by Clare Leach
When Bill and I bought our first place in Puerto Vallarta, it was at Villas Altas Garza Blanca in 2001. We fell in love with the gorgeous Bay. When we saw our first whale breach, we were mesmerized. Old Town, small and friendly, welcomed us. Even though we got sick several times at restaurants back then, that didn’t damper our spirits. The potholes coming from Highway 200 into town tried to swallow our Volkswagen each trip and made us laugh.
What brought a black cloud was all the sick and dying dogs wandering the streets, desperate for food and medical attention. Cats mingled in corners near trash. The Isla was a refuge of sorts then for cats, people left food in little containers throughout the area.
In 2001, there were no animal shelters. The Centro de Acopio (CCSA) came in 2004 and was a kill shelter. Bill and I carried bags of dog food in our car and left food for the strays. It broke my heart. Dogs were kicked, beaten, and drowned in the Bay.
Janice Chatterton started saving animals in 2007 with SPCAPV. The Administrator of our complex would find homes for dogs that we would bring to her. She was a Godsend.
In those days, people seemed to ignore the injured animals, and their eyes still haunt me to this day. I swore that if I could EVER do anything to help all these dogs and cats in the Bay, I would.
My first opportunity came with SPCAPV, working with Janice. The rescue part of animal welfare is critical, but the real answer is sterilization clinics.
In 2018, I met Gretchen DeWitt, who co-founded the SPCAPV with Janice and co-founded PEACEAnimals with Amy Welch. The idea was to offer free sterilization to the local population at no cost.
At first, Gretchen went door-to-door begging folks to bring their dogs and cats to be sterilized. It was a tough sell, but she was determined.
That determination paid off. In 2016, 5,403 animals were sterilized, and in 2023 and 2024, over 8,000 dogs and cats were sterilized free annually.
People line up for the clinics as early as 4 AM. PEACEAnimals offers mobile clinics all over Banderas Bay and south to Costa Alegre. People offer various spaces in their homes or garages, in Bucerias at the Children’s Library. Clinics are offered as far south as El Tuito and north to Punta Mita.
The vet team of Dr. Anthony Carrillo, Dr. Leslie Caratachea, and Dr. Jesus Pacheco work tirelessly to ensure the safety of our animals and provide the best surgical techniques with small incisions and minimal bleeding. Volunteers attend each clinic and help with recovery by taking temperatures, massaging the cats and dogs, and taking vitals throughout the process. Instructions are given as the pet owners gather to take their pets home.
PEACEAnimals is a nonprofit in Mexico and the USA through Banderas Bay Charities, Inc. We believe that without PEACEAnimals, sterilizing 59,569 animals since 2016 in Puerto Vallarta and the Bay of Banderas, the massive overpopulation of dogs and cats would have overwhelmed the area in a short time. It is a blight to our paradise to return to those days. The downtown area is cleaner today, and fewer animals suffer hunger and disease or being hit by cars and left to die.
PEACEAnimals needs more community support and funding to continue the work at this advanced level. It costs just 20 USD per animal to save so much pain and unwanted pregnancies. It is a win/win for the community and for the animals.
PEACEAnimals offers Puerto Vallarta and the Bay of Banderas competent and skilled service to the community. We know multiple amazing animal welfare groups now serve our area, but no group completes as many sterilizations annually as PEACEAnimals.
