Another Great Success!

Coming Monday, January 25th in San Felipe

NEW ZAPP ANIMAL CENTER OPENS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9TH

All of us are soooo excited to be opening the all new full service ZAPP Animal Center this coming Wednesday, December 9th. Watch for a very large sign going up on the highway heading south toward the Arches, that will guide you to the new location. It's exactly two miles off the road. At our new seven and a half acre site, we'll be able to care for, protect and nurture dogs, cat, horses, puppies, kittens and any other animals that are in need. We'll also have 24 hour urgent care services directed by Dr Antonio Solis DVM, board and care for travelers and pets, an adoption center, and an assisted living section for geriatric dogs and cats to safely live out their lives in peace and comfort. We'll do grooming, and will be fully staffed 24/7. Please stop by and drop off anything you think we might be able to use for this new project. We look forward to fully serving the community and its animals for many years to come.

San Felipe Animals Win Mexican Lottery!!!

If you are reading this email, then it must be after 2pm, on Tuesday,
October 13th, because that's when we closed the land deal on the new
ZAPP Animal Care Center. The NEW Center is 7.5 acres, or 3 hectares, in Mexican speak, and is located in San Felipe; just two miles
off the highway going south toward town.
We will open the NEW facility for animal business in early November,
and I'm so excited, I could just "plotz!"

With the help of an anonymous donor from California, who himself has been providing care and solace to dogs, cats, birds, horses, ducks and pigs for more than 30 years, ZAPP is so honored and humbled that this man chose us to expand his vision by opening this satellite location in San Felipe.

The ZAPP Animal Care Center will have an open door policy for any and all dogs, cats, puppies, kittens---or any other animals that need care and safety because of injury or abandonment. Our mission is to remove all at risk animals from jeopardy, and provide a safe, loving environment
that improves their quality of life.

In addition to being a shelter and rescue, ZAPP will also continue its spay/neuter program in San Felipe. The Center will also be a rehabilitation and adoption facility, for puppies, kittens, and special needs animals. Assisted living kennels for geriatric animals that are less adoptable will also be part of our Center. Initially, many of these older animals may be transported to our sister sanctuary in California. ZAPP is a "no-kill" facility, and unless circumstances are dire, we will adhere to that policy.

The ZAPP Animal Care Center will also provide Board and Care services for local travelers; and, can you believe it, grooming services, too. And although a "lofty" goal, we will do everything possible to have 24 hour urgent care services. We are also committed to holding workshops and classes on-site for students in our community, in an effort to teach everything we can about humane animal treatment and population control.

As part of our agreement, our donor is underwriting everything involved in running a complete animal rescue, and I mean everything, but he will not be assuming financial responsibility for ZAPP's Spay/Neuter Program. That program will continue to be funded thru private monthly donations and local fundraising events.

Here are some numbers that illustrate what it costs ZAPP each month to spay and neuter 100 dogs and cats at $30 per animal.

ZAPP currently has 91 monthly subscribers
in our ZAPP Financial Friends Program.
The cost of spaying and neutering 100 animals a month is $3000.
The cost of producing each individual clinic is about $200, including advertising. The total amount of all monthly donations thru
the Financial Friends Program is currently $1185.
ZAPP does have other monthly expenses as well
which are paid out of these donations.

Like everyone else, the economy has hit us hard, and this year I'm staying off the streets of San Felipe and not trying raise money as aggressively as I have in the past. The competition among non-profits in San Felipe doing great work is fierce, with all of us out there fighting for the same $20 donation from folks
who live on fixed incomes.

the NEW ZAPP Center to Open Soon!

The ZAPP CENTER will be open
In NO TIME at all!

We have located and are purchasing 7.4 acres just two miles off the highway, north of the Arches; the title is clear, water and electricity are handled, and we are about to open the ZAPP Center for Adoptions, Rehabilition and Rescue. We will have an open door policy for dogs and cats, puppies and kittens, and our main goal is to get all these animals off the streets, and out of jeopardy! Many will be transitioned to shelter and rescue facilities in California where they will find permanent loving homes; some geriatrics will live out there lives at the ZAPP Center in our Assisted Living Section, and the rest will go to a sister end of life sanctuary in southern California, where I’m sure they will think that they’ve hit the lottery when they see their new digs!

We’re very excited about the new facility, and look forward to being able to work with local San Felipe residents in a community effort to provide care and solace to all dogs and cats that need protection and help.

Dr Antonio Solis will continue to work with ZAPP. Not sure yet if we will do surgeries at the Center initially, or continue to work thru his office in town, or maybe both. We will also have a Vet Tech/Nurse on Staff, and are also planning to run a Board and Care Section for travelers, with grooming available, as well as 24 hour emergency services, where we can offer critical care for animals in need.

After being involved in humane animal work in San Felipe for the past six years, things have changed a lot. We have noticed a big difference in attitude when it comes to the relationship between pet and owner in Mexico. At ZAPP spay/neuter clinics in San Felipe, Mexicans line up with their pets, because many now see the importance of population control, and also see what ultimately happens to unwanted puppies and kittens who do not get adopted.

Many people among the nearly 4000 I email regularly in the USA tell me that one of main reasons they choose not to visit Mexico, is because they simply cannot handle the lack of respect for animals they witness in the culture. But I assure you, that is changing, especially in areas where groups like ZAPP continue to work hard to improve the quality of life for stray and indigent dogs and cats in Mexico. Animal lovers and advocates applaud Mexicali for choosing the higher road when it comes to humane euthanasia of these precious innocents who did nothing wrong and deserve our respect, both in life and in death.

Check out our blog at www.sfzapp.com. You can also call 707-320-4969 from the states, or 686-577-2708 in San Felipe for any information. Contact us at bajaanimalrescue@yahoo.com.

"SHOES for SPAYS" Helps Control Stray & Indigent Cat & Dog "Pup"-ulation!

"SHOES for SPAYS"
How One Spay/Neuter Project in Mexico
Raises Funds to Control the Indigent Animal Population

ZAPP, the Zero Additional Pup-ulation and Anti-Electrocution Project in San Felipe, has found a very effective way to raise money to support our spay/neuter project in San Felipe, Baja. By seeking out “shoe addicts” (nothing to be ashamed of) and animal lovers alike, that want to turn "no longer worn shoes" into funds for spay/neuter surgeries, we will happily take donated men’s and women’s shoes, detail them, and resell them out of our eBay Shoe Store.

This idea has allowed ZAPP to spay and neuter thousands of animals, at a rate of 100 per month, and a cost of $30 per surgery. Funds are unavailable here in Mexico for a project such as this, so ZAPP asks that you “please send your unwanted re-sellable shoes to us, so we can continue our work” A Pair of Shoes can Save an Animals Life in Mexico! Shoes can be sent to:

ZAPP
Attn: Shoes for Spays
95 East Highway 98
CALEXICO CA 92232

MHTA / Mexico for the Humane Treatment of Animals
a Network of Animal Lovers in Baja

I’ve been living in San Felipe since July of 2003, and as many of my friends know, I came here to retire and pursue my passion for dogs. I arrived in San Felipe with five of my own, and although many have since passed, I still have six dogs that I live with, five of which are local San Felipe rescues.
BTW, groups that focus on population control and care of cats are so needed in Baja. They almost have to operate independently, because of the scope of the cat overpopulation problem and the cost involved.
I co-founded San Felipe Animal Rescue in 2003, and after separating from SFAR in 2007, formed a group called ZAPP, which is an acronym for the “Zero Additional Pup-ulation Project”, which focuses almost entirely on controlling the stray and indigent dog population of San Felipe, by holding ongoing spay/neuter clinics.
I discovered that getting a program such as ZAPP off the ground in Mexico was no easy feat. I was always aware of all the great work being done in Northern Baja by other rescues, shelters and spay/neuter groups. Not to mention all the folks that travel the streets of Mexico feeding and watering strays. You Go, guys! I thought, “wouldn’t it be great for all of us to have a forum where we could speak out and exchange ideas each month”----Mexicans and Americans alike!.
And then it happened! In June, a group of us from San Felipe met with other from Mexicali and San Luis for our first meeting at the University in Mexicali, with the hope of very soon expanding our membership to include rescues and shelters from Encenada, Tijuana, Rosarito and Tecate’. We call ourselves MHTA, Mexico for the Humane Treatment of Animals, and we are a group of like minded individuals who are committed to raising awareness and having an impact on policies that exist in parts of Baja that we are at odds with.
Number one on the agenda is ending electrocution as the preferred protocol for euthanasia in Mexicali; also, we are focused on just how to initiate low or no cost spay/neuter programs throughout northern Baja with the possible involvement of the Government; we are also seeking out ways to enforce existing laws on the books that deal with animal abuse in Baja, and of course, instituting a long overdue education program for young people in San Felipe, by bringing Spanish language classes to schools and community centers that address care and respect for animals. Mexicali is involved in humane education, and we continually share back and forth with those already doing it regularly.
Good things are starting to happen for us as a result of networking, especially since a revolutionary new social networking site was started by animal advocate Shawn Santos, from San Diego. HOPE ANIMAL NETWORK is our very own FACEBOOK for animal lovers. You can join Hope Animal Network by simply going to www.hopeanimalnetwork.org. You can also join the MHTA Group on HAN by clicking on groups and choosing Yucatan. Please support us any way you can.
Our next MHTA meeting is scheduled for August 8th in Mexicali. We’d love for you to come and be part of our network.
You can also call 707-320-4969 from the states, or 686-577-2708 in San Felipe for any information. Contact us at bajaanimalrescue@yahoo.com.