What do you think of when someone says Mexico to you? Perhaps ancient temples, tortillas, mariachi bands and chocolate? What about the Mexico stray dogs? There are an incredible 13 million stray dogs, according to World Foot Prints. Whether you like dogs or not, they do tend to get in the way as they roam the streets. Instead, why not help stray dogs and reap the benefits for yourself too?
Did you know about the Strays in Mexico?
There are many dog lovers in Mexico. Naturally, everyone would love to do more for the animals. Sadly though, due to lack of funds, most strays aren’t sterilised. According to PETA, a female dog can have 67,000 puppies in only 6 years! You do the maths with what 13 million dogs can create …
- Public health risk
- Intelligent and adaptable
- Sterilisation versus euthanasia
Public health risk
Aside from animal wellbeing, stray dogs can become aggressive to people. Their faeces and urine can also spread disease and attract rodents. It’s actually in everyone’s best interest to find a way to help stray dogs.
Intelligent and adaptable
Anyone who lives on the streets learns to fend for themselves. They become strategic in how they find food and shelter. This makes the Mexico stray dogs highly intelligent and adaptable. In fact, they make some of the best home companions because they know how to integrate into a group.
Of course, adopting Mexico stray dogs will need some patience and support to socialise them. Once the dogs have settled into a family though, it’s almost as if they know they’ve been saved. They are forever grateful for their cushions and regular meals. With 920,000 shelter animals euthanised every year in the US, according to the ASPCA, isn’t it worth experiencing unconditional love instead?
Sterilisation versus euthanasia
Whilst various shelters and dedicated people do what they can to help stray dogs and sterilise where possible, this is only a drop in the ocean. Not only do these groups need funds but they also need help actually catching the strays.
As you can imagine, street dogs know how to avoid capture and it’s hard to explain that it’s for their benefit. Moreover, to help stray dogs with sterilisation, they also need vaccinations and anaesthetics. All this cost adds up.
Help Stray Dogs and Help Yourself
The good news is that you can help stray dogs and also feel good about yourself at the same time. Ultimately, you also reap many advantages for yourself:
- Altruism
- Animal bonding
- Community connection
Altruism
Neuroscientists can now show that altruism maps to a particular part of our brain which then boosts our health and overall wellbeing. That’s because prosocial behaviour binds communities but it also helps you forget your internal stories, even if only for a short moment.
Of course, altruism doesn’t just have to be for Mexico stray dogs. Whatever act of generosity you choose to follow, you’ll activate the part of the brain linked to contentment and reward, according to this Medical News Today article.
Animal bonding
If you choose to help stray dogs, you’ll get to connect with animals who only want to give their love. There are no demands or expectations but only pure and innocent love. There’s a lot of research today that confirms how this bond makes us happier.
As you get to know an animal, you’ll build a connection that then releases happy hormones into your brain. Oxytocin, also referred to as the love hormone, is released simply by looking into a pet’s eyes. Then, as you continue to interact with them, endorphins and serotonin get released into your brain. Those hormones generally make you feel good and help keep depression away.
Community connection
Let’s not forget that when you help stray dogs, you also get to connect with all the other people who want to support animals. Having a common interest with other people allows you to create deeper bonds especially when this bond is built up around altruism. Moreover, the shared empathy that you’ll develop will make you feel that you’re part of something bigger.
Life satisfaction often comes from having a sense of belonging. We’re social animals and we need to feel that we have a supportive community around us. That’s how we’ve survived this long and it’s one of our core human needs. By taking it one step further and bonding with animals, you’re going to the next level. You’ll be rewarded with emotional support and an enriched life.
Be Part of the Solution
The good news is that you too can support the Mexico stray dogs no matter where you’re located. You can donate, volunteer or adopt depending on what you feel you can offer. There’s a place for everyone and animals out there ready to share their love for everyone.
I am retired an live in Florida. I would be interested in transporting these dogs to other states. I own a Ford Explorer an believe I could be of help transporting.
Hi Larry, it’s great to hear from you! Thank you for your comment and yes, we always need free volunteers and as much help as we can get. The animals are especially grateful too … we’ll email you separately to see how we can collaborate. Thanks and happy new year!
I just came back from an encennada cruise. I saw two boxer dogs.
Skin and bones. One pregnant or just had babies. I want to help rescue them. We went on our way to papas and beer like so many others.
They still haunt me.
I want to help.
Hello there I was touched reading what u wrote I live in rosarito and both my wife and I are animals lovers and you have seen for your self how bad these dogs have it here so we are trying to raise money to help all dogs over here so if you wantto help please get back at me any help is great.God bless you and family
Hi Danny, thank you for your lovely comment and it’s great to be connected with other animal lovers and well done for helping. As you say, perhaps we can help each other 🙂
How can i help?
Hi Julie, it’s great to hear from you! Yes, it’s tragic to see them suffer as you describe. We’re always looking for volunteers and I’ll ask the volunteer team to email you separately. In the meantime, please help us spread the word – share this post and share our fb and instagram posts. Thank you! We can’t do this without people like you 🙂
Hello, I’ve recently traveled to Purisima De Bustos Mexico. A small town in Guanajuato. I saw a tremendous amount of homeless dogs. I want to help bring these dogs to a rescue. How can I fond placement for them. I want to help. These poor dogs roam the streets thirsty, sick and hungry.
Hello Maria,
Thank you for your message and it’s lovely that you want to help. Unfortunately we’re quite far from Guanajuato but if you google, a few local animal shelters come up who might be able to help. All the best and thank you for helping the animals!
Hi,
I am on a business trip in Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan and have seen several dogs that are just skins and bones and would like to arrange feeding these dogs. This is very heartbreaking. Is this something you can help me with? I don’t speak Spanish and don’t know who else to contact.
Hi Vikas,
Thank you so much for reaching out and we feel your pain. It is heartbreaking indeed to see so much suffering. Some of those dogs might also have blood parasites which makes them very skinny even if they eat and it is tough disease to fight. Sadly, the region you are in is far from where we are in Rosarito so we don’t know anyone in your area. Perhaps one day, we will be big enough to grow that far but until then, you can try to ask your hotel or local travel agent as they often have contacts of who is helping dogs locally. Good luck and take care!
My daughter is in Mexico and is heartbroken to leave a stray dog that has befriended her. What can she do? This dog is old and skinny and she’s been feeding him. She wants to keep him and bring him home to Vermont.
Hi Sharon, thank you very much for reaching out and posting a comment. Yes, it can be overwhelming seeing stray dogs. Without knowing the whole situation, it’s very hard to advise you. Very often, their skinniness is due to parasites rather than hunger and the dog might just need a vet and medication. The best option is to contact a local charity or animal shelter to help assess the dog’s living conditions and if any locals are feeding the dog. They might just need some help with vet support. I hope that helps but it’s always worth asking locals first for their advice as sometimes, moving a dog can cause more stress and angst. It depends on the situation. Unfortunately, we are not open yet so we can’t come and help but we will help those cases as soon as we are up and running.
Thank you for your answer. It will be wonderful when you’re open and able to help. My daughter is home now in Vermont and really will not talk about the situation. She im sure was very heartbroken to leave this old dog behind. Im sure he’s been looking for her. She said that the old dog could hardly walk. She saw puppies all covered in mange but she didn’t touch them. She was in Tulum I believe. Near Cancun.
Thank you for your lovely reply Sharon. I know it’s heartbreaking. I’m lucky to live in an area where the strays all have their adopted houses and are well cared for. It takes a while for that kind of community care to happen but hopefully we’ll be able to speed things up. I’m also looking forward to being able to help more when we’re open. Thank you for your support!