A politician, a business owner and a lawyer may sound like the opening line of a joke, but it’s no laughing matter for homeless animals in Guatemala.
While many Royal City residents are enjoying the holidays with their families, lawyer Angela Kerslake, Coun. Lorrie Williams and Greens and Beans Deli owner Leona Green will be volunteering at an Animal Aware Guatemala shelter this holiday season.
“They operate a shelter for cats and dogs that come in, usually from the street,” Kerslake said. “Right now, they probably have in excess of 300 dogs and puppies and about 80 cats and kittens. They are always desperately in need of funds and supplies because, being situated in Guatemala, they don’t have any source of funding outside of donations. They struggle to provide the necessary care for these animals at the shelter and are constantly turning away animals as well.”
After her first volunteer trip to Guatemala six years ago, Kerslake decided to do what she could to help Animal Aware Guatemala. Since then, she’s served as a director on its board, raised funds for the shelter, volunteered at the shelter and adopted out about 20 Guatemalan dogs and puppies to homes in Canada.
“Sometimes people ask me, ‘Aren’t there cats and dogs close to home that need help?’ Of course the answer is, yes there are,” said Kerslake, who volunteers at the shelter four times a year. “The reason why I have elected to go over to Guatemala and try to help there as much as I can is that they have such a need for resources there and they have to rely largely on people and donations from outside of the country. But they are making a difference.”
Kerslake will once again be spending time in Guatemala this holiday season, but this time she’ll be accompanied by Williams and Green, as well as Russell Pohl, the caterer at Galbraith Manor, where her office is located.
“It’s so rewarding,” Kerslake said. “If you are an animal lover, you can’t beat it. I love it.”
The women’s paths have crossed through the years through their involvement with the Royal City Humane Society.
“I am excited. It’s going to be a lot of work, but working with animals is rejuvenating in itself,” Williams said. “I think animals in Third World countries are not well treated sometimes, especially street animals. It will be a pleasure to help some of them.”
Green hasn’t had a holiday in four years and thought it would be a great way to go somewhere nice and warm and help animals at the same time. She is collecting leashes and collars in a box at the deli and will be taking them to the shelter.
When Williams and Green arrive in Guatemala, Kerslake will take them to the animal shelter and show them around. While there, they’ll walk dogs, tend to sick animals in the clinic and spend time with cats in the shelter to help socialize them.
“It’s very hands-on volunteer work at the shelter,” Kerslake said. “When we all come back to Canada, hopefully we will all be enthused about raising moneys to send over to them.”
Kerslake and her husband are close to purchasing a bus that will be converted into a mobile spay and neuter clinic to help address the root cause of the problem. The plan is to attract vets to go to Guatemala and volunteer their time and go into some of the smaller, more remote towns having problems with unneutered and unspayed dogs.
Kerslake has adopted a cat and three dogs from the shelter in Guatemala, while Williams has adopted one dog.
“It’s very hard to leave. You become attached to certain dogs and cats in the shelter. You want to take them all home with you. Of course, that’s just not doable,” Kerslake said. “The next best thing I figure is to do as much as I can to make the life of the animals at the shelter as good as we can and to also try and get as many adopted out as we can.”
Want to adopt a dog from Guatemala?
Adopting animals from Guatemala is a lot easier than it sounds.
Angela Kerslake, a supporter of Animal Aware Guatemala shelter, is currently on the hunt for forever homes for 30 puppies who currently call the shelter home.
“It’s actually very easy,” she said of adopting dogs from Guatemala. “As long as the animal has a veterinarian’s certificate stating that it’s in good health and has had its vaccinations, including rabies, which at the shelter they tend to all of that, they then put the dog in the crate and get it to the airport. It arrives at Vancouver airport.”
If two dogs fit in a Vancouver-bound crate, the total cost of adopting a dog is about $500. A dog can often arrive in Vancouver within two weeks.
“I used to think they had to be quarantined. That’s not the case as long as they meet the requirements of Canada Border Services, which is they have to be in good health and have the vet certification and their shots,” said Kerslake, a New Westminster resident. “They arrive at the airport. Once they have gone through customs, you pick the animal up and away you go.”
Animal Aware Guatemala is currently in crisis mode and in need of homes for pups.
“Right now, they’ve got a bit of a crisis at the shelter in that they’ve got over 30 puppies, all spayed and natured, all vaccinated, that are ready for adoption and no homes to be found,” she said. “The people are wonderful there, but it’s not a wealthy country so it’s hard to find homes for animals over there, which is why bringing them to Canada and sometimes the United States is really their only chance of finding a home.”
For more information, visit www.animalaware.org.
