Donate to SPCA International's Shelter and Emergency Response program today.

Tucked away on a Guatemalan mountain top dotted with a mixture of pine and banana trees is a no-kill sanctuary for nearly 200 dogs and approximately 60 cats.  All these animals have come from the harsh streets of Guatemala and many faced sure death, but now they find themselves in the loving care of A.W.A.R.E., Animal Welfare Association Rescue and Education.  SPCA International staff members, Terri Crisp and Stephanie Scott had the pleasure of visiting with the AWARE staff and touring the facility in mid-February.  

AWARE was founded by current Director, Xenii (pronounced "shay-knee") Nielsen in 1998.  It was Xenii’s passion for animals and frustration with a lack of animal protective services and shelters in Guatemala that led her to devote her life to protecting some of the countries neediest creatures.  “These animals deserved having someone to care enough to take the steps to give them a safe and caring place to live when they were sick, injured and homeless,” Xenii said as Terri and Stephanie sat and talked with her and the staff around an outdoor table in the shade of a tree, under a brilliant blue sky.  Surrounding the group were some of the dogs that had been fortunate enough to find their way to AWARE.

Operating on an annual budget of about $30,000, Xenii and her small staff are able to do some amazing things in spite of limited funds.  She and her husband Martin are not paid, which allows every precious cent that they receive to go directly towards caring for the dogs and cats.  Their ability to think outside the box and to be incredibly creative and thrifty makes a dollar go a long ways and allow them to reach out and help even more animals in the surrounding community.

The shelter is spread over 10 hilly acres and the individual enclosures can hold up to five dogs comfortably.  Twice a day the dogs are taken out for exercise, which means an hour long run around the fenced in property, giving them the chance to do many of the things that dogs enjoy most.  The cats are in very large enclosures where they move about freely, enjoying comfortable beds, scratching posts and the entertainment provided by the plentiful wild birds flying freely outside the enclosures.  

As Terri and Stephanie got acquainted with the dogs and cats there was a real sense of contentment among the residents of AWARE.  Yet, they are all animals hoping someday to have a family and a real home of their own.  Some of the animals have been adopted by volunteers who come from other countries and generously give their time and skills to the sanctuary.  Xenii is always grateful for the extra help, ideas and enthusiasm the volunteers bring.

In addition to caring for the animals at AWARE, the organization does low cost spay and neuter in their on-site clinic for owned animals and periodically holds clinics where large numbers of animals can be altered in a period of a day or two.  It was encouraging to learn that Xenii gets more requests than they can fulfill.  The desire on the part of the public to have their dog or cat spayed or neutered is definitely a step in the right direction.  But there are a lot more animals that need to be altered.  Driving around some of the smaller towns near AWARE Terri and Stephanie saw an abundance of wandering dogs and almost every female had signs they had definitely had multiple litters of puppies.

SPCA International is beginning to explore how we can help AWARE and other organization like this one by sending a team for a week at a time to make needed improvements that so many organizations do not have the time and money to get done.  In addition, we would like to bring along some veterinarians so that spay and neuter clinics can be held in an effort to begin to reduce the pet overpopulation problem that affects Guatemala like so many other countries around the world.  This would be the starting point for an effort SPCA International would like to see grow and benefit animals in other parts of the world that are struggling to deal with their animal problems too.

The hard work and round the clock responsibilities that the animals at AWARE require leaves little time for Xenii and her husband.  They have made some enormous sacrifices for animals and SPCA International believes it is people like them that deserve the kind of assistance we can provide with the help of our supporters.  While in Guatemala, SPCA International purchased 100 heavy duty metal feeding bowls to replace the plastic ones that repeatedly need to be replaced because the dogs chew them.  In addition, we purchased six crates that were badly needed in their quarantine room.  These were small things, but hopefully just the beginning of what we hope to be able to do for AWARE and other deserving organizations that are on the front lines everyday saving animals.

Donate to SPCA International's Shelter and Emergency Response program today.