Help Tulum Dogs Foundation Inc

WOOHOO WE DID IT! YOU FOLKS ARE AMAZING!

We were able to reach almost 50% of our goal (I have lowered it to reflect a very generous donation outside of the GFM)!

One more month to reach the remaining amount we need to make this happen -- THE FIRST EVER STERILIZATION CAMPAIGN IN OUR SANCTURARY COMMUNITY!

Hey everyone!

Now that our Sanctuary is finally completed (thank you SO much for helping us reach that milestone!), we’re ready to return to our core mission: spay and neuter campaigns that save lives and reduce suffering.

Our first goal is to sterilize 80 dogs in our new community—a gesture of gratitude for the warm welcome we’ve received and a critical step in preventing unwanted litters. Many local families simply don’t have access or financial means to sterilize their pets, and as in so many places, puppies are born only to suffer or die. We want to stop that cycle—with compassion, education, and action.

We’re aiming for the second week of October, and families with new puppies are already anxiously awaiting the campaign!

Next, we plan to return to Tulum, where our rescue journey began. Our goal is to sterilize another 80 dogs there, ideally in December (our vet teams are already fully booked for October and November).

Here’s the hard truth: fundraising is tough. It's humbling to constantly ask for help—but it’s the only way we can continue this work. We are a 501(c)(3) IRS-recognized nonprofit, so all donations are tax-deductible and eligible for corporate matching gifts or grants—please check with your employer!

$35 USD IS OUR APPROXIMATE COST FOR EACH DOG SO IF YOU WANT TO SPONSOR 1 OR 10 OR MORE WE WILL MAKE SURE YOUR MONEY GOES TO WORK SAVING LIVES!!

How GoFundMe works for us:

They collect donations for our charity and pay them out monthly. There's a cutoff on the 15th of each month, with funds arriving on the 25th. That gives us two donation windows to fund the first campaign:

Now through August 15

August 16 through September 15

Then we’ll have another two months to raise funds for the Tulum campaign. Every dollar counts—and every donation makes a lasting difference.

Thank you for being part of this mission. Let’s do this—together. ❤️

THANK YOU FOR ALWAYS HELPING US HELP THEM!

UPDATE MAY 4 2025

Hey everyone - THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT! So far we are at 44% of goal in just over 2 weeks, and we only have 11 days of fundraising left in order to receive all of the donations this month, when GFM pays out to our Charity account.

So far, we have been able to pay Rocky's surgery ($1000), half of the boarding that was due to date ($500), and buy the rest of the roofing, gravel, concrete, and pay workers for 2 weeks ($1500), plus help pay for some new Tulum dog outreach vetting!

That being said, we are still hoping to be able to reach our goal with your help, so we can finally breath and wrap this project up, pay our bills, and get Rocky here to the Sanctuary (and hopefully Annie on to an adoption in Canada).

NO AMOUNT IS TOO SMALL (OR TOO BIG :) haha). So if you're going out for Cinco de Mayo tomorrow and can chip in the price of one Margarita, OR consider the cost of a coffee at Starbucks, everything adds up and everything HELPS!

THANK YOU AGAIN TO THOSE WHO HAVE ALREADY DONATED! WE ARE MAKING GREAT PROGRESS!

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Hi friends, it's Cathy at Help Tulum Dogs Foundation!

We need your help now more than ever!

1. Construction expenses to complete Sanctuary project $3000

2. Vet bills including 1 leg fracture surgery $2000

3. Two pups in boarding in Tulum and transport to the Sanctuary when they are ready (we hope in one month) $2200

Most of you know us well. Since 2013, we have been rescuing, rehabbing, and rehoming dogs from Mexico to the USA and Canada. We have sterilized over 12,000 dogs and cats for free in Tulum and around the Yucatan. We have provided outreach to hundreds of owned dogs with loving owners, including food, vaccines, other vetting for unexpected illnesses or accidents, and more.

Last year, we embarked on a mission to build a Sanctuary for the rescued dogs that are unadoptable for one reason or another. We didn't know they were unadoptable until we had them in our care, recovering from horrible conditions including TVT (a form of contagious but usually treatable venereal cancer), living on a chain and being abused or neglected or both, distemper survivors who have neurological damage and other issues as a result of this disease, and puppies who have the "feral dog gene" and want nothing to do with society, much less a leash walk in the city. Several of them were pregnant and/or had delivered puppies recently that all died; one was a female we tried to catch for 7 years and finally did.

Well, this lovely group of misfits grew to over 18 dogs, now aged from 1 year to almost 10 years old. We were fortunate enough to have a decent place to rent and live with what was often more than 30 dogs at a time, but that came to an end and we had to move on. If you've ever tried to find a pet-friendly rental with one dog, try with 18. So here we are in the mountains of Chiapas, another state in Mexico, where land is cheap and the weather is way more humane than the hot, humid Yucatan. We have been able to purchase 4 acres of land, build a small 500 sq ft cabin, fence in around 1/2 acre, and start the construction of our much-needed shelter building. We also need to enclose more land with fencing and separation for the dogs to safely be together in their groups.

Meanwhile, we recently paid off most of our vet bills, but with a balance of about $1000 USD in new expenses for dogs we are still helping in Tulum (2 TVT cases, one sterilization of a pregnant dog, one case of hematoma, plus an accident that caused one of our two pups in boarding to require surgery to repair a fractured leg $1000 USD).

Speaking of the 2 dogs in boarding, here's their stories. One of them, a young male pup we found in the invasions with a fractured pelvis and no hope, Rocky El Nino, was a rescue of ours we sent to Chicago back in August 2023. After 11 months with his foster parents, he was adopted for 6 months and then returned for no fault of his own. Poor guy has been through a lot! Rather than let him get bounced around, he got on the first plane back to Tulum.

Annie was abandoned by some foreigners staying in Tulum who enjoyed having a cute puppy while they were here, looking cool, and when it was time to leave, they tossed her off to our friend walking her dog and said good luck. She was on the brink of going into her first heat at the age of 9 months, but otherwise healthy, so she was immediately vaccinated and sterilized.

Since Tulum has one of the least supportive expat communities when it comes to fostering dogs, both are in boarding until they can come here to the Sanctuary (unless we can find adoptions for them), which is hopefully in about one month due to (a) our shelter space not being finished and (b) Rocky fractured his leg playing.

I think it's important to know that, unlike most other rescues, we have never asked for money for a dog transport vehicle, although we've destroyed 2 of our own over these years. We sold our good work vehicle to buy the land for the Sanctuary. We paid rent above and beyond what we would have needed to in order to foster over 30+ dogs at one time and hundreds upon hundreds over the years. We don't have staff. We don't take a salary. But we have been blessed with the support of a wonderful friend and donor who provided us with the funding to build the small cabin here, and so much more.

PLUS ALL OF YOU - OUR DONORS - OVER THE YEARS WHO HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THERE WHEN WE NEEDED YOU! And our monthly donors, thank goodness, who cover our food costs for the now 16 pups here. Even though we don't have enough to cover special diets and meds, flea and tick treatments, we are making ends meet but truly struggling.

Once we have things in order here, we can finally move on to our ultimate goal of fundraising for mass sterilization campaigns in Tulum, the Yucatan, and of course small ones around here in Chiapas because the need is so great everywhere.

Thanks for considering a donation - and sharing! We are a registered 501c3 in the USA so donations are tax deductible to the extent of the IRS regulations.

UPDATE NOVEMBER 10, 2024

Hey everyone! It feels like it's been forever to see progress, but I can assure all of you that I have been pressing every day for all of the things to start coming together.

Finally we are ready to dig our well (next week the 14-15) and finally, the electricity will be connected hopefully around the same time.

The barn/kennel project (which I thought would be done already) has not started HOWEVER we do have almost all of the materials purchased and the kennels are starting to be built next week.

On the other hand BIG SURPRISE as we got financing for our cabin construction from a very wonderful human, which has officially started and should be completed in about 40 days!

Since the electric and water (and barn with dry toilet) isn't there yet, we had to pay for the rental of a generator ($500 USD) and porta-potty (no idea what they are charging me) and water delivery... While it pains me immensely to not have been able to get these things done before the construction materials and crew showed up, I'm just grateful to see some movement forward!

We have been sending money seemingly nonstop for all of these projects and necessities, and it feels like we are so close yet so far to completion!!

Here's what we still need to pay for:

1. Barn/kennels construction (we have most of the materials but need to buy the roofing and some plumbing/electrical items, plus labor) estimated to be $3000 USD

2. Well and septic is half paid for so now we need about $1500 USD to complete it

3. Electricity we have a short term solution for $800 USD

4. Moving expenses $2500

By breaking my bank and all of the kind donations, we are still trying to find the last $7800 USD to get there. We also have had ongoing vet expenses and emergencies, so I have had to keep up with those and still have about a $2000 USD debt.

SO CLOSE!!!! PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION TO GET US ALL TO THE SANCTUARY BEFORE CHRISTMAS!! NO AMOUNT IS TOO SMALL (OR TOO BIG :) ) THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING AND SUPPORTING US!!

UPDATE OCTOBER 2, 2024

Hi friends, here's our current progress and, unfortunately, setbacks, in our Sanctuary project...

The community has designated our entrance area, so we finished the fencing, moved some large plants and cut down some brush / trimmed trees to make our official access from the street! Yay! Progress!

We got a new quote from CFE for our electric - which is just pulling from the back of the property and doesn't include a money for cable and labor to bring electric to the living area, but we can have electric. Good news it's significantly lower than last time, down from $178,000 mxn to $70,000 mxn (approximately $3,800 usd). Bad news is I don't have this money and am still struggling with this fundraiser.

Another part of the project is our cabin construction, which I had been approved for a loan of $500,000 mxn with me putting in $300,000 mxn to make the $800,000 mxn total needed for the construction of a small cabin. The loan company has been putting us through the ringer, they make up new things as they go because in the end, we found out they really don't do loans for rural land, so they want me to "urbanize" the land to fit their own rules, and have been holding my deposit money plus the loan amount hostage since April. On top of it I've had to make payments to them totaling over $70,000 mxn and their cancellation penalties are nothing short of extorsion. So we are battling to get back my money, having gone through government agencies here (similar to the Better Business Bureau) and calling them out on their immoral tactics, and are awaiting a response from them this week on how much they will return. Boo :(((

This means that the dogs and I have no place to live, having expected the construction loan would have been paid out long ago and I'd be already there with the pack, I'm now scrambling to put together money for a bigger and better pole barn, where the kennels will be, and make an outdoor bathroom and kitchen area, plus a small room for me to live / sleep in. Winter is coming so it's necessary to have something appropriate albeit small, for me and the dogs to hunker down in at night.

So we have started to buy the materials and design this project, and still need to build kennels, so this budget has gone up from around $3000 USD to $5000, and we of course still need to have our well drilled and septic system installed (around $3500 USD).

Our goal is to be out of here by the end of October, which is lofty but can happen from a work standpoint, but we still need to raise this money or I'll have to live without electric and running water and sacrifice my money for the cabin to complete this project if we can't raise it, then figure out how to build a proper cabin over time.

Moving expenses $2500, barn/kennels/living quarter $5000, well and septic $3500, electric $3800 = $14,800 USD. I've received some kind donations that are covering most of the materials for the barn, but still I'm faced with over $12,000 USD that we need to raise to get there.

I know times are tough but we've been killing ourselves with dog rescue etc. for over 13 years, and now we need your help to make our sanctuary for the pack of misfits / unadoptable dogs that are in our care. Please consider a donation. No amount is too small (or too big!).

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS SUPPORTED US SO FAR!

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UPDATE SEPTEMBER 11, 2024

Last week I flew to Chiapas to visit the site of our future sanctuary for the 20 permanent pack members we have collected (the unadoptable dogs)! While we are so excited to have our fencing completed and the loan for the cabin, we still have so much to do and pay for. We need to build kennels and a shelter area (around $3000 USD), we need to have our well drilled and septic system installed (around $3500 USD) and we are still negotiating with the electric company to get the $10,000 USD quote cut less than half. I'm hoping we can complete everything with a total of $10,000 USD -- I've invested $60,000 so far and took out a loan for another $30,000, and after this trip I've wrapped up the final details except the final electric quote. Please read below from the beginning to get a complete understanding of this project, and consider a donation It's time for our next chapter and we need a place to live! ❤️ Yes, I've adjusted my goal again as this number has been going up and down as we get deeper into completing this project!

THANKS TO ALL WHO HAVE DONATED ALREADY WE ARE SO GRATEFUL

UPDATE AUGUST 17, 2024

GOOD NEWS THE FENCING IS COMPLETED! YAY!!I

THE BAD NEWS: I received a huge blow last weekend when my friend (future neighbor of the Sanctuary) helped me get a quote from CFE, the Mexican Federal Electric Company (the ONLY option for electricity in Mexico). No, solar is not an option for so many reasons...

I knew we had to run cable from a neighbor, which is 453 meters away, and set some poles. The quote? $178,000 MXN / $10,000 USD (insert SHOCK meme here) given my estimate was about $600 USD. Then I realized our land has another corner that may have electric closer, so we are working on this. Either way it seems good ole' CFE is going to do what they always do, which is over charge and under service.

Meanwhile, more red tape with the loan company I am borrowing 60% of the money to complete the cabin construction, and another month has passed by and probably another 2-3 weeks by the time this is resolved, and who knows until we can start construction #vivamexico.

So pushing forward despite these setbacks, I'm waiting on the quote now for our pole barn / kennels so that we can build that right away, and I am shopping tents and small power generators. At this point, we just can't stay here any longer and the goal is to be out by the end of September. So as long as I have the barn, kennels, fencing, shower/toilet/sink, and my water source, I will be living like a real mountain woman, sharing the pole barn with the dogs (funny / not funny), until the cabin is built.

It will truly be a new twist on the "Survivor" series -- but I've bought some long underwear, boots, socks, hats, gloves and will put my old farm day skills to the test. My will and desire to get out of our current living situation is strong, and you know what they say - if there's a will there's a way. I want my dogs living their best lives, even if I sacrifice some little luxuries (like a house haha) for them to get there.

Again, I received a very generous donation that has saved my life by paying off our vet bills which had accumulated to over $170,000 mxn (of course every day we have ongoing expenses and more vet bills), and it also has helped with some of the travel expenses to get dogs out of here to their forever homes. Otherwise I'd be completely under water. I've sold my SUV and am keeping my little Honda Fit despite the interior having been destroyed by dog transport for almost 8 years, I've taken out a loan, scraped together money from our work income, and short of robbing a bank, I'm doing my best to complete the Sanctuary.

Did I think I'd accumulate 20 (yes it's now 20) unadoptable dogs during the past 13 years of doing dog rescue? NOPE. Do I love these furry fools more than anything, do I have a responsibility to them, do they need a place to live freely, and not in a 600f2 apartment in the center of Tulum? YES.

Most of all, I absolutely hate asking for donations, but as a dog rescue that runs 100% on volunteer time and donations, it's a necessary and humbling thing I have to do.

If you can find some change in the sofa or can spare a few bucks, we would all be eternally grateful.

Thank you!!

Love,

Cathy, Estrella, Chiquis, Canela, Tigger, Mariposa, Rufus, Mamita, Negra, Tyson, Muffin, Peppa, Nina, Rita, Walter, Hilda, Puppy Chow (Lola), Lula, and forthcoming Doogie and another surprise guest <3

UPDATE AUGUST 2, 2024

Hey everyone! Here's a quick update on our Help Tulum Dogs Sanctuary Project and GoFundMe

We've been struggling a bit with red tape and the loan company and things are held up a bit, again, but we are pushing forward.

At this point I'm hoping our outdoor shelter (aka pole barn) and 6 dog kennels can be built (like the photos show) by the end of this month, since it looks like I'll be moving with the dogs and living in a tent for a while. ⛺

I've never been much of a camper but since I've been living in a circus for over 10 years, this should be a piece of cake. I'm pretty sure the poop and pee clean up will be easier, and hopefully we can cut our way out of this bureaucratic crap we've been up against and pull this sanctuary together asap.

I've done all I can - scraped up cash, sold my SUV, took out a loan, received a very generous donation from a friend and many times savior, and of course the kind donors who help us monthly and otherwise to keep going. But man it would be great to get a little more help

Can we make this a Hep Tulum Dogs Sanctuary push and see how many $10 donations we can get before the GoFundMe cut off in 10 days?! ⭐

Check out the link for our GoFundMe in the bio or below and THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR SUPPORTERS ❤️

UPDATE JULY 14, 2024

Hi friends! We have made some big steps towards the completion of the Sanctuary! I sold my truck and received a generous outside donation, took out a loan, and am almost there, but still need to come up with some money for the rest of the rest.

We are happy to announce that all of our fencing materials have been purchased and the work has started to assemble it. This has not been a fast nor easy process, the wood sides we need to completely enclose (where there are walking paths etc. and we don't want the dogs barking all day at the people) were made by hand, machining and otherwise to cut wood and fit together the pieces. A bigger section where we will have cyclone fencing to secure the dogs has the poles set and ready.

I've adjusted my goal accordingly. We are almost there, the final things will be our well, septic system, bringing electric to the property, and then the actual move which will require a rental van for the dogs and a moving truck! This will be no small task! I also need to build 6 kennels to separate certain dogs when I'm not at home.

Well / Septic = $25,000 mxn / $1500 USD

Electric = $10,000 mxn / $600 USD

Outdoor Kennels = $42,000 mxn / $2500 USD

Moving expenses = $45,000 mxn / $2600 USD

Total = $7,200 USD

Please help us complete our goal -- the Sanctuary has been funded by my personal money and loans with the exception of approximately 15% received in donations so far, and I could use a leg up if you can help!

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE FOR SUPPORTING US!!

UPDATE JUNE 21, 2024

Hi everyone, welcome to my GoFundMe for our Help Tulum Dogs Sanctuary! To those of you who have kindly donated already, a HUGE THANK YOU!!!!

If you haven't read about the fundraiser yet, let me try to explain what why where and how we are making a Sanctuary for our permanent pack of unadoptable dogs that we have in our care.

After over 13 years of dog rescue, outreach, sterilization campaigns, etc. we find ourselves with a lovable yet unadoptable group of dogs, and we need a place to live. Currently we have 17 dogs. Several of them are suffering from health issues and don't have much time left sadly, but we all need a place to live ASAP.

We have been renting a home all of these years, most people think it's a shelter because we've had over 30 dogs here at one time, our long time average has been around 20, and this past year has been spent rehoming the ones we can, while planning where we can go when our lease is up (SOON)!

Tulum is not where we want to be for so many reasons - it's simply not sustainable. Starting with the expensive cost of living, building or buying a place that would be suitable for the dogs the cost would be extraordinary, and the climate quite frankly is not desirable, with extreme heat, storms, tropical diseases from ticks fleas and mosquitos... the list goes on and on.

We found our paradise and future home outside of San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas MEXICO. A beautiful piece of land 12,500m2 (a little over 3 acres) for $350,000mxn pesos (approximately $21,000 USD), where we need to build a fence (almost done!!!), dig a well and install a cistern, bring electric from across the street, and build a small cabin. I am paying for the construction and many other expenses along the way, and thanks to our donors we raised enough money for the fence so far!

Originally I thought I would find the support for the following:

1. The land = 12,500m2 will cost $350,000 Mexican Pesos / approximately $21,000 USD (WE WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE SOME HELP WITH THIS)

2. A secure closure = fencing to enclose approximately 3000m2 will cost $40,000 Mexican Pesos / approximately $2,500 USD PAID FOR AND IN PROCESS THANKS TO YOUR DONATIONS!

3. Outside run/kennels for 6 dogs in order to safely separate the ones who need to be secure when they are alone $6,000 USD (REMOVING THIS AND WILL FIGURE OUT SOMETHING)

So I lowered the goal, and decided I'll have to sell my vehicle (the one the dogs haven't destroyed) and hope that we can get a little bit of support towards the land. Otherwise I am going to have to wrap up this chapter on a truly sad note and struggle to fund the Sanctuary nearly 100% myself. I was hoping for some more support after all of these years of doing this heartbreaking and challenging work, but I understand that it's a tough time for everyone, so any amount is appreciated and will help us get there, one way or another. We need to be out of our rented house by the end of July and have nowhere to go with 17 dogs.

Please consider helping us and donating today and/or sharing our story! Once we get moved and settled, I'll be able to focus on funding for sterilization campaigns to continue in Tulum and the Yucatan areas we have always helped since this is truly the only solution to the street / stray dog overpopulation.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ OUR STORY AND WE APPRECIATE ANY DONATION - NO AMOUNT IS TOO SMALL!!

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UPDATE JUNE 9, 2024

Hi friends and followers! We have been busying flying pups to their forever homes and then a few days of mini sterilization campaigns here in the Yucatan, since my last update.

So my update is basically the same as last time, but with a lot more desperation!! We are still far from our goal. I'm doing everything that I can to scrape up money to finish the sanctuary, but we really need your help. I'm selling my "work" vehicle, I'm working and making us much money as I possibly can, but falling short. I've put my personal work vehicle up for sale and lowered the goal (the only vehicle of 3 that hasn't been destroyed using it for dog rescue).

This project and move is absolutely necessary for us. We have been basically been using our rental home as a shelter for over 12 years. We have sterilized, rescued, rehabbed, and supported so many animals all of these years, but now we need to move on.

We need to be out of this home by July because the owner has plans to sell property. She's been kind enough to keep extending our move out date, and allow us to live here all of these years with all of the dogs.

The biggest challenge is the fact we need a place to live, and on top of that, we need adequate space. As it is now, we have to transport our pack daily to exercise and release their physical and mental energy due to lack of space and the massive overdevelopment in Tulum, which has become traumatizing due to many factors. When they start building in the "secret" location we go to now, we are completely out of options. Sometimes we run into workers cutting through this area with machetes, who pick up sticks and rocks to throw at the dogs which is just insanely stressful.

With all of the changes happening in the rescue world, the only way to really continue helping is to have some sanity, a place for the dogs that we will love and take care of until they cross that rainbow bridge, and be able to focus on fundraising for sterilization campaigns.

Please consider supporting our Sanctuary. Again, I am funding 75% of this project myself because it will be my home too. I'm asking for help because this isn't something I would have to do for just myself. It's a huge undertaking and I really appreciate any support.

NO DONATION IS TOO SMALL OR TOO BIG! THANK YOU!!!!

our pack:

We've already upped our number from 14 to 16 because we can't afford to rehome more dogs and sadly we still have 3 in Toronto, 2 in Chicago, 1 in Vancouver, and 1 in a rural part of Pennsylvania and 1 in Portland that we may end up taking in if they can't find homes by the end of summer.

Tigger - Abused and almost dead upon coming into our care; trusts nobody, and for good reason

Canela - Afraid of her own shadow from abuse we don't even want to guess as a puppy, but her scars tell us enough

Chiquis Zena - Our first Distemper survivor; we actually had rescued her as a puppy, she had 2 of 3 puppy vaccine boosters, yet she got Distemper through the gate from a dog on the street. Because she survived the fight and she stuck with us, so we stuck with her.

Rufus - Our wheelchair dog and inspiration -- need I say more

Mariposa - Rescued in horrible conditions with TVT, starving, etc. and never has quite adapted to civilization, leashes, and the outside world

Nina - Taken from the streets to be sterilized and then missed her opportunities 2x to be accepted by partner rescues because of her size and anxiety. No, she's not "unadoptable" but given she's behind 1000000000 puppies waiting to be adopted without any behavior challenges, etc. yes she is basically unadoptable

Tyson - Chained to side of a house for years, starving and beaten down, therefore basically, he fears the human hand

Muffin - A little chicken hunter that wasn't going to last long eating the neighbor's livestock (and also has a heart and lung condition)

Mamita - On the run for 7 years in jungle lots around Tulum, having puppies (some of whom we were able to find and rehome) finally we caught her and she is terrified of the outside world she had to survive in before

Negra - Distemper survivor, completely uninterested in civilization and has an almost autistic type reaction to stress

Walter Brown - Distemper survivor, lost most of his teeth, has convulsions when he sleeps, will always have declining health issues

Gilda - Distemper survivor, lost most of her teeth, has convulsions when he sleeps, will always have declining health issues

Peppa - Distemper survivor, rescued from the center of town, pregnant, across from the town hall about to give birth. She's had a rapid decline in her teeth and general health, neurological tick in her brain which is causing her to have neurotic moments like biting other dogs when stressed, and won't adapt to life outside

Lola aka Puppy Chow and Rita - these 2 pups are now staying with us because we simply can't afford to rehome them and we don't have any options locally.

Finally, Estrella. She isn't adoptable because she's mine - My #1 dog that I rescued February 2011, within the first months of moving to Mexico, is now 14 years old, has tolerated living with a nonstop revolving door of rescues and frankly, deserves to spend what time she has left in a home without all of this stress and lack of space. She's nearly deaf, losing her vision, and her mind (much like myself!) and it's just not fair for her to end her life living like we are.

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UPDATE MAY 12, 2024

FIRST AND FOREMOST, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR GENEROUS DONATIONS! WE HAVE PURCHASED ALMOST ALL OF THE SUPPLIES FOR BUILDING THE FENCING TO SECURE AN AREA FOR THE DOGS TO RUN, PLAY, RELAX, AND.... BE DOGS (PHOTOS WILL BE POSTED SOON!).

We are still far from our goal. I'm honestly doing everything that I can to scrape up money to finish the sanctuary, but we really need your help.

We didn't plan to have 14 permanent dogs. We didn't decide "this one is so cute I have to keep him/her." They are with us because they have zero adoption options due to all the reasons I've outlined below in my original story, after dedicating 13 years to dog rescue.

I can't quite express how necessary this project and move is for us. We have been using our rental home to foster the sick, moms w/litters of puppies, pups/dogs awaiting their opportunities to travel to their forever homes, etc. for over 12 years. We have sterilized, rescued, and supported so many animals all of these years THANKS TO OUR DONORS. But it's exhausting, stressful and affects our ability to even begin to live like normal people.

We need to be out of this home by July because the owner has plans to sell property. She's been kind enough to keep extending our move out date, and allow us to live here all of these years with all of the dogs.

The biggest challenge is the fact we need a place to live, and on top of that, we need adequate space. At it is now, we have to transport our pack daily to exercise and release their physical and mental energy due to lack of space and the massive overdevelopment in Tulum, which has become traumatizing due to many factors. It came to a head yesterday, coming back from our jungle walk, we were nearly killed by a tracker trailer on the highway who couldn't stop in time for a traffic back up (military check point) and thankfully he went off the highway to avoid smashing into us. That's not how I want to go out of this world.

I've seen all of the changes happening in the rescue world, and I know the only way to really continue helping is to have some sanity, a place for the dogs that we will love and take care of until they cross that rainbow bridge, and be able to focus on fundraising for sterilization campaigns.

Please consider supporting our Sanctuary. Again, I am funding 75% of this project myself because it will be my home too. I'm asking for help because this isn't something I would have to do for just myself. It's a huge undertaking and I really appreciate any support.

THANK YOU!!!!

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Hello friends, thank you for taking the time to read my Go Fund Me, and I really hope to get your support!

Help Tulum Dogs has been rescuing/rehabilitating/rehoming hundreds of dogs and puppies for over 12 years in Tulum and surrounding areas in the Yucatan peninsula. We have sterilized over 8,000 dogs and cats in these years, and helped countless animals in the community by providing veterinary care ranging from orthopedic and other surgeries, vaccines, blood tests, treatments for a variety of diseases, etc. Our outreach program feeds, sterilizes, vaccinates and treats for fleas/ticks over 200 dogs in the jungle communities of Punta Laguna and Campamento Hidalgo.

Now it's time for us to make a change, because despite all of our work and successes, we are in a time of crisis.

Throughout the years, we have taken in puppies and dogs that - for one reason or another - are simply unadoptable. We have 14 permanent residents now, and we have had a constant flow of new rescues that has turned our rented home into basically a shelter for up to 28 dogs at one time. We pay more rent to keep staying where we are as our landlord (thankfully) allows us to keep this many dogs here. We do not use any donation money towards the expenses of renting, living, cleaning, vehicles (2 now destroyed from using them for dog rescue), nor do we pay or take any type of salary for anything, much less a staff to clean and care for the animals. That would be me.

Tulum has grown from a small fishing village to a huge tourist and expat town. The extraordinary over-development and cost of living here has reached an all time high over the past 5 years, and we have lost every location we used to have to take the dogs, via car, to an area they can run and exercise free of worry from construction and traffic. As recently as last week, the less-than-ideal place we were able to do so, has now been taken over by yet more construction.

None of this is sustainable.

The way we are living now is just not fair to the dogs, as we are literally trapped in an apartment with nothing more than a garden. And we are now in a time that we need to vacate the house so the owner can move forward with her plans.

I have not just been sitting back and wondering what to do. I have been trying to make a plan for 2 years now, knowing this day was coming. Help Tulum Dogs Foundation will no longer be a dog "rescue" - rather we will continue our focus on fundraising to support sterilization campaigns and community outreach in Tulum and the surrounding areas, as we always have. We will be moving out of Tulum so we can afford the land and space we need for the dogs to live in a proper, healthy environment, and the time I spend managing chaos can be used to do good.

What do we need?

1. The land = 12,500m2 will cost $350,000 Mexican Pesos / approximately $21,000 USD

2. A secure closure = fencing to enclose approximately 3000m2 will cost $40,000 Mexican Pesos / approximately $2,500 USD

3. Outside run/kennels for 6 dogs in order to safely separate the ones who need to be secure when they are alone $6,000 USD

$29,500 USD

I'll be using my own money and a loan to build a small, 50m2 cabin to live in, access water, put in a proper septic system, and the electrical and internet source. To say it's a struggle now after draining my earnings and savings, paying for dog rescue out of pocket when donations are not enough or don't reach me, is an understatement. So I'm asking for your help.

Our crew of misfit, unadoptable dogs need a home, and we need to move on so we can open a new chapter in our books; one that will hopefully give us the time and energy to focus on seeking grants, corporate sponsorships, etc. and keep sterilizing campaigns funded from a better place.

In case you are wondering why are these dogs unadoptable after hundreds have been and others will be? Let me introduce them:

Tigger - Abused and almost dead upon coming into our care; trusts nobody, and for good reason

Canela - Afraid of her own shadow from abuse we don't even want to guess as a puppy, but her scars tell us enough

Chiquis Zena - Our first Distemper survivor; we actually had rescued her as a puppy, she had 2 of 3 puppy vaccine boosters, yet she got Distemper through the gate from a dog on the street. Because she survived the fight and she stuck with us, so we stuck with her.

Rufus - Our wheelchair dog and inspiration -- need I say more

Mariposa - Rescued in horrible conditions with TVT, starving, etc. and never has quite adapted to civilization, leashes, and the outside world

Nina - Taken from the streets to be sterilized and then missed her opportunities 2x to be accepted by partner rescues because of her size and anxiety. No, she's not "unadoptable" but given she's behind 1000000000 puppies waiting to be adopted without any behavior challenges, etc. yes she is basically unadoptable

Tyson - Chained to side of a house for years, starving and beaten down, therefore basically, he fears the human hand

Muffin - A little chicken hunter that wasn't going to last long eating the neighbor's livestock (and also has a heart and lung condition)

Mamita - On the run for 7 years in jungle lots around Tulum, having puppies (some of whom we were able to find and rehome) finally we caught her and she is terrified of the outside world she had to survive in before

Negra - Distemper survivor, completely uninterested in civilization and has an almost autistic type reaction to stress

Walter Brown - Distemper survivor, lost most of his teeth, has convulsions when he sleeps, will always have declining health issues

Gilda - Distemper survivor, lost most of her teeth, has convulsions when he sleeps, will always have declining health issues

Peppa - Distemper survivor, rescued from the center of town, pregnant, across from the town hall about to give birth. She's had a rapid decline in her teeth and general health, neurological tick in her brain which is causing her to have neurotic moments like biting other dogs when stressed, and won't adapt to life outside

Finally, Estrella. She isn't adoptable because she's mine - My #1 dog that I rescued February 2011, within the first months of moving to Mexico, is now 14 years old, has tolerated living with a nonstop revolving door of rescues and frankly, deserves to spend what time she has left in a home without all of this stress and lack of space. She's nearly deaf, losing her vision, and her mind (much like myself!) and it's just not fair for her to end her life living like we are.

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I hope that you'll support me in my effort to complete the Help Tulum Dogs Sanctuary, and moving forward, in my efforts to continue providing free spay & neuter campaigns, and outreach in the community that I have served for so long and is part of my heart.

Thank you for your time.

More information about Help Tulum Dogs Foundation Inc: Help Tulum Dogs is a 501c3 registered non-profit charitable organization, so your donations are tax deductible to the extent of the IRS rules. We are dedicated to sterilizing/vaccinating dogs via free campaigns in Tulum and other parts of the Yucatan peninsula. We provide outreach to small, Mayan communities where the need is greatest, and have rescued/rehabbed/re-homed those with no hope for over 12 years.

Thank you to everyone who donated to this attempt to fundraise for veterinary bills and other expenses that we have not received enough "one time" donations to cover over the past few months. I'm closing this fundraiser and opening a new one, one that will tell the story of how, what and why HTD is modifying our work and making a sanctuary for the collection of unadoptable dogs that we find ourselves with after over 13 years of dog rescue.

Thank you again for your support!

Hi everyone, thanks for taking the time to read about my fundraiser.

For those of you who have followed us over the past 10+ years, and most recently our new friends, you should know that a GoFundMe is a cry for help. Not a cry wolf, not a "oh let me raise some money" cry, but a serious cry for help.

My last fundraiser ran for over 7 months, and thankfully we reached our goal both for the amount of $ raised and what we used the funds for (meanwhile some interim outside donations came in for one-up cases).

THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!

Here we are in 2024, and again I find myself in a dire situation.

WHY DO WE NEED THESE FUNDS?

With this money, we hope to pay our EXISTING VET BILLS ($50,000 mxn and $30,000 mxn) and boarding expenses, plus cover the extras of a 250 animal sterilization campaign coming in March that we are organizing, thanks to a group of vets from the USA and our local vet-extraordinaire and core sterilization volunteer team.

We have no fosters (except one in the entire town of Tulum - thank you Win), so we are forced in many cases to pay boarding fees; nowhere to send pups that are ready for adoption (we have 6 who have been ready "to go" for months and nowhere to send them) and the ongoing expenses of rescuing (for example) a 6 week old puppy now 6 months old. This is just not how "rescue" used to be. Rescuing and rehoming has all but died and is draining both from a financial and physical/emotional standpoint.

We are not a huge organization with tons of volunteers, staff, funding, and other resources. We have 21 dogs in our rented home, we receive no income, and we can't get ahead and be productive when all we are doing is trying to keep catching up. It's just not sustainable.

We are inundated with messages for help from the community as well as tourists passing through and seeing one horrifying situation after another, to which many we have to say NO and others we CAN NOT say no to. Our community outreach has become an ongoing struggle, and the day to day vet bills that never end are a constant source of stress and overwhelming sadness.

We need to focus on sterilization and not let the lack of government help, the burden of so many dogs in our care that will never be adopted (currently at 15, plus 6 that we hope will eventually find their way out), and we need to keep moving forward.

WHEN DO WE NEED THESE FUNDS?

NOW! YESTERDAY! This fundraiser goal is set for 1 month. We can't continue otherwise.

PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION OF ANY AMOUNT!!! Please look at our Facebook and/or IG pages to see the work we are doing. Please help us sterilize more, save lives, and keep moving forward. Thank you!!

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More information about Help Tulum Dogs Foundation Inc: Help Tulum Dogs is a non-profit dedicated to sterilizing/vaccinating dogs via free campaigns in Tulum and other parts of the Yucatan peninsula. We provide outreach to small, Mayan communities where the need is greatest, and rescue/rehab/re-home those with no hope.

PUPDATE AS OF JANUARY 14, 2024

YOU ARE ALL ROCKSTARS!!! HIT OUR GOAL 2 DAYS AGO AND ARE SO GRATEFUL TO ALL OF YOU AMAZING HUMANS!!

It feels like so much has happened since the end of November, but our updated cover photo shows just a few of the faces you helped us save, feed, sterilize, vaccinate, fix a lot of broken bones, and 4 pups got out to the USA and Canada despite the holiday embargos etc.!

We also were able to do our outreach and provide food plus flea & tick treatment to about 200 dogs in Punta Laguna and Hidalgo, help with TVT treatment (chemotherapy) for another 2 pups, provide veterinary support for many sick puppies owned in the community, and keep up with our crew of 20 in house, 5 outside, 3 in the vet clinics, 2 temporary guests, and 2 dogs being treated in their homes for various conditions.

We have all except for one vet paid off 100%, and that particular vet bill was almost paid and now it's creeped back up again, but we are close!

Thanks to your generous support through this Go Fund Me, and other donations we've received in the past 6 weeks, we are feeling pretty good about ALMOST reaching our goal of being debt free, and someday maybe I can say we are on top of it all (smile, wink, cringe, laugh, cry,,,) as I said it's a GOAL!

But for now, I'm going to close this GFM and send you all a huge hug, lots of puppy kisses, and say THANK YOU for being there and supporting us!!!

PUPDATE AS OF NOVEMBER 23, 2023

We would like to thank each and every one of our donors for supporting us. It's been very encouraging to receive so many kind words and generous donations!

Since my last update, I was in the USA helping care of my ailing mom, and then picked up a pup (Princesa) and took her on to Portland where she is in a foster-to-adopt home. This added mission required some resources we weren't planning on, but I have to accept that it's just part of doing rescue work.

However, the 4 pups you see in the cover photo (Milo, Lola, Iggy (aka Changuito), and Luna Laguna are now healthy, vaccinated and sterilized so they are ready to find their forever homes! All need rides to the USA or Canada, so it would be great if we can knock out our goal and get our vet bills paid and send them on their ways!!

Please consider donating if you haven't already! I know the struggle is real for everyone in rescue, and we do appreciate your ongoing support for Help Tulum Dogs to keep going. Thank you.

PUPDATE AS OF NOVEMBER 3, 2023

Thank you so much for your kind and generous donations helping us reach our goal - we are just $3000 USD short and this money will payoff our vet bills finally! As mentioned in my previous update, we have been able to make a huge dent in our bills, but as time passes we continue to have vetting needs, so getting ON TOP and staying there is an ongoing challenge! This past month, Tyson had to have his spleen removed, we had a new pup in treatment for severe anemia and had to be hospitalized, x-rays for a variety of dogs for a variety of reasons, and now need to buy November monthly flea/tick/heartworm preventatives for our 23 dogs in care (23 x $20 USD).

With your donations we have been able to make big strides on paying our vet bills, flying pups on to their forever homes, sterilizing campaigns, keeping up with the care for all of the pups we have, and providing outreach to our jungle and local Tulum communities.

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Finally, as the new photo collage memorializes our sweet Linda, who had been run over (and then rescued) after suffering for week before we found her. She was such a lovely pup, and finally had her chance to move on to her forever life in Chicago and was adopted last month. Unfortunately she suffered again, and did not survive an intestinal condition... Each and every pup we rescue and rehome takes a piece of our hearts when they leave us, but in this case our hearts are shattered because she had a full life ahead that ended tragically. If you'd like to donate in memory of Linda, and help us save more lives in her honor, we sure would appreciate it.

Thank you for helping us help them.

PUPDATE AS OF OCTOBER 16, 2023

First of all, a huge THANK YOU for your support and donations! If we can reach our goal, we can finally get on top of everything - vet bill debts, dogs in need of ongoing care, and then refocus on doing more sterilizations!!!

We have had quite a busy couple of months, and here's what we have been able to accomplish:

1. 5 more pups flew to JFK and were then taken to Reading PA with our partner rescue Brindle Buddies & Friends where they are in foster care looking for there forever homes (Nami was adopted!).

2. 5 pups made it to Toronto with 3 different transports, and are either in their adoptive homes or with our rescue partner in foster care and awaiting their adoptions!

3. Paid another $2500 usd in vet bills through an outside donation!

4. Sponsored 20 spay/neuter surgeries in El Cuyo, sterilized 47 animals in Punta Laguna / Hidalgo!

5. Paloma had a leg amputation

6. Tyson is in surgery now, perhaps needs his spleen removed :(

7. Vetting for Blanquito, Iggy (aka Changuito), Lola (new brown puppy) plus

8. Supported another sterilization campaign of 80 dogs and cats with the Tulum municipality, providing volunteers for recovery, flea and tick meds, follow up vet visits for several animals after. Next one is the weekend of Oct 28-29.

9. Provided food for the 150+ dogs in Punta Laguna and Hidalgo plus flea/tick treatment (we need to do this again this week!!) We need about 800kgs of food @ about $1200+ usd

10. Managing the fosters in care, Pluto needs to start his heartworm treatment, our 3 remaining puppies need to get more vaccines and sterilized so they can travel. Another 2 are ready to go and we are trying to find a place to send them! Sadly we have 12 unadoptable dogs that we have to continue caring for -- likely forever. But that's another story....

11. We still have another $3000 in vet bills to pay!!!!!

Thank you!!UPDATE SEPTEMBER 5, 2023

Hola everyone! Thanks so much for your support! So far we were able to transport 5 lucky pups to Chicago where they are in foster care awaiting adoption $2,400, paid $2,000 in vet bills, and $1,200 for our recent outreach to the jungle communities we support, and are staying afloat buying food and treatments for the current fosters. This is where your donations are going!

We are awaiting the next distribution which holds $1,192.65 USD from the donations received after the monthly cutoff that GFM does around the 13/14 of each month, BUT still short on our goal. I'm so happy to say we are getting closer, yet we still have these pesky vet bills $$$$$$ that we need to pay, and some expenses for our travel for 5 more dogs already booked to leave September 14th. We truly need to reach our goal to get above water, and still have other pups that will need to travel in October and November aren't part of this fundraising effort.

PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION TO HELP US HELP THEM! WE ARE CLOSE TO THE END IF WE CAN'T, AND TRULY NEED YOUR SUPPORT AT THIS TIME!

$500 PER DAY FOR 10 DAYS IS "ALL" WE NEED TO BREATH AGAIN AND KEEP GOING!! THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO HAS DONATED SO FAR!!!!

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UPDATE AUGUST 21, 2023

Hola everyone and THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO HAS DONATED!!

The 5 pups in the photos now have plane tickets to Chicago ($267 x 5 = $1335 plus transporter ticket $470 plus airport transfer $150) TOTAL FOR GETTING THIS 5 PUPS TO THEIR NEW LIVES $1955 ***but also PRICELE$$*** One other pup Rob also made the trip to Seattle where his adopter picked him up (now he's living in BC)! $450 USD = $2,405.

We paid part of our biggest vet bill $1,800 USD (still owe over $4000 to our vets and are waiting to schedule an amputation for Paloma).

Food for the fosters $600 plus flea/tick and heartworm preventatives = $320 and we need more tomorrow!

We still have a lot of expenses to cover, dogs to travel, and we would love to be able to buy food for our outreach to Punta Laguna and Hidalgo, and wrap up paying our vet bills!

Please help us continue our work! Thank you so much!

Hola friends, it's time again for me to ask for your extended support. I hope everyone knows that when I get to the point of making a Go Fund Me, it's because I am too deep in to get out with the kind donations we do receive, because the expenses have stacked up too high to dig out little by little, and also because we need to start planning some travel to get pups out and on to their new forever lives.

The dog rescue world has changed significantly since Covid. Like everything else, it has become insanely difficult to keep going like we used to.

Why? For us, one of the most important parts of our rescue cycle is rehoming. In order to rehome, we need to send our dogs somewhere NOT Mexico (yes we have made the rare successful local adoptions, but here in Tulum it's nearly impossible to find a FOREVER home for a dog for so many reasons). Since Covid, major airlines carriers that used to take dogs in the baggage hold, to places that we work with partner rescues and/or private fosters (New York, Chicago, Portland) no longer do. Canada was shut down until 2022 and then they had their own problems, with the wave of "Covid adopted pets" being dropped at shelters like never before. Rescues and shelters are overwhelmed in the USA as well. In September of 2021, I set out on a mission to get as many dogs out after our Covid backup, and started taking Mexican based airlines to get to the USA. It was working pretty well until some major problems with Volaris and the insane cost of Aeromexico. Then Alaska Airlines opened up flights that accepted dogs in the baggage hold again, only limited to 2 at a time per traveler, but hey, we were desperate, so we would often fly from Cancun to the west coast, then connect on red-eyes to the midwest or northeast. Well, even that has not been possible since they changed their aircraft from Boeings to Airbus, because Airbus type aircraft don't accept dogs in the baggage hold. Then, if we do have flight offers or opportunities to take dogs north, we need a place for them to actually go. Because our partners are inundated themselves, we've been receiving a lot of NOs with huge apologies.

However, we have a few opportunities coming up at the end of August and then September with US rescues who have taken MX pups previously. It’s critically important to use these opportunities, so we are planning now so it will happen.

Here's where it hits home. Specifically my home, which is a rental, not a huge apartment, but at least a nice little garden. We now have 23 dogs here. 23. And I still have a few in boarding, a couple in foster, and virtually all of them have had to have either orthopedic surgeries, treatment for Ehrlichia and Anaplasmosis, Heartworm treatments (which take a year to get through), TVT treatments, other types of issues that I can't name them all. It costs me over $500 usd each month to just provide the monthly preventative for Ticks/Fleas/Heartworm. We go through over 50 kgs (110 lbs.) of food every week, and have daily vet visits and blood tests, vaccines and sterilizations, and hardly any adoption options for all of the reasons above. Our vet bills average $3000 to 5000 usd monthly depending on all of these factors.

My job has become that of running a 24/7 doggy day care and medical manager. The amount of work and time involved (and patience, which runs thin these days) is endless. Keep in mind there's no pay for this, and in fact I just keep spending my own money to keep afloat. Combining that with not being able to focus on my business to make money (which is also hard due to the market conditions here), the excessive heat and destroying 2 vehicles in 8 years for the dogs, I'm pretty much at the bottom of my resources and ability to keep going.

So here it is. The ASK. The NEED.

1. $5000 usd to pay off current vet bills

2. $5000 usd for planned flights to get 10 or more pups and dogs to Chicago, New York and Portland in the next 60 days (average flight one way $500 - $1000 usd, cost per dog $100 - $275 usd).each dog averages about $500 usd to get to any of our partner rescues and fosters outside of Mexico

3. $1500 usd to sterilize and vaccinate another 50 dogs in Hidalgo and Punta Laguna at a cost of approx. $35 usd per dog by the end of September

4. $1500 usd to get us through the next 2 months of food and preventatives

****Our future as a rescue is to send the dogs we have in-house to forever homes and then focus on sterilization and vaccination to lower the population, suffering and prevent diseases that are in epidemic proportions here (such as Distemper, Parvo and TVT). We cannot take in and house additional new rescues as it is not sustainable.****

Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me.

More information about Help Tulum Dogs Foundation Inc: Help Tulum Dogs is a 501c3 registered non-profit charitable organization dedicated to sterilizing/vaccinating dogs via free campaigns in Tulum and other parts of the Yucatan peninsula. We provide outreach to small, Mayan communities where the need is greatest, and rescue/rehab/re-home those with no hope.

Hello Fellow Animal Lovers,

In just a few weeks, I will be on my way to Tulum, Mexico, and I am reaching out for help for the March 2023 Spay and Neuter Clinic hosted by Help Tulum Dogs. Want to join me in making a difference? We will need your support to raise more funds to reach our goal of 450 surgeries!!! We are hiring the vets and rounding up the volunteers for this monumental event. This clinic will be free to the public and will effectively change the landscape of Tulum's homeless dog population. Dogs in Tulum and the surrounding towns in Quintana Roo do not have the life we want to imagine. They are unneutered, unvaccinated, unsheltered, and mostly unfed. They suffer from starvation, injuries, parasites, fleas, ticks, parvo, distemper, and sexually transmitted diseases. Help Tulum Dogs organizes spay, neuter, and vaccination clinics to help end the vicious cycle of overpopulation and sickness. Check out their Facebook Page to see them in action: https://www.facebook.com/helptulumdogs/

If you have read this far, THANK YOU! I would be so appreciative of anything you have to give. I promise that your generosity will be put to good use, and will directly pay for 450 spay and neuter surgeries of dogs and cats in Tulum.

Yours truly,

Cara

More information about Help Tulum Dogs Foundation Inc: Help Tulum Dogs is a non-profit dedicated to sterilizing/vaccinating dogs via free campaigns in Tulum and other parts of the Yucatan peninsula. We provide outreach to small, Mayan communities where the need is greatest, and rescue/rehab/re-home those with no hope.

#tulummexico

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#donate

#makeadifference