We have a new addition to our entourage. We have taken a rescue dog, named Lily. A little over a month ago, a woman (from Montreal, named Cher) found her very sick in the Plaza. She took her to a vet. Lily was in really bad shape and close to dying. She needed IVs for 2 or 3 days because she was so dehydrated. Cher paid to have her treated with shots etc. Then, she took her to her place to get her back to health. However, as she couldn’t keep Lily, she put a notice up at LCS looking for a home. Barb was looking at the notices and planing to contact a couple. By chance, as she and Bijou were leaving LCS, they met Lily and her rescuer. With Cher’s agreement, Barb brought Lily home for a small test to see how she and Bijou would interact. It went well enough that we called and said that we would like to keep her. The woman gave us all the toys and things she had bought for Lily. The vet estamated that Lily is about 8 - 9 months old. She is a bit taller than Bijou, but may not grow too much taller. She is very sweet tempered, affectionate and I think very trainable. Unlike the 2 dogs over the back wall, she does not seem very barky. Bijou keeps reminding Lily who is boss, but Bijou has adjusted quite well. Lily and she play and we think it will be good for Bijou to get more exercise. Our first night passed entirely without incident; fortunately we have a king-size bed so that there is lots of room.
The other matter of interest to describe is Centro Amor in Acción (Love in Action Center). This is an orphanage in Chapala that I mentioned briefly before when we donated our old washing machine. They are in the midst of a big move and transformation. We visited their current establishment up the mountain in Chapala. It is very cramped with little grounds around; it provided a shelter and care for about 50 children ranging in age from infants to about 15, but conditions are spartan to say the least. However, they have acquired another, much more spacious propeerty. It has 5 or 6 buildings with fairly extensive grounds for play areas, about 3 acres in all. They are creating 4 dormitories for about 60 children in all. Each dormitory will have 15 -17 children with a small apartment for house parents. One area will be a nursery for infants and in some cases mothers. In addition, there will be a library and study area and some computers. They have quite a few expat volunteers, as well as paid Mexican workers doing the renovations in hopes of being able to move by the end of this month. When we dropped in, we got a tour plus lots of details about their plans. It was very impressive. The property had at one time been the estate of a very wealthy family in Guadalajara. However, a few years ago a couple acquired it and set up a shelter for women and children. However, they have gotten older and have health problems. Apparently, they had about $800,000 invested and the property was appraised at $1.2 million. However, they have sold it to Love in Action for $300,000 and we were told that even that money is going to another charity. This is not the entire story of this impressive operation, but I think that I’ll leave more details until my next post in a day or two.
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