Newsletter August 2020 Amigos de Animales Boquete

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On Friday July 31, Amigos de Animales spayed or neutered 20 animals with one vet working. Then on Thursday August 13, Animales spayed or neutered another 27 animals, 20 cats (mostly brought in by our friend Kirsten Quimby) and 7 dogs. Wait, are we missing a couple digits there? No, it’s the new normal for Animales! We have been approved by MINSA to hold small clinics – under 30 animals and no more than 20 people inside the clinic; we used to have at least 75 people working on 200+ animals at any given clinic. This means double and triple duty for the volunteers who are there along with designated people to take temperatures before entering our space and another to sanitize the bathroom after every use. Getting MINSA approval took a lot of work and time and effort, but Ruby got it done. We now have disposable masks at the ready, gloves, face shields, instant read thermometers for the volunteers and lots of hand sanitizer. Ruby and Magaly spent many hours preparing documents and meeting with (and waiting for) the MINSA inspectors. But we are now approved and hopeful that as we show our compliance with their guidelines, we will be able to increase the numbers at future clinics. In the meantime, Animales has been working with other animal groups and the Mayor in providing dog and cat food for families in need. Over 5000 pounds of pet food have been donated and distributed to families and shelters thanks to the help of the community. We know that not having clinics for the past four months will have greatly increased the number of new puppies and kittens being born in and around Boquete. As we have worked through this crisis, we have come to realize that many families who desperately need our services cannot make it to our clinics. We think that we can make a significant difference by purchasing a mobile sterilization clinic that can reach areas like the remote fincas whose residents cannot easily come to us. In addition to spay and neuter services, we would be able to promote animal education and conduct some wellness checks. The cost to purchase a used van and outfit it appropriately for a vet to be able to perform sterilizations will be about $35,000. To help us raise the needed funds, we have created a GoFundMe campaign. Thanks already to the generosity of our community, we have raised about 1/3 of the total needed. Your help, in any amount, can help us attain this goal! Please visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/g8x7zw to donate today! Fifteen Years of Service to Boquete We very quietly celebrated our 15th year of service in June. The original plan was to have a big volunteer appreciation party and thank you to the community that month. But we did not anticipate the virus that shut us down for several months and has just now allowed to get us re-started in a small way. Our commitment to the community remains the same as it did all those years ago – to spay and neuter the animals of Boquete and support the health and well-being of the animals in our community. You can help us celebrate by donating to our GoFundMe campaign above. Raffle info The drawing for our great fundraiser/raffle was held on the Animales veranda on July 4th at around noon. Last year we sold 139 tickets and this year 149 and we netted nearly $13,000.  The winning ticket of a trip to Boquete and a week’s stay went to Jennifer Grissom from Florida. Second prize of a week’s stay in Bonaire went to Frank Thompson who purchased his ticket through PayPal. He is planning to move here next year and become a volunteer in our clinics.  He very generously told us to keep the prize and use it for another event. The third prize of a 12 month supply of fabulous Boquete coffee went to Helen Stanley, a former resident.   Credits: Fran Hogan Photography Calendar We have been hard at work getting ready to send off the files for the 2021 calendar. The pet pages have all been taken by our talented photographers and we are working with the local community to fill in our ad pages. The calendar is our second biggest fundraiser of the year every year selling 400 – 500 copies. Thanks to Fran Hogan, our calendar coordinator, we should be ready to launch in mid-October. Stay tuned for more details. Despite the smaller size of our clinics, we still like to keep our volunteers fed and happy. Jane Hampton has been supplying food for us but she wants everyone to know that donations of food and treats for our clinics would be most appreciated. Nothing hot, please, just finger food like sandwiches and cookies. Thank you! NEXT CLINIC Our next small clinic is planned for September 10. Since MINSA rules are that we can only have one vet working, we have to depend on Dr Virgilio’s schedule which means we start around one but also be mindful that we need to have every animal recovered and out the door by 6:30 at the latest so everyone can be home safely in time for the 7pm curfew. We are hopeful with the gradual opening of Panama that we will be able to have weekend clinics again with more animals. These clinics fill up fast. If you have or know of an animal that needs to be sterilized, please WhatsApp or call Magaly at 6563-8686 so she can put you on the list for our next clinic. Thank you for your continued support. Together we are making a difference. How to Donate AMAZON SMILE We know lots of you use Amazon but did you know that you can shop and do good at the same time? Sign up for Amazon Smile and support Animales with every purchase Here is how you can sign up: How to shop AmazonSmile: 1. Visit smile.amazon.com 2. Sign in with your Amazon.com credentials 3. Search for the charity of your choice: Amigos de Animales, Inc.  Ft. Myers, FL 4. Select it as your charity 5. Start shopping! – remember that you always have to go to smile.amazon.com to donate.

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