Dock Dogs of Nayarit

09/04/2023

Third video of feeding the Palmas dock dogs

09/04/2023

Fourth video of feeding Palmas dock dogs

09/04/2023

Video of feeding pups at pimientillo docks

09/04/2023

Second video of Palmas feeding pups

09/04/2023

First video of the day I spent feeding the dogs at Palmas docks

09/04/2023

I will post a full update when we return to the US where signal is more reliable. I’m getting involved with Tino and Norma who are already doing a lot of what I am attempting to do and can be relied upon to continue their work. I had a huge post with a ton of details that got lost when I got up for a minute and lost signal. I will post the details when I get back and have reliable service and an actual computer. Attached are a bunch of photos from my time working with the dogs, including my own dog and the new ones we discovered.

29/08/2022

Good news! After quite a slow season after the vet pulled his crap… we finally have some awesome progress!
Norma is our new friend who has been working with a nonprofit to run a spay program for the community. We have been planning to use our van and truck (and drivers, lol) to bring all of the remaining female dogs to get spayed. The price is only 350 pesos (same as I paid before) and they will have professional doing the spays. The way that they are operating, they gathered funds so the townspeople only need to pay 50 pesos to spay their dogs. I will be sponsoring the abandoned dogs and paying the full costs.
Norma will pick up the females with help before the appointment and get them all spayed.

Current counts:
Corrientes (where Hope and Faith came from) has 4 dogs, 3 of them female, photos attached. I did say that we can likely keep the one that’s clearly the sibling to my girls, but I still need to clear with Valló.
Palmas- probably has a lot more dogs, since we left 4 pregnant females 6 months ago… we will get photos and a head count before sending the money.
Pimientillo - I guess the skeletal females didn’t make it, because they would refuse the dog food and didn’t respond to the antiparasitic medications. I will also get photos of who is currently in the barquadero there.

24/07/2022

So… this post is a bit late in coming, but we finally came to the conclusion that Miguel is not going to help us at all. He basically stole 5100 pesos ($250) from me when he changed his number. I’m very resentful, so I have been telling everyone from that area how he screwed me over and several dogs died because of his negligence (Hope and Ebony’s puppies).

However, Canela (puppy my friend got) and Ebony are now spayed. We still need to spay the female puppy from Rubia. Ebony had moved to someone else’s house and he contacted us to let us know not to send money to Gabi for her care. We never sent more, just gave her 1000 pesos ($50) for food and care while she had Ebony and the pups. We spoke with her new owner (I can’t recall his name) and Pancho. They are getting her spayed and she did successfully have two puppies recently (not that we wanted more pups, but she is healthy enough to support them).

I need to figure out another vet who is willing to go to the docks to spay the dogs there… or a way to bring them in to a vet for spays. I’m working on pondering the logistics of it.

My father in law has kept up with the water for the dock dogs in Pimientillo. And they still have food, we have sent it over to them. The dog with the infection on his face looks normal again. I sent my sister a new phone so she can take good pictures of the dogs. She took a few, even though my dogs (Faith and Rubia) were not coming out for pics.

Also pics of Canelo, my horse down there. He’s fat and happy and well cared for.

06/02/2022

So, i was hoping to be able to post a better update… so waited for the right time.
That time won’t come for Ebony, so I’m posting now.
Last Thursday I posted the video of Ebony with all 3 pups. Ebony’s black puppy was wobbling and unsteady. At the time, I didn’t realize the importance, especially with the fuzzy quality of the video.
The next morning, Gabriela sent me a panicked message that one of the puppies had died. She was worried that Ebony had killed the pup, but in the photo attached it is obvious that Ebony and both remaining pups were very dehydrated.
I contacted the vet, Miguel, and asked him and Gabi to connect and get Ebony care for ASAP. After a couple days of back and forth and both of them telling me that the other wasn’t answering, both of the other pups were dead. Miguel told me that he was very ill and unable to work, he needed an injection. I was hesitant because I’m not an ATM and I shouldn’t be his primary income. But I did send him 3000 pesos ($151 with fees) and he cashed it out and promised to see the dog that night. He never showed up and stopped responding to messages.
I finally informed him this evening that I know a LOT of people who would be very upset if I told them that he had robbed me. I received a response immediately, stating that the respondent was his wife and he was in the hospital with COVID. At this time, I am choosing to believe her/him and I will wait for him to recover to finish the spays and treatment of the other dogs.
Meanwhile, the topical flea medication he gave me wasn’t working very well. I sent 2000 pesos to my compadre José Luis to fill the gas tank and find me nexguard spectra for Ebony, Mickey (my sister’s dog), and the two dogs belonging to Arapo (who is caring for and sharing my horse). I’m not pulling that from the balance assumed for the charity because most of that cost is for family, not rescues. I chose to jump ahead and do this because Ebony is still dry, and yesterday she was not eating. I firmly believe this has to do with the parasites from the raw fish (the reason all of the dogs from Pimientillo docks were super thin). The nexguard spectra will treat the fleas (that didn’t go away) as well as the internal parasites. Ebony is the only dog from the pimientillo docks that didn’t get treated for parasites and given vitamins because the day we treated them, she was presumed dead. And the night we took her away from the docks was the night before we left to come home (left at 4am).
Rubia is definitely staying with Vallo. Her pups are ready for adoption. I told Vallo that he can find homes for the two males, but he needs to hold back the female until we can get her spayed (and prevent the cycle of unwanted pups).
I am willing to wait up to two weeks for Miguel to recover, but I will also be calling other vets in case he decides not to follow through on his promises.

In the attached picture, you can see both pups far too fluffy for 2 weeks old, their fur should still be slick. This shows that they are dehydrated. You also can’t see her teats swollen because the milk just wasn’t being produced. Ebony herself has sunken eyes and very dry-looking fur. The dead pup is in this photo.

06/02/2022

Ebony’s second puppy died, you can see in the video that she doesn’t have much teats at all, she was not prepared to feed the puppies. Her body was just not cooperating.

06/02/2022

Ebony the night before the black pup died

26/01/2022

Video of Ebony and her pups. Doing well. Very sweet girl.

26/01/2022

Rubia’s pups playing in the yard, quite shaky, but forgive my sweet sister for her attempts.

26/01/2022

A bit shaky, but another of Rubia and her pups

26/01/2022

Pamela got me some videos of the pups at Vallo’s house. She need some work to keep the camera steady, but you can see the happy girls.

26/01/2022

Updates!!
- Rubia is coming out of her shell (the blonde momma). I was hoping to post the video of her and my girls, but Vallo is technically challenged and only posted the video on his Facebook. I will post it as soon as I get it sent to me. He says pups are starting to run around and eat food.
- Ebony is also doing well, I asked Pamela to take pics and video of her and pups along with taking pics and video at the Pimientillo docks so we can see how they are doing.
- I need to get ahold of Marcos and spur him to coordinate with the vet for the spays at the Palmas docks.
- A woman has reached out to me for help with the homeless dogs in Pimientillo. She says there are 15 female dogs, two of which are very thin. She suspects several are pregnant. I’m going to work with her, but also have my sister, Pamela there for the surgeries and to help coordinate. (This will also make sure our investment is used for the animals as intended.) She tells me that Gaby (who’s taking care of Ebony) told her about the project and that I may be able to help.
- any money spent will either go directly to the vet, or to family who can then be trusted to pay for the project. This is also why I want Pamela to be present at the spays, so I have a second report of how many get done.
- spoke with my family about the situation with the dogs in the town. I’m not a fairy godmother, and my family discovered that all of those dogs have owners. Not all of them care, but I’m not willing to get involved with a situation with owners. My goal is to help the abandoned animals and prevent more abandonment. I did tell my father-in-law that I’m willing to make calls to help them get government support.

17/01/2022

Financial update with current status and donations:
I will keep this post updated and pinned to the top so it’s easy to follow the money.
Donations:
$100 AW
$20 VH
$20 JC
$40 AB
$100 CS
$34 ID

Total donation income: $314

Costs:
Pimientillo docks 3 surgeries: 1050 ($52.50)
Pimientillo 7 vitamins and parasite shots: 1000 ($50.00)
Pimientillo food for group: 450 ($22.50)
Pimientillo momma “Rubia” chicken: 1000 ($50)
Pimientillo momma “Ebony” puppy food: 520 ($26)
Pimientillo momma “Ebony” chicken: 1000 ($50)
Bottle of Flea and tick drops 500 ($25)
Palmas 2 spays done with parasite shots and vitamins: 900 ($45)
Total spent/used so far 5450 pesos: $271
Total paid out: 7550 pesos: $376 (included the credit with the vet for services for the future)

Current credit with vet for dock dogs (I prepaid 3000 for anesthesia purchase prior to Palmas first spay visit): 2100 ($105)

Anticipated additional costs upcoming:
Pimientillo momma Ebony spay and shots: 450 ($22.50) this will partially come out of the credit I have with the vet, resulting in a new charge of 150 ($7.50)
4 Spays at Palmas docks: 1800 ($90) (this will come out of the credit of 2100 that I paid)
Food for 6 puppies when they are sent to the vet for adoption: 520 ($26)
Nexguard for all dock residents after 6 months ~250 each ($12.50) x 12 dogs = 3000 ($150) I am choosing to follow-up using nexguard because it is oral and can be given easily as a treat to the dogs instead of scaring them more with more shots.
Pimientillo spays for the 2 super skinny girls when ready: 700 ($35)
The biggest, shyest female at Palmas docks will have her puppies any day now, and they will need adopting when they are of age. I will pay for another bag of puppy food for them when it is time for their adoption: 520 ($26)

Upcoming anticipated costs: $349.50 assuming I can’t get a discount on food or nexguard both of which I will be pursuing to see if companies want to help and donate or reduce the price for us.

Total costs current and upcoming: 12410 pesos, aka $620.50 USD

Our fundraising is still short of that goal by $306.50

Gabriella had been kind enough to post our first video update on Ebony, the black momma from the pimientillo docks, and I forgot to mention in here, but I was told initially that she had a bad leg. I also expect José Luis Amparo to post about our Palmas dogs, and Pamela Garcia to update us on the rest of the pimientillo dogs.
Gabriella or Vallo can also update us on Rubia, the blonde momma from Pimientillo that’s being cared for at Vallo’s house.

For clarity sake, I’m also adding here that the spays for Canela, Hope, and Faith, as well as their food/antiparasitic treatments are NOT a part of this and have come out of my own personal finances and will continue to do so.

Also not charging for transportation/time/any other incidentals for the dock dogs. This is not at all about making money, so I will not take a cent for myself. I’m also not going to constantly update the conversion rates, so I’m going with 20 pesos per dollar for simplicity unless it changes significantly to more or less than that (whole pesos different).

Now that I’m back in the US, I will see about setting up a Gofundme account.

15/01/2022

Ok, last update while I’m in Mexico. The super skinny girl is still going strong, even though she looks like a walking skeleton, she’s still walking around. The spays for her and the other skinny girl will be done once they are a healthy weight.

Black momma was moved, because I can’t help myself. Our good friend and Vallo’s niece, Gaby is going to care for her. I bought her a huge bag of puppy food (520 pesos, $26) and gave her the liquid for the fleas and ticks. We will work with the vet to adopt out her babies when they are ready, as well as getting her spayed. If nobody falls in love with her (keep your fingers crossed) then she will go back to the docks after her babies wean and she is spayed. I also left Gaby with 1000 pesos ($50) to buy chicken for her.

Yellow momma is doing well at Vallo’s house. During our party yesterday, she ventured out to meet some people and got fed some meat for her efforts. She is getting along with the other girls, so all is well on that front. The babies are growing well, two boys and a girl. We are keeping our fingers crossed that Vallo decides to keep her once the pups are weaned… time will tell. I took a pic of her babies, but she was out somewhere in the yard when I was looking for pics.

Marcos (owns the shrimp farms next to the Palmas docks) has Miguel’s number (the vet) to arrange for the rest of the spays.

My compadre has agreed to take pictures of the dogs at that dock, and my sister has agreed to take pics of the dogs at the Pimientillo docks. I’m hoping to be able to post weekly updates even when I’m back home.

Also added pics of my two girls that I will miss when I return… today.

10/01/2022

Two spays done successfully in Palmas docks. However, due to a lack of communication (let’s be honest, about 95% my fault) with Marcos, nobody was able to help us. This first black and white girl was easy to catch, the blonde one was a bit more work… although this is where it pays to have a vet who’s also an accomplished rural horseman! He was able to use a rope to lasso her. However, after her complaints, the other dogs proved too hard to catch for today. We haven’t given up, and I plan to actually talk to Marcos in person today to arrange for his workers to help us with the rest as soon as we can coordinate.
Momma at our place has moved outside (before Valló has a heart attack)… but she’s already looking fuller and healthier. Goes to show what 1kg of spare chicken parts (that’s my interpretation of the stuff, lol) will do for you. She won’t eat the dog food, so it’s chicken and fish extras for her.

Edit to add that the costs for the two girls was 900 pesos, which is about $45. I paid him 3000 pesos ($150) last night in advance because he was running out of anesthesia. So, I have a credit with the vet for 2100 pesos ($105). With that 150 paid out, the campaign is sitting negative by around $35, but I won’t let that stop me at this point.

10/01/2022

Five big updates…

first, when I went to the Pimientillo docks this morning to drop off my husband and compadre, the momma dog was coming to me and behaving submissively. I told my hubby that if she was still coming to me when I came to pick them up, I would take her and the pups.
Well, I decided not to wait and went back around 9:30 to pick them up. Momma and pups are comfortable at Vallo’s house. I will be moving them next door to China’s house, because Martín almost had a meltdown at the idea that I brought in more dogs while Valló was out of town for a couple days. But China is willing to care for them so they can grow up healthy and friendly and then get adopted… I bet the momma ends up not leaving because she is bound to come out of her shell and steal their hearts.

Secondly, the third time I went to the pimientillo docks today, to pick the guys up, I discovered that the pregnant female we were mourning and I was told was dead… actually had hidden herself deep under a large freezer. And she has at least 4 little tails that I could see from the odd angle. We will get her taken care of as well. Everyone else there is still looking the same.

Third: tomorrow is the day for the Palmas docks to get a mass spay campaign. At least two are pregnant, and most are skittish around me. However, I alerted Marcos, (well, his mom because he was out, lol) and we will plan on having his employees available and helping us to get the dogs restrained for their surgeries. Vet meets me at 9am at Vallo’s house and we drive together to the docks. I gave him 3000 pesos ($150) ahead of time because he was running out of anesthesia medications and we will need a lot tomorrow, assuming we can catch them all.

Fourth, the puppies that we previously barely got a glance at in the Palmas docks are were at my house undergoing parasite treatments and getting ready for homes. As I promised, the little female with the shepherd markings was delivered to my compadre this evening. Because these pups are actually only 3-4 weeks, I chose to pre-pay for her spay, and the vet will get it done when they call him to do the surgery (3-6 months old). There is a pic of a p**p in here… almost more worms than p**p coming out! And I wish I had thought to take pictures of their paws and inside the ears before I pulled off the ticks… each pup had at least 20 ticks in each ear, and no less than 50 per paw, mostly between the toes.

Fifth and finally, I decided to set up an informal PALS program. (I’m probably violating some copyright from the animal humane society, but I’m sure they will forgive me). The concept of the program is that when someone has a female who has a litter and they can’t handle it and don’t want more puppies, they can call me (I have been giving out my number) and I will get ahold of the vet (and pay him) and he can go to them when the puppies are old enough and spay mom and take the pups for adoption. This will keep adult females with their families and hopefully prevent them from being dumped at the docks. I can also discuss if they can even afford the extra food to support mom and pups during this time.

09/01/2022

Couldn’t help myself and brought them all home for care and get ready for adoption. Mama from pimientillo docks with her three, and the older three from Palmas. They can be better cared for in the house.

08/01/2022

This is our big container that we tried to use for water, but we don’t think it will last for that purpose. I did use an identical one to keep the dog food at Pimientillo docks. The tires are a good way in this dusty, hot region to keep water for the animals. We got three so we can set them up separately and prevent the dogs from fighting or guarding the water.

07/01/2022

Update today. It’s with a heavy heart that I tell you that the large skinny female at Pimientillo died yesterday. We came out to feed today and they told us.
They also told us that they do feed them and they strongly suspect that the severe emaciation was from a parasite. If that’s true, then the ones with the strength to keep going should start to recover.
I’m worried about this girl, she refused to eat, and then refused the water. Time will tell if she can recover.

I also spoke to the vet about spay and neutering at a younger age, to make sure the babies get fixed before adoption.

06/01/2022

Forgot to add that the woman at the feed store is checking to see if she can get me the dog food at a discount for the dock dogs.

Current finances:

The Palmas dogs will cost us $203.33, and our remaining money in the fund is $17.50.

Pimientillo has cost $122.50 thus far, and will need more food regularly, and eventually 3 more spays as the super-skinny girls get big enough to handle the surgery.

Palmas needs 7 spay/neuters and 4 or more puppies adopted. Also all adult dogs will be treated with vitamin and antiparasitic injections. That cost is 8.34 per dog.

I did find a home for one of the pups, and I will handle the spay out of my own cash, as it’s our friend.

Attached pics here of the two that we adopted, in the yard and settling into the family.

06/01/2022

06/01/2022

Message me for information on status and donations.

06/01/2022

Update on the dogs at the Palmas docks. There are definitely more dogs here. And they are not willing to come very close to me. At first, I though that meant we could not help them. However, I learned that our friend Marcos has viveros near there and his employees often feed the dogs. Upon discussing with him, he is confident that they can help us capture the dogs for neuters and spays. He is willing to send them out to help us when I ask him. The issue is the money at this point. After the operation in Pimientillo, we only have $15 left of our donation money thus far.

Photos of the dogs at the Palmas docks attached.

06/01/2022

Finally have a little while in the place where I have service!
This update is about the dogs at the Pimientillo docks. The vet and I went out there together yesterday. We discovered that the pregnant female had died on Tuesday, and three females were too thin to put under anesthesia. However, all 6 of the adult dogs received a shot for vitamins as well as an injectable antiparasitic. The cost for the injections was 1000 pesos ($50) and we were able to fix the momma dog (with the three small puppies) as well as both males. The cost for that was 1050 pesos, $52.50.

I also went back as they were waking up and spoke with a regular worker there about how much food they will need daily, and I spread out food for them.

The vet felt that with the food and the injections, even the super skinny girl has a chance.

Photos attached.

05/01/2022

Update that I posted on the original post:

Updates on the dogs:
1 - I misjudged what the vet can do for adoption. He will take the puppies when they are adoptable age… can’t take the adults, not even the moms with pups.
2 - good news, the dogs in palmas are much better cared for, so the spay and neuter are the big focus over there. There are also more cats than dogs, but none of the dogs (or cats) are as friendly, so it will take much more time to get those dogs (and cats) altered. I will link another post of mine with the pictures and info on the palmas animals.
3 - I have received $140 from three people so far. The plan is for the vet to come out and assess the dogs at Pimientillo tomorrow (today 1/5) with me, after he spays the second dog that I took in (on my own dime, of course). The plan for that is to spay the non-pregnant/breastfeeding females that are salvageable, neuter the two males, and probably euthanize two of the females. (The super skinny one as well as the one that is not getting up very much). Assuming that I won’t spay the two we put down, or the pregnant one or the nursing one… that leaves 3 dogs to be altered tomorrow. I have more than enough for that part of costs, as the altering of the three dogs will cost 52.50 (17.50 x 3) and I will buy a large bag of food for them to use there for another $21-24 (I keep forgetting if it was 420 or 480 pesos per bag, I will post the exact cost when I buy it.)
4 - I realized/decided that since we are going to need to leave the adult dogs at the marinas, they need to be treated for internal and external parasites. The way they treat down here is either nextguard or an injection every 6 months. I don’t have pricing on that yet, but he will let me know tomorrow. I also don’t have pricing on the euthanizing.