Our mission is to provide low cost spaying and neutering of dogs and cats, and to promote the general welfare of animals in our community and surrounding areas. | | | | | AMIGOS DE ANIMALES BOQUETE PANAMÁ JANUARY 2024 NEWSLETTER | | | 2023 IN REVIEW What a year of incredible accomplishments! Thank you to our amazing volunteers and to our generous donors. We couldn't have done all of this without you! • 3,602 animals sterilized (1,674 dogs and 1,928 cats) Our highest annual total ever! • Pleasures of Panamá fundraiser - raised over $27,000 • Pet food delivery program - over $14,000 of food was delivered to the more than 300 animals at our feeding stations • 5 away clinics - in Progresso, in Guaramal, in Potrerillos, and 2 in Volcan • 2 clinics in local schools - Volcancito school and Alto Quiel school • 2 mini cat clinics • 44 book corners set up in local schools • Year end fundraising - raised over $20,000 to fund 5 more school clinics | | | CLINIC MUSINGS FROM OUR PRESIDENT by Leslie Sherling Sometimes it's not just a spay and neuter clinic.
Sometimes it is a place where miraculous things happen.
At our November clinic, one of our collectors brought in several animals for sterilization. These animals come from the poorest of families, if they have a family at all.
One of these animals was a very, very skinny, unhealthy looking dog. I have seen very few dogs this malnourished. Even though he was in bad shape, he had a gentle disposition and his tail never stopped wagging when he got attention from the volunteers.
It was determined that he was not well enough to be sterilized. Usually he would be returned to where he came from - not a good situation
| | | | Some of our volunteers took this dog home to nurse him back to health.
Lucky, as he is now called, has put on weight and is thriving. We are expecting him at this month's clinic to get sterilized. Thanks Mari, Kevin, and Antonio for opening your hearts and your home. I love a happy ending! | | | ANNUAL TRAINING & VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION LUNCHEON | | | Volunteers are the lifeblood of our clinic. Without our many very dedicated volunteers, we would not be able to do our very important work. This past Sunday, we held our annual volunteer appreciation luncheon. We started by showing a new training video and then served a lovely lunch of spaghetti, salad and garlic bread followed by dessert. The event was very well-attended with well over 100 joining us. Thank you to our incredible volunteers as well as a very special thank you to our kitchen rockstars, Sheila, Carl, Mike and Veronica! | | | | VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR NON-CLINIC TASKS We are reaching out to you today to ask for your help. Our organization is in dire need of volunteers to assist with various tasks that can be done from the comfort of your own home. We are looking for individuals who can commit to 4-6 hours per month to help us with the following: • Writing stories for our newsletter • Creating content for our calendar • Drafting fundraising and volunteer emails • Tracking sign-in sheets for new volunteers • Maintaining our volunteer & overall databases • Maintaining our website If you are passionate about animal welfare and want to make a difference in your community, we would love to hear from you. No prior experience is necessary, and we will provide you with all the training you need to get started. Please contact us at volunteer@aadab.org to learn more about how you can help. We look forward to hearing from you soon! Sincerely, Leslie Sherling, President | | | ARTS & CRAFT MARKET Thank you again to our volunteers and vendors who came out. Thank you of course to all of the customers for making this event a success! The vendors brought beautiful products, the customers opened their wallets, and Amigos de Animales benefitted to the tune of $1,750. | | | | Special thank you to Sherry Shirritt, Jane Pahler, Sandra Wolf and Sheila Strunk for all the work you did behind the scenes to make this event happen. We are already planning for the Holiday Boutique that will happen in November. | | | 🐶 OUR 2024 CALENDARS ARE HERE!! 🐱 Our famous calendars are going fast! Buy them soon since there are only a few left!! They are still only $10! Buy them at Mailboxes Etc, Mascota's, Mike's Global Grill, La Granja, The Garden Restaurant, Larry's Place, and the BCP Tuesday Market. | | | | BOQUETE NATURE & MUSIC FESTIVAL Get your tickets now for the Music Festival to be held at TapOut on February 10 & 11, 2024. Tickets are $69 for each day. Proceeds benefit Amigos de Animales, DogCamp and Kids Camp Boquete. Tickets can be bought at the BCP Tuesday Market. Contact Carol Cardinale-Santana at cardinalesantana@gmail.com for more details. | | | | GET TO KNOW OUR AMIGOS DE ANIMALES FAMILY | | | This month we're featuring a former Board member and current department head: Name: Sheila Strunk Your position/title with AdA: Kitchen Operations
How long have you been working with AdA? Seven years. | | | | What is your background? I grew up all over the world as a child of a career military father. When I started my first career in I.T., I was transferred from the East Coast of the U.S. to Minnesota, where I met and married my husband Carl. After many years in Minnesota, we relocated to Arizona, where I owned and operated a real estate company until we retired and moved to Panama in 2015. Can you tell us a little bit more about what you do with AdA? Starting in 2017, I volunteered in the Recovery Department, helping to revive cats and dogs after their surgery to ensure they were awake and ready to go home with their owners. In November 2023, the manager of the kitchen area retired and I was asked to take over operating the kitchen to feed our volunteers and pet owners during the clinic day each month.
Why would you encourage others to volunteer here with AdA? When my husband and I first visited Boquete in 2010, we were astounded by the number of homeless animals that were wandering around downtown, begging for food wherever they could. Since we moved full-time to Boquete, we have seen a tremendous reduction in the number of homeless animals, thanks in great part to the tireless efforts of Amigos de Animales.
Click here for the rest of Sheila's story and more pictures on our website. | | | KIBBLE & BITS: • Food Drive: We are continuing to feed needy dogs and cats in Boquete at a cost of over $1,700 per month. You can donate by clicking here • 2024 Calendars - are here!! See section above for details • Membership Drive: Sign up for your annual Amigos de Animales membership and receive a great car magnet. Membership is still only $10. You can sign up at the BCP Tuesday Market or at a clinic. • Gift certificates: We have made gift certificates in the denomination of $10 and $20, the price of an individual sterilization for a cat or a dog. Give your neighbors, gardeners and maids certificates for their dogs and cats. Let's help each other help each other!
These certificates are an easy way to help. They are available at the Animales table at the BCP Tuesday Market, at Mike's Global Grill or at the clinics. • Educational Outreach program: We are visiting local schools to educate students about proper care for their pets, and the importance of spaying and neutering animals. Please email Katrina at katrinakneebone@gmail.com if you can help. Click here to donate, or click here to volunteer. • Spay or neuter your animal: we get new requests daily and are doing clinics by appointment only. Contact Rosa, our appointment coordinator, at 6563-8686 to be added to our list. • Rescue/adoption?: The mission of Amigos de Animales is strictly spay and neuter, we are not a rescue, adoption or veterinary service. Please do not ask Rosa about any other service - there are many other rescue groups in and around Boquete. • We have been updating our website - check it out here • Animales is always looking for stories and pictures to share in this newsletter. Please contact Andy at andy@syvcc.us if you are interested. | | | MARK YOUR CALENDAR - UPCOMING EVENTS • Training - you can watch our new training here or our prior training here. We have training sessions for new volunteers Saturday at 9:45 the day before each clinic. Contact Leslie @ volunteer@aadab.org if you have any questions. • Clinics - Sunday January 28, 2024 (held the last Sunday of each month - we are dark in December). WhatsApp Rosa at 6563-8686 if you need to register an animal. • Boquete Nature & Music Festival - Saturday & Sunday February 10 & 11, 2024. See above. Contact Carol Cardinale-Santana at cardinalesantana@gmail.com for more details. • Annual General Meeting - Saturday March 9, 2024 | | | WAYS TO HELP AMIGOS DE ANIMALES: • Donations: Any amount will help. Click here for ways you can make a donation • If you would like to volunteer for Animales, contact Leslie or Raquel at volunteer@aadab.org
• If you can donate dog or cat food, please drop it off at the Amigos de Boquete office in Alto Dorado or contact us @ info@aadab.org
• Don't forget, the Animales Events Center is available to rent for meetings and gatherings of any kind. Contact Sherry Shirritt at sshirritt@gmail.com or 6858-3607.
| | | Thank you for your support! We could not do what we do without all of our incredible donors, sponsors and volunteers! | | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.