From the Streets to a Safe Shelter: Here’s How PETA Latino and Local Partners Helped Matilda and Other Dogs and Cats in Cancún

Published by Elena Waldman.
3 min read

In a desperately poor part of Cancún called Colonia Avante, PETA fieldworkers were able to provide food, veterinary care, shelter, and much-needed TLC to dogs and cats, thanks to support from donors to PETA’s Global Compassion Fund (GCF).

Regions like Colonia Avante are called zonas irregulares because they aren’t officially part of a county—rather they’re large pieces of land people have built on that don’t receive the government services that other areas do. So when word spread that PETA Latino was partnering with the Cancún municipal shelter to offer direct help to companion animals in Colonia Avante, many guardians were eager to take advantage of the opportunity!

peta fieldworker helping a dog in Cancun

Teams have helped thousands of dogs and cats in Mexico during recent visits, and this latest trip was another rousing success. A total of 460 cats and dogs were sterilized during the two-day spay/neuter clinic, preventing thousands more animals from ending up on the streets—but that’s not all they accomplished.

Let’s meet a few of the animals whose lives GCF supporters have helped change.

Fieldworkers found this dog wandering the streets covered in mats so severe that even walking was difficult, as the clumps of hair painfully pulled at his skin.

dog with severe matts walking in the street in Cancun while a PETA fieldworker approaches him

The team scooped him up, took him to the local animal shelter, and shaved him to provide him with some relief.

peta fieldworker shaving a severely matted dog

Matilda was abused and eventually abandoned and left to fend for herself by her former owner. Scared and alone, she was given a second chance when a kind woman took her in and brought her to our spay/neuter clinic.

peta fieldworkers holding dogs at the local shelter in CancunNow, Matilda is in a safe, loving new home after a brief stay at a local shelter.

Fieldworkers came across a friendly dog named Snoopy confined to a rocky, garbage-strewn yard with no shelter from the elements.

The team cleaned up the yard and provided him with a new collar, a lightweight tether, and shelter—all of which he loved (although maybe not as much as his new food bowl).

dog eating out of a new food bowl provided by peta fieldworkers

Help Keep This Vital Work Going Strong!

PETA’s GCF helps power lifesaving rescue work, spay/neuter programs, educational campaigns, and more in countries on nearly every continent. You can help by making a special gift to the fund today: 

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