In 2019, Tanya LaPierre joined forces with Huellas de Ayuda to bolster their efforts. Tanya, originally from Montreal, Canada, is well-known and loved in many Oaxaca communities for her devotion to animals and the people who care for them. Independently she has rescued countless animals from dire situations, has placed dogs and cats in forever homes, and has provided food and medicine for many furry tails.

Working with their partner vets and volunteers, they sterilize between 8,000 to 10,000 animals annually. Several times a year they travel to more distant pueblos, often where there has never been a sterilization campaign and where veterinarian services are limited. They respond frequently to requests where animals are in challenging situations or in poor health. They deploy to the situation with food and medicine. With this show of support and supplies, and education of the benefits of sterilization, with the caretaker’s permission, the animals are taken to be sterilized. While costly in time and resources, the result is the termination of this perpetual breeding cycle, better animal care, and good community relations.

Huellas and Tanya are raising awareness and treating dogs with Transmissible Venereal Tumors (TVT). TVT is a spreadable cancer in canines. TVT occurs primarily in dogs that are largely uncontrolled and allowed to breed indiscriminately. Since the method of transmission is direct sexual contact, prevention of coatis, via sterilization, is the best means of prevention

These fine women have been known to rescue a cat at the top of a telephone pole. It remains a mystery as to how the cat got up there. Wowza!

Check out their Facebook page!