Help Rescue, Feed, Care of our Dogs at the Shelter

Dear Friends of CRESCA,

This report is a little longer than usual, but we hope you will take a few minutes to read it. We want you to see what happens behind CRESCA's gates, because everything you are about to read has been possible thanks to YOU.

To those who have made a one-time donation, thank you. To our recurring donors, who give us something incredibly valuable, the peace of mind of knowing we can count on your support again next month, thank you. And to GlobalGiving, for giving a small organization like ours the opportunity to reach people around the world and helping us continue our work here in Santa Rosalía, thank you.

You are part of CRESCA, even if you have never been here.

Behind every bag of food, every veterinary visit, every medication, every repair, every clean kennel and every dog that gets another chance, there is someone helping to make it possible. Very often, that someone is you.

So instead of telling you only about rescues and adoptions, today we want to invite you inside CRESCA for a few minutes and show you something that few people get to see: all the work that happens between one rescue and the next.

During these three months, there were dogs to feed, fresh water to provide, kennels to clean, medications to administer, facilities to repair, animals to rescue, and people to guide on responsible pet ownership. Then there is everything that happens behind the scenes: administration, outreach and, perhaps one of our hardest jobs, constantly finding the resources that allow us to keep going.

There really isn't a day when we can say, “TODAY WE WILL REST,” because our four-legged guests keep a very close eye on us and reward our 365 days of work with plenty of barking!

As the season changes, the sun rises earlier, so we arrive earlier too, trying to beat the heat. At sunrise, CRESCA is already moving: feeding, cleaning, changing and checking the water, looking over each dog and, of course, finding a little time to play with them... probably the part of the morning they look forward to most.

Our dogs currently consume approximately one 55-pound bag of dog food every day. Over three months, that means roughly 4,960 pounds, or 2.25 metric tons of food, at a cost of approximately US$3,000 just to keep their bowls full.

Then we add drinking water, salaries and benefits for the people who care for them 365 days a year, medications, veterinary care, cleaning supplies, tick prevention, fumigation, maintenance and repairs.

Yes, the cost adds up. But so does the satisfaction of being part of this: helping one more dog, spaying or neutering one more animal, finding a home for one more, or simply changing the life of one of our four-legged friends.

That is why, when you donate to CRESCA, your contribution often becomes something wonderfully simple but absolutely essential: a bowl of food in front of a dog who depends on us.

But feeding them is only the beginning. During these months, our team cleaned and maintained kennels, repaired water leaks and worked continuously to keep our facilities safe. One day in May began with searching for leaks and ended with repairs to a water tank. In June, we discovered deteriorated metal tubing on a kennel gate that was close to falling. We also purchased a water pump and a drill to help us handle these everyday repairs.

Because sometimes caring for a dog also means repairing the place they call home.

With summer came another familiar challenge in our region: ticks. We strengthened prevention efforts, treated our dogs, fumigated kennels and other areas of the Center, and continued providing veterinary consultations and medications whenever one of our animals needed them.

And among all this daily work, there are small moments that mean so much. We have a volunteer who arrives very early three times a week to walk our dogs. The walks are short, especially because of the heat, but they give our dogs a chance to move, explore new smells, receive individual attention and step outside the routine of shelter life. Over these three months, that represents approximately 39 mornings of walks.

Some people help us with money, food or supplies. He chose to give our dogs his time.

We are also working toward something we want for every dog that comes through CRESCA's gates: the day they no longer need to live here because they have found a wonderful home.

Through our collaboration with Nestlé Purina, and Purina's work with Huella Azteca, we are participating in a process that will gradually give greater visibility to our dogs available for adoption. This quarter, we updated our animal inventory, participated in meetings and testing, and prepared the individual stories of 10 adoptable dogs.

For a shelter in a small community far from major cities, greater visibility can open new opportunities. Because our success is not measured by having a shelter full of dogs.

Our greatest success is seeing an empty space because one of our dogs found a family.

Our work does not stop at CRESCA's gates. We also participated with local authorities and the Animal Protection Committee in reviewing procedures for responding to reports of animal abuse, as well as hurricane-season preparedness activities. Caring for dozens of animals also means thinking ahead about water, food, facilities and safety before an emergency arrives.

But there are things numbers cannot tell you.

They cannot count how many times someone carries a heavy bag of food, washes a water bowl, discovers a leak, repairs a gate, gives medication, or stops because one of our dogs just doesn't seem like himself today.

And there is something else a photograph cannot truly capture: the heat.

Temperatures in Santa Rosalía rise significantly during these months. Our dogs have shaded areas and we work hard to keep fresh water available. Our caregivers feel that same heat, but the work continues.

We are also planting more trees to create additional shade. We know they will take time to grow, but someone has to plant today the shade our dogs will enjoy tomorrow.

Perhaps that says a lot about what we do at CRESCA. We work today while also thinking about tomorrow.

When you support us, you are not funding just one activity. You are helping sustain everything that happens here, every single day. Your donation can become food, medicine, tick prevention, a veterinary visit, cleaning supplies, or a repair that simply cannot wait.

We don't need one person to solve all of CRESCA's needs. We need many people willing to help with one small part.

And if you choose to become a recurring donor, you give us something especially precious: peace of mind. The peace of mind of starting a new month knowing that part of our dogs' food is already covered and that we don't have to start from zero every month.

No gift is too small to make a difference. When many people give a little, together they help keep bowls full, provide medicine and veterinary care, maintain a safe shelter, and give our dogs another chance.

If you are able to continue supporting us, please stay with us. And if donating isn't possible right now, sharing our GlobalGiving project can introduce CRESCA to someone who has never heard of us before.

Thank you to those who donated once. Thank you to those who return month after month. Thank you to those who share our work. And thank you to GlobalGiving for helping a small organization in Santa Rosalía reach people far beyond our community.

Thank you for helping us fill their bowls, keep fresh water available, protect their health, maintain a safe place for them to live, and continue searching for families.

Most of all, thank you for making it possible for us to come back tomorrow, open CRESCA's gates, and begin all over again.

You are part of CRESCA, even from miles away.

With love and gratitude

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