Saint Vincent's Home Guadalajara Mexico

23/06/2024

A friendly epistle from Saint Vincent's Home
Hi friends, those far and near.
Im writing this epistle whilst listening to Chopin's piano music on youtube . I wish I had my old Knabe piano back again. I have asked before if anyone has an old grand piano they dont use that would care to donate it here. I would gladly pay the shipping. The only trouble is that three scammers tried to get me to pay for a piano that didnt exist in the past year. Im glad I caught on to it before I sent them any money. I liked playing Chopin more than other music.

Today, saturday 22 June, a young fellow came to our front door pushing a wheelbarrow with a large street dog tied down with nylon rope. He said she was 2 months pregnant, and he could not keep her. I saw this guy's face before. i think he was here a few months ago giving me some puppies or another dog. The guy is irresponsible and should not have any dogs. Aranza and her sister were at the door with me, and I asked her to tell him that I would receive this dog, but that he must not come here again with any more dogs. She told him and he agreed, and we now have another pregnant dog to deal with. The only problem is, we dont have a veterinarian to help, and most likely the puppies will die as others have.
I promised myself I would not write an sad news, since most people do not like to read about any of the problems we have here sometimes.
If you read my last epistle at the beginning of this month, I said I was able to pay the one vet two invoices with the donations that came in. I still owe her one more invoice that must be paid.
I still owe the back rent on this property for over a year. There just is never enough money to pay the bills, the vets, the rent, the workers and to pay the biggest bill, is the dog food. The government still charges 16% sales tax on dog food.
The few donations that came in this week allowed me to buy 4 bags of food yesterday at Sam's Club. It is enough to get through till monday morning.. Today and tomorrow, I have to give my 3 workers IOU's again telling them I would pay them on monday. At the moment there is only $8 left in the bank account. We still have 200 dogs living here with no adoptions.
Im happy to say it started raining here this week. So, the air is cooled off and
Our trees, plants, and flowers now have water. I remember as a teenager walking down 5th Avenue in Manhattan, I stopped a cop wearing a long blue over coat . On his collar it had 3 GOLD Letters. I asked him what TPF stood for. He said, "trees , plants and flowers". I told him my uncle was a police detective. When I told him his name, he said he knew him. He also told me TPF really means Tactical police force. Learn something new every day. He was friendly and I went on my way. To make a long story even longer, on another day walking across the street from the big NYC Public Library on 5th Avenue, I saw walking towards me, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. As we passed each other, I smiled and said hello and so did he. He was wearing a dark gray business suit , carrying a briefcase. What I remember the most was that he had intense blue eyes. Im only sorry I didnt stop to talk to him, but I thought people annoy him every day like that, so I didnt want to be rude. I later realized I could have asked him to help me to play the big organ in St. Patrick's Cathedral. Only one of the few in NYC I didnt get to play because to get to it, you needed a key to the elevator that went up to the organ in the balcony. Im still not able to play any pipe organ here in Guadalajara. Its the most disappointing thing for me about living here.
Im sorry I went off the subject again. I like to write about things in my past sometimes that bring back a fond memory. I really should write a book about my life. Some folks might find it interesting. The reports of my being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize are greatly exaggerated.

Im happy to report that we now have water again coming in from the city, so I dont have to pay for a p**a again. At least for awhile. Who knows how long it will last¿
Since no water had been coming into our cistern, I thought there must be a problem with the cistern. So I was able to find and hire and plumber that was a cistern fixer. He came and ran a hose from the water pipe in the street to our cistern. It is temporary. He will come in a few days to make the work correct. At least for the moment we have water coming into the cistern again.
Regarding our doggies and donations. Im sorry to say that I have heard that all rescue places are hurting for donations and adoptions just like us.
If you are in good financial shape and would like to help us with a donation, even a small donation always ads up. You can send through payal to [email protected]. OR www.fundrazr.com/stvincentshome.
Please buy lottery tickets for us if you are in the USA. If you want to send a large donation, it would be best to send a wire transfer directly to our bank in the USA to avoid paypal fees. Let me know, and I will provide the address to mail a check.
If you are local, you can send a donation using our CLABE # 030320076518002012. Banco Del Bajo, Lawrence G. Smith.
I hope everyone is surviving the terrible heat, floods, rain, and wildfires. Im sorry to see on the news every night so many people who have lost their homes and have been displaced. I tell my friends here, when I cant pay the rent anymore, they can find me living in a cardboard box under a bridge.
Thanks to so many kind people who try every month to help feed our dogs. Its just barely enough to scrape by each week. We try to stretch the food as possible to keep them from starving. Please share this with your pals. We need all the help we can get to keep going. If you plan to visit Guadalajara and would like to visit our mission here, just drop me a note and we can set up a time for you to visit. I thank you; our workers thank you, and our doggies thank you.
Have a wonderful life.
With kind regards,
Lawrence

02/06/2024

Hello friends & benefactors,

It is a sad day today. We completely ran out of water; our cistern is empty. The government SIAPA that is supposed to supply us with water and a taker truck does not answer their phones. They were supposed to send us a tanker last month and never did. Its the weekend and I thought the p**a I ordered last week from the private company would get us through till monday, but we ran out. The private p**a wont deliver the water till monday. Im trying to use the reserve water for the house from the tank on our roof to be able to water our dogs. If you know of any p**a that will deliver water on Sunday, tomorrow, please let me know immediately, if not sooner. The heat is stiffeling outside, but a little cooler in the house. I dont know if our dogs will make it through the weekend if we run out of the little water we have left. There will be no water for cooking, cleaning or bathing till we get the p**a here on monday .
If you follow my page, you know already that the Boxer Vicky that had cancer , died in the clinic a week ago. https://www.facebook.com/SaintVincentsHomeGuadalajara
Our house phone has not been working right in over a month. The cheap phone I bought in Office Depot last year just didnt hold up. If you happen to have an old desk phone you are no longer using, please send it here. If you are local, you can bring it to our place, just let me know by email [email protected]
Thankfully we received enough donations to buy enough food for our dogs to get us through till Tuesday.
The other day I had to go to walmart to buy a few items and get money from the ATM. I was hungry and didnt have breakfast, so I went to Appleby's for the advertised breakfast which wasnt expensive. I go there about once or twice in the year, but never for their breakfast. I ordered some scrambled eggs with mushrooms spinach and cheese, and some hash browns.
The eggs were all greasy, the hash browns must have been made a week before. They were flat, hard as a rock, greasy and full of salt. The orange juice was watered down. Never again breakfast there. As John Arbuckle always said..."You get what you pay for". I prefer Denny's, which is much better, only a little more expensive. I only go there once or twice a year.
Thanks to some of our kind friends, I was able to pay a portion of the debt I owe one of the two veterinarians, $650. USD. I still owe Dr. Elva more money. I am including with this epistle the receipt from the clinic which lists the services I was able to pay for on Page #1. Page #2 & 3 are the amounts I still owe in pesos. These will have to be paid for before she provides any medical services to our dogs. The other vet will have to wait. He isnt providing any service either. We still owe over a years back rent on our place. Our workers are still holding a bunch of IOU's from last year that need to be paid. I hope I will be able to pay my debts to society before I kick the bucket.
Sorry to ramble on so much. I will cut this short and make a new epistle in the middle of the month.
For those who can help us with a donation, you can send through paypal to [email protected]. You do not have to have a paypal account to make a donation, only a debit card.
If you are local, you can make a donation online to our clabe # 030320076518002012, Banco Del Bajio, Lawrence smith.
Also donations can be sent to www.fundrazr.com/stvincentshome
Thanks to all our friends who have tried to help. In this economy, I know it is very hard for some. All donations for US citizens are tax deductible as we have IRS 501 3 C exemption.
Have a great month.
With kind regards,
Lawrence

15/05/2024

NOTICE:
For those who try to phone us, we do NOT answer the phone any more.
The reasons for this are several:
When the phone rings, the dogs bark so loud it is impossible to hear anyone.
We get several daily prank calls from some deranged person.
There is a problem with out phone line which has a lot of static.
If you want to speak on the phone, you must send an email or a note through FB messenger. Include your name, phone and reason for call.
Too many people call every day wanting to give us more dogs. Mostly pit bulls. We cannot take more dogs. We are full to capacity. Please do not refer others to us wanting to get rid of their dogs. We cannot take more dogs.
Please share this with your pals. thanks

15/05/2024

It's $5 Friday! Help feed the dogs at Saint Vincent's Home, Guadalajara, Mexico. Please send your $5 donation by PayPal to [email protected] or www.fundrazr.com/stvincentshome Please SHARE!

St. Vincents Home Guadalajara is a sanctuary for abused and abandoned dogs from the street. We have over 300 rescue dogs in our care. We urgently need money to feed them and pay veterinary bills. We get very little help from anyone.

15/05/2024

Hi friends and benefactors.
I wrote in my last epistle that we were without water and without money.
Our water had been cut off for weeks by the City of Zapopan. I found out from our workers that the water has been limited all over the city and other parts of Mexico as well.
Ours was also a unique problem because we had not paid our water bill in many months due to our water meter being broken and never replaced. We owed the city $9,000 pesos for the water that wasnt paid. Thats about $500 USD.
With the constant problem of just trying to raise money to feed our dogs. It was impossible to pay the water bill. Thanks to a convent in USA, the sisters were kind enough to pay the water bill for us. But even though the bill was paid last month, it took until yesterday for them to replace the meter. They were supposed to send us a water tanker for the past month since our cistern is dry. They kept saying they would send the tanker mañana. We waited weeks for the tanker that never came. During that time, I had to pay for a private tanker once a week to bring us water. Today I had to pay for the tanker again. It costs 900 pesos for ten thousand liters of water to fill our cistern. See the photo of today's water bill for the tanker. Its around $45 usd. I have a stack of these receipts for the past few months when we had no water.
The heat here is unbearable. Many of our dogs come into the house where it is cool. The door is always open. In fact, the front door on the house broke off years ago. So there is no door.
Being from NYC , I grew up in the hot summers of the 60's. There you cant escape the heat, especially during July and August. The worst part was the heat continued during the night. I remember laying on my bed with my body pressed up against the wall. The plaster walls would sweat and it was cool to lay up against the cool wall. No one had air conditioning back then. We went to the movies on saturday just to escape the heat for a day. The theater and banks were the only neighborhood places that had air conditioning back then. At least the heat here is during the day. Its wonderful that when the sun goes down here, it becomes cool all through the night until during the early morning. When I go out in the morning to check on the dogs, I like the cool breezes blowing .
Yesterday I only had enough money to buy four bags of food. The food disappeared in a few minutes after putting it out. See the receipt from Sam's Club. Remember, its in pesos. I prefer to buy the food from Sam's Club now, not costco. The people are more friendly there and less crowded. We are out of food and out of money.
Im sorry to sound like a broken record, but we are always in need of money to buy food for our dogs. I still owe back rent on this property for a year, and still owe two veterinarians money from last year. They wont treat any of our dogs till they get their money.
The past few weeks one of our elderly dogs, a Boxer named Vicky developed a large tumor on her re**um. I saw it was getting worse each day. I asked one of our friends for help. A nice lady who helps with food sometimes offered to pay for her treatment. She contacted one of the vets we owe money to and told him she would pay the bill for Vicky upfront. She managed to get them to agree to help Vicky. So today Vicky is in the clinic getting tests to see what kind of cancer she has. The nice lady also paid for the water today. The cost of the surgery for Vicky is $4,500 pesos. Thats about $250. usd. Vicky has been here over ten years. See the photo of here taken this week. She is also very thin, so she is being checked for erliquia as well. This is the only time I have been able to get any medical help for our dogs in over a year. They all need vaccines and medicated baths, but I dont have the money for all these things. I also owe our workers back pay. They are all holding a few IOU's from two years ago. I pay them a little each time I have a little extra money.
If you plan to visit Guadalajara some time, you are welcome to visit with an appointment and consider adopting one of our dogs. Its easy to take a dog back with you by car or plane. The dog only needs a health certificate that a local vet can provide.
Im sorry to ramble on so much. I still watch movies online in the evening to wind down and settle my mind from the stress. I usually watch movies on YouTube. This past week I have been watching an interesting t.v. miniseries called The Godfather of Harlem, based on historical events. Let me know if you want to know where it can be seen for free.
Please share this friendly epistle with your pals, especially those who love dogs. We need all the help we can get.
I appreciate all the kind people who send us small donations, even when they cant afford it. Please dont send more than you can afford. Please buy lottery tickets for us. You never know when a new miracle will happen. I have been experiencing miracles here for the past 25 years. Even though it is hard sometimes, The Lord blesses us in times of need.
We are not the only rescue hurting for funds. All the doggie rescue places have very little support and , like us very few adoptions.
If you are in a financial position to help us, please note, for US taxpayers, we have IRS tax emption 501 3 c. Your donation is tax deductible.
Donations can be sent to paypal, even if you dont have an account to: [email protected] . You only need a debit or credit card. OR www.fundrazr.com/stvincentshome
For our pals in Mexico, you can send a donation online using our CLABE # 030320076518002012. Banco Del Bajio.
Thanks again to all our friends and benefactors for your continued help and support. Your good Karma will be returned to you many times over.
IF you do not wish to receive my monthly pupdate by email, drop me a line and you shall be removed forthwith.
With kind regards,
Lawrence

24/04/2024

Well friends, It seems my monthly encyclicals are fading into obscurity.
We have not been receiving nearly enough financial help as we need. I dont think very many people are reading it or receiving it.
It seems my hot mail account has been deleting a few email addresses each month. I dont know why or what is causing this. If you used to receive this email each month and are not now, please let me know. It will be shared on facebook for all to see.
Im including a few quotes from some famous characters in history, since I like history and they had something to say which I find useful.
Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. Im still here.
As I have been saying in my last few epistles, the city has been turning off the water in the entire neighborhood, possibly to repair a water pump that sends the water into each house.
This week I called a friend who works in city hall and asked her about this problem, and I found out that the past few weeks the city cut off my water and I have been buying water each week from a water tanker. I had problems with the water company for a few years when they didnt fix the outside water meter on our house. So now they got around to shutting off our water and our cistern is dry again. I must pay 9,000 pesos , which is around $500 usd, to get the water turned back on. It is difficult enough to raise money each week to feed our 200 starving dogs, but this bill needs to be paid. The weather here is so hot, like a Dutch oven, we must have water. We still owe back rent on this property, two veterinarians need to be paid from a year ago, and our workers are holding a stack of IOU's from over a year ago.
It is my hope that I can pay all my debts to society before I kick the bucket.
To that end, Desperate times call for desperate measures .
In order to raise the funds needed to help pay off some of these debts, I am offering for sale my personal chalice & paten. I have had it for many years, tried to sell it privately, but no takers, so I am making it more available to all my fans and admirers. This Chalice was made by Gorham in the 1930's, Art Deco style, all sterling silver, all hand chased. One of the most important of three silversmiths in USA, Tiffany and Schieve. Comes with a carrying case. I hate to let it go, but we need the money. I would prefer it go to a priest, rather than a private collector. See the photos. As Oliver Goldsmith once said, "Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you know lies." Im asking $5,000 USD for this item. See the photos. Includes FEDEX shipping. Please share this with your pals.
All donations at tax deductible. We have IRS 501 3 c exemption.
Donations can be sent by paypal to [email protected].
OR www.fundrazr.com/stvincentshome.
If you are in MExico, on line to our CLABE #030320076518002012, Banco Del Bajio.
Im sorry I havent been able to write more exciting news. I have this constant brain fog from covid that makes me drowsy all the time. Im not able to think straight as I once could.
We have so many dogs available for adoption. Visitors are welcome by appointment. Come and see what we are doing to save and protect our dogs.
A friend of ours locally , has a thrift shop and sells all kinds of lovely items. She donates a portion of her sales to help buy dog food for our dogs. If you live in our area and have a lot of old stuff cluttering up your closets and garage, and would like to donate them to help us, we can receive all kinds of household furnishings, kitchen ware, books, and garden items. I am still looking for an old grand piano.
If you dont wish to receive this propaganda by email, just drop a note and you will be purged from our mailing list.
Thanks to our regular donors who always try to help us, despite their own personal problems. All donations, no matter how small, are always appreciated. Look for my next epistle in May. Thanks for taking the time to read this and share it with your pals.
Mazel tov.
Lawrence

20/04/2024

Its our 25th anniversary

Happy 25th Birthday to us!!! To help us celebrate our birthday please consider sending our dogs a $25 donation as a birthday gift. Although the past 25 years has had its ups, downs, heartbreaks and joys we are still trying to make a difference in the lives of dogs. Your donations ALWAYS go to dog ca...

20/04/2024

Happy 25th Birthday to us!!!
To help us celebrate our birthday please consider sending our dogs a $25 donation as a birthday gift.

🥳 🎉🎂🎈🎁

Although the past 25 years has had its ups, downs, heartbreaks and joys we are still trying to make a difference in the lives of dogs.

Your donations ALWAYS go to dog care which mostly includes food, vet care and workers salaries. 🥘 🏥 👫

Monetary donations can be sent to:

✅ PayPal: [email protected]

✅ www.fundrazr.com/stvincentshome

✅ Local Mexican transfers/ Wise app transfers:
CLABE # 030320076518002012

✅ Or you can send us a bag of dog food directly from Amazon (please send us a confirmation so we can make sure it arrives)

https://www.amazon.com.mx/hz/wishlist/ls/BMNFZHV74HBV?ref_=wl_share

300 Rescue dogs in Guadalajara need your help.

08/04/2024

A new pupdate from Saint Vincent's Home for April 2024 Greetings & Salutations to our animal loving pals.
I see on the news that so many people are looking forward to the eclipse of the sun tomorrow. I took out an old xray I have from years ago to use to take a peek at the eclipse. I understand it is ok to use to protect the eyes.
A few years ago, I wrote about an old dog I found in the street a block from our digs. It was about 6 years ago, and I was just heading out to go to the vet a couple blocks away. The large black dog with lots of hair was limping so badly, he was barely able to walk at all.
I saw a man just going into his house and I asked him if the dog was his. He said no, that it was living in the street. It was apparent the dog must have been hit by a car. He agreed with me. I said I will take him to the vet around the corner. The man helped me to lift the dog into the van. I got him to the vet and said to fix him whatever is needed. I later found out that the dogs hip and leg were dislocated from the injury. HE stayed in the clinic for a few weeks after the surgery. He was old at the time, and I named him Lobo, since he looked like a large wolf. I was amazed that he lived so long after I found him. He died on Friday night in his sleep. He must have been at least 15 years or older. It was Divine Providence that placed him in my path. I am sure If I didnt pick him up that day, we surely would have died in agony in the street after a few days, and no one would have helped him. He was always grumpy, as old folks get. For me, I always thought old age would take longer. Now that I am here, I try to be careful not to be grumpy. I do get a little sometimes but try to keep it down. I was sad that he died, but he lived a lot longer than expected and tried to make him as comfortable as possible.
I hope all of you had a nice Easter or Passover. Please dont eat any lambs.
Last week some folks came to the front door asking me to take a large puppy, a mut as it were. They couldnt control him and he was aggressive with them, so I had to turn them away. Two days ago, a family came with a young, very skinny husky named Dixie. They couldnt keep her for whatever reason. I can never hear what people are saying, because our dogs are barking so loud in the background when someone is at the door. I received Dixie. See the two photos Andrew made this morning. She will need to be spayed, as well as several of our other dogs, but we just dont have the money or a vet to do the surgery. I still owe two vets over $2,000 USD each for a year's services. So, they wont help with anything till they get paid. Because of this, a few females had puppies the past few months. Not all of them survived. I put the word out in my previous epistles that we needed some help with fostering the moma's, but no one responded. We still need to get several females spayed.
Last week, Andrew, who is Polet's cousin and works here, found a baby iguana in our yard . I dont know where it came from, but maybe someone threw it over our 10 foot wall. If it was a baby, where was the moma iguana¿. He took it home and had it in a glass cage, but a friend advised today that iguanas wont live long in a house and are not good as a pet. They have to be free outdoors. So tomorrow, he said he will take it to a large park to release it there and hopefully, it will survive on its own. see the photo he made yesterday.
Im sorry to sound like a broken record all the time, but we still have around 200 rescue dogs in our care. They have to eat every day and we just dont have enough money from week to week to sustain them. If you are able to help with a donation through paypal, send to [email protected]. OR online using our Clabe #030320076518002012 Banco Del Bajio, Lawrence Smith, if you are in Mexico. You can also send with a credit or debit card to: www.fundrazr.com/stvincentshome.
When people visit here and I open the port hole window on our front doors , they are amazed to see so many dogs running around in the yard.
I like to point out that if these dogs were not living here, they would have died in the streets or produced thousands of unwanted puppies over the years. I do what I can with what little I have. I invite any of our friends to visit us sometime if you plan to visit Mexico and see what we are doing to save and protect our dogs. As I mentioned previously, Leo, the Golden was adopted by a nice couple living in Chapala, from Canada. He is doing really well, and they are very happy they have him.
We have many beautiful dogs available for adoption. Come and visit and take home one of our little dogs.
I want to thank our regular donors who help every month so we can buy food.
No thanks to Costco, Walmart, Sam's Club and other supermarkets for never donating all the broken bags of food they have, after begging them for 25 years. They just dont care.
Please follow us on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/SaintVincentsHomeGuadalajara
To keep up with the daily news & views from our humble mission.
We still need some help with plumbing, carpentry, and doggie groomers. Our little houses are falling apart after 7 years.
Please share this encyclical with your pals. If you do not wish to receive this propaganda, just drop me a message and you will be removed post haste.
All animals should be loved and protected. All dogs & cats deserve a loving home. Dont shop, adopt.
With kind regards,
Lawrence

02/04/2024

Tuesdays are for giving. We always need help to feed our 200 rescue dogs in our care. If you are able, please help. Please share this message with your pals.
www.fundrazr.com/stvincentshome

26/03/2024

Hey, its time for one of my video recommendations. Put a little culture in your life. Here is a famous classic movie that has just been posted on youtube. This is a great musical not to be missed. Take a peek, you will love it:

On a South Pacific island during World War II, love blooms between a young nurse and a secretive Frenchman who's being courted for a dangerous military mission.

25/03/2024

I spoke too soon. I first said we had no water because the City of Zapopan turned it off on saturday. Then yesterday afternoon the water came on again. But this morning the water is turned off again. Our cistern is dry and there is a little water left in the doggies pool to get us through the day.
To make matters worse, The CITY OF ZAPOPAN worker who picks up dead dogs, told me last friday they were not working. I would have to wait till monday, today. I called this morning and the guy said he will be by for the dead dog in one hour. Its now 1: 30 pm . I called and the guy said they are not working today and I have to wait till tomorrow. How would you like to bet when I call again tomorrow, I will be told he is not working again¿ Can you believe it¿, this exact thing happened the week before. This is living proof, we are living in a Third World Country! Meanwhile we have to endure the smell of the dead dog for another day. We have no refrigeration. Our neighbors may make trouble if the dog isnt picked up.

25/03/2024

News flash! The city turned on the water, just after I wrote my notice that our water was turned off. For the moment, it looks like it will remain on. Who knows¿

24/03/2024

We discovered the city cut the water off in this neighborhood again. No water came in last night and the large pools we keep the water in is dry. There is no water coming in from the street. I may have to order a pippa water tanker to get water here again . Trying to call now. It will cost 800 ´pesos to fill our cistern. Polet called and spoke to the water person. They dont work on sunday. They will be working tomorrow.. I guess they will also be very busy tomorrow with the whole neighborhood without water.