No Guitar Lessons For Me!

I have decided to spend some of my"free time" helping out at the local animal shelter.  I had heard about Anita's place while researching the Lake Chapala area.  While Greg & I were down last June shopping for and purchasing our home, we took a cab and vertured out to see what Anita's was all about.  This lady is truly amazing.  I thought you may like to read a little about this wonderful lady and all the great work she does to help the many animals in need Lakeside.  I think Caesar Millan would be proud!...................

Anita's Animals.......San Juan Cosala, Jalisco, MX

Anita's Animals is a small cat and dog sanctuary located on a hill above the town of San Juan Cosala, in the state of Jalisco, Mexico by Lake Chapala.

Her animal sanctuary is not a fancy place, but it is a safe haven full of love and caring for those cats and dogs that are brought to Anita.

On any given day, there are 45-55 kittens and cats and 50-60 puppies and dogs in residence.

The cats and dogs live in a communal family type of housing arrangement, and not in individual cages or runs.

Anita came to Mexico in the late 60's, and for the last 20 years, she has been involved in cat and dog rescue. Even as a child growing up in Germany, she had a deep love and respect for animals, although she was not able to have a family pet of her own due to economic reasons. Her then unspoken mission in life, although it may not have started out that way, was to provide shelter, food and loving care for those unfortunate cats and dogs that were abandoned by human society. It started out as a small venture, taking in a few cats or dogs at a time and providing them with needed care, and finding them a loving home.

Over the last 12 years, this small venture, Anita's Animals, became a full time commitment and continued to expand and grow at the Lake Chapala area. Anita is not a person who has a animal sanctuary and spends only several hours a day there, she lives there. The cats and dogs she cares for live at her house in their own accommodations, right next to her unpretentious living quarters.

Anita has a few modestly paid helpers working six days a week, 4 to 6 hours a day, and they assist her with the general cat and dog care. That includes twice a day feeding, kennel cleaning , transporting to Veterinarian appointments, picking up donations when requested, responding to a phone call for help in rescuing a cat or dog, etc.. There are times when someone arrives at Anita’s house late at night asking for help with an animal that has been found along the road or in some other harmful situation. There have been other times, in the morning, she finds that someone has 'deposited' unwanted cats or dogs at her house. All of these scared and needy creatures are taken in – Anita has an open and generous heart and does whatever it takes to help the unwanted animals of Lakeside!