Our clinic/shelter was opened in April 1996. We started with two rooms, no electricity, 24 kennels, one vet and one kennel worker. We have been growing steadily since then and now we are capable of helping more. Nowadays we have a full time staff of 7, and have over 60 dogs, puppies and 100+ cats under our care at any one time. We receive an average of 40 animals per month, found astray or relinquished by their owners for a variety of reasons. We do our best to care for them and place them in good, loving homes.
A very important part of our work is on a bigger scale. Our long term goal is to fully change the approach towards dog and cat overpopulation; all prevention of litters, and no more extermination. We have been promoting this gradually through talks, presentations, campaigns and presentations by guest lecturers from well known groups. And also, of course, through a continued, free spay and neuter program.
We hope you enjoy this website and that you will share with us the warm feeling of caring for individual animals in need, and the sense of achievement of gradually making a difference for large numbers of them.
Our work for the animals is made possible by many wonderful humans who contribute their time, talents and or money to the cause, and to them we are immensely grateful. Here you can get to know a bit about the staff, members of the board and other regular volunteers that keep the ball rolling.
The Humane Society of Cozumel Island was founded in 1993 by Karla Porter, a girl from Pennsylvania. Soon after she moved to Cozumel, Karla was shocked when she realized that the City poisoned dogs and cats randomly to get rid of stray animals. A very determined woman, she put an add in the local newspapers to recruit animal lovers, and a few people joined her to legally establish a local SPCA in Cozumel. In 1995, they received a one-time grant from the Federal Government of approximately $20,000 dollars, which was used to build the initial part of our clinic-shelter, and to buy some basic equipment. Most of the founding members don’t live on the Island anymore, including Karla. But they would all be proud to see how the project they bravely started not only prevailed but has been very successful, helping many animals in need every day.
Our current president, Monica Velasco, worked with Karla during 1996 and took over the project in the beginning of 1997. The Cozumel SPCA became Sociedad Humanitaria de Cozumel, A.C., and since then we have focused our efforts towards promoting an ethical dog and cat population control program, by means of a steady and free spay/neuter campaign, an active adoption program and humane euthanasia when necessary.
Very important additions and improvements have been made to our facility in the last 12 years, with the help of wonderful loyal friends who have given us their steady support.
Because we understand that it is the sheer excess of dogs and cats what reduces their value in the public’s eye, thus originating cruelty and negligence towards them, our long term goal is population control. We want to change history, by implementing an effective, modern, ethical dog and cat population control program and have it approved by the local authorities. This project is based on education and prevention of litters, and involves a massive, steady, free spay/neuter campaign, getting 10% of the animals the first year and reaching 75% within 5 years. We want not only the approval but the commitment of the local authorities and have made a number of serious attempts in this direction, but because it involves politics, it requires a lot of patience and steady work. We are convinced that the insularity of Cozumel makes us the perfect community to prove that a humane program based on prevention rather than extermination is effective. If we can do this, we could conceivably become a model for the rest of the State and, who knows, maybe even the rest of Country.
OUR MISSION: To rescue the value of dogs and cats as companion animals, through the development of a comprehensive and humane population control program, based on the prevention of litters and education.
OUR VISION: An island where the population of dogs and cats is kept under control as a result of responsible guardianship.
In 2009 we are launching a very ambitious project: a massive, continued, free sterilization campaign in collaboration with IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare), an international organization with which we recently signed an agreement. Our goal for the first year is to sterilize 2,000 animals, which is roughly 10% of the estimated dog and cat population on this Island. We expect to increase numbers as we gain campaign speed, and look to complete 15,000 animals within the next 3 to 5 years. This will equate to roughly 70% of the total population. If and when we achieve this, the dog and cat overpopulation can be considered under control, thus eliminating the need for the government to do any more extermination. A very important part of this campaign will be creating awareness at different levels. Our intention is to get the municipal government involved in this humane and modern approach to control a ubiquitous problem, and perhaps set an example for governments from other communities.
At the shelter
We care for an average of 60 dogs and 100 cats at any one time. Many adopt out as a result of very active adoption programs, but many others come in. We receive animals whose owners cannot or do not want to care for, and animals that people find lost or in distress. Many times we also receive dogs that were picked up by the local pound and were not retrieved by their owners.
During spring and fall, we get overwhelmed by many litters of kittens and puppies, which were either found abandoned or are surrendered by owners who were surprised with a pregnant pet. As we receive them, we do our best to give a friendly message of awareness. Many times we receive the litter and negotiate to have the mother spayed in exchange. Sometimes we have to offer a free service, like a vaccine or a bath, to convince the owners to let us get their male pets neutered. All in all, we have been slowly making the notion of spay/neuter and its benefits more familiar and available to the community.
Our kennel staff keeps very busy making the shelter clean and presentable. They also feed, bathe, walk and play with the animals. For this last part, we usually get volunteers to help out too. If you are visiting the Island and want to spend a few hours with us, it will be greatly appreciated.
Our medical staff takes care of all our resident animals’ health and they spend several hours a day just dedicated to sterilization surgeries. We also provide veterinary services to the public, which covers for some of our costs and allows us to give information about responsible guardianship.
Every now and then we’ll have an intensive campaign and we will all be working very long hours. Our staff and volunteers will also do rescue operations in a variety of situations. Many times we get calls reporting abuse or neglect, and we do our best to give a solution to the problem, although unfortunately we are very limited by the lack of legal backing in this matter.
Out of the shelter
A lot of the work is done from a computer, such as answering emails, ordering supplies, contacting other organizations, fundraising, acquiring equipment, supplies, veterinary help, networking for adoptions abroad, etc. Running various errands certainly takes a good chunk of our time, plus the usual book keeping, promoting, making reports, planning, and many other things that we do happily for the animals.
Fundraising is critical, so considerable time and effort is spent on this. We have several major events that we do yearly, such as our Mardi Gras Stand, Art Exhibition and Auction, Sunset Tours and Xmas Dinner Party. Besides those, we do garage sales, raffles and other activities.
Our monthly expenses average $10,000 dollars, of which about 40% comes in from veterinary services provided at the shelter. The rest comes from active fundraising, donation boxes in town, donations through this website (yes!) and sales of T’shirts and pet accessories with our logo.