unvaccinated, and suffer from lack of food, lack of shelter, and unimaginable injuries from living on the streets. Vet care is so expensive that when a family dog falls pregnant or ill, oftentimes, that family has no choice but to give the dog up. For many impoverished people, an impossible choice has to be made: to feed yourself or your pet. SOS El Arca, a Playa del Carmen-based nonprofit, has already given thousands of people another option. Hosting free monthly spay-neuter-clinics, the group has sterilized over 6500 beloved pets. Current figures estimate that just 5 years of these monthly clinics would ultimately turn the tide for the region’s animals. These clinics aren’t TNR, where strays are caught, fixed, and left on their own to fend for themselves. This is loving families struggling financially who wait in line for hours to get their pets fixed. This group is committed to sterilizing strays and long-term change, incorporating community education to teach younger generations about compassion and responsible pet ownership. But your help is desperately needed to ensure these life-saving clinics continue!  Unfortunately, last year three clinics were cancelled due to a lack of funding, meaning hundreds of dogs could not be fixed. If you'd like to donate to this amazing spay neuter project: SOS el Arca Spay Neuter Campaign | GLOBAL UNITED FOUNDATION (Powered by Donorbox)https://donorbox.org/globalunited   SOS El Arcahttps://soselarca.org/ Learn More about Mindy and her incredible work: Mindy's website:https://dogsimeet.com/   About her trip to Mexico with some the pics she references during our conversation:https://dogsimeet.com/rescue-missions/it-takes-a-village-to-save-a-dog   Mindy's Instagram with more pics taken in Carmen del Playa:https://www.instagram.com/dogsimeet/ Mindy's previous episodes on "Why Do Pets Matter?"   Episode 174 - Tales of Support https://whydopetsmatter.podbean.com/e/mindy-dutka-tales-of-support/   Episode 161 - Introducing Mindy Dutka from "Dogs I Meet" https://whydopetsmatter.podbean.com/e/mindy-dutka/   COLLAGE OF PICS FROM SOS EL ARCA