Anita's Animals - there has been a change. Please help.

Perhaps if the names of the transition team were listed, it would be a bit easier to donate. I know it doesn't give me a warm fuzzy to hand money to an unknown group of people I know nothing about.

Exactly! Thank you, Flamingo.

I handed pesos over to the workers at the sanctuary yesterday and I'm not feeling so warm and fuzzy about it now.

I donated by buying a bag of food at the Animal Shelter. Got home and read in the June Ojo del Lago that Anita is visiting her family in Germany. So her leaving seems not to be a sudden thing, leaving me to wonder why no arrangements for food for the dogs and cats was made in advance of the trip. Or perhaps those arrangements fell thru?

Trailrunner, I just sent you a PM - my power was out all night and has just returned.
Flamingo - if you would like to speak with the woman heading the transition team, please PM your number or email and I will pass it on to her. Her name is Jan Raschko. I spoke to her a few minutes ago and she would like you all to know that she is working on a new web site for the shelter and a short bio of the team members.
JayBear -thank you for your food donation, it is greatly appreciated.


Please understand that this will take some time but it will all turn out better for the animals. Jan will also be posting a report of what they are in the process of doing on all the local web boards shortly. Please give them a chance, no one is doing anything wrong, all that they are concerned with is the well being of the animals. They are hoping that the lakeside community will work with them. Please be patient. Thank you for caring.

You can also check out the posting on Gringos Ajijic & Lakeside, on Face book.

So Anita has legally turned over the running of the shelter to Jan and group? Am happy to donate if the animals have no food - but color me confused on what is happening.

Mad_Max wrote:So Anita has legally turned over the running of the shelter to Jan and group?      Am happy to donate if the animals have no food - but color me confused on what is happening.

Please check out Gringos Ajijic & Lakeside on face book - anitas animals. Anita eventually had to retire, she is not getting any younger.
Thank you.

Would it be an insurmountable obstacle to post the facts on the 2 local webboards? This has all happened very suddenly, and I am sorry for Anita, and I have contributed, but more info would be desirable. Much more info! I respect Anita's privacy and wish her well, but but MORE INFO is needed on current needs. Are there dogs to adopt--names and photos? If the transition team needs help, there are a LOT of people who would assist IMO--including ME. I am sure you are all busy feeding the dogs and cats--please ask for more help if you need it! And give us more info!

I feel so sorry for the staff. The first thing I posted was which country and will she be coming back. Somehow we should all back off and let the hard working volunteers reorganize things and help them where we can, Me? No more questions and when I get back in a week or 2, I shall see you at Wednesday market and donate.

Again I am sorry we are all asking so much about Anita and her animals. She barely knows me yet I feel like she is one of my best friends because of the wonderful thing she does for the animals. I hope that we can all back off and give you all more time to complete this truly hard transition. May God bless you all and I thank you for the great job you are doing,

JayBear wrote:Would it be an insurmountable obstacle to post the facts on the 2 local webboards? This has all happened very suddenly, and I am sorry for Anita, and I have contributed, but more info would be desirable. Much more info! I respect Anita's privacy and wish her well, but but MORE INFO is needed on current needs. Are there dogs to adopt--names and photos? If the transition team needs help, there are a LOT of people who would assist IMO--including ME. I am sure you are all busy feeding the dogs and cats--please ask for more help if you need it! And give us more info!

Jay Bear - please give them some time, they are working as quickly as possible. The animals are being taken care of. If you want to volunteer then please send me your email or phone no. via pm and I will give it to Jan and she will contact you. Anita has retired to Germany, it was bound to happen sooner or later at her age. Current needs are donations for food, there is food now, but you know it does not last forever, so that need is always there. All the animals there will need to be examined by a vet so we are working to get as many vets to come up for a day of evaluation. As I have stated before a new web site and a bio on the transition team will be forthcoming. The animals are being cared for by the original staff so please do not think they have been abandoned. At this time I have no other information available, so please if you need to speak to Jan let me know. You can also check out the posting on Gringos Ajijic & lakeside on face book and see the anitas animals posting. Info was posted on chapala.com, what other site are you referring to. Please let me know and I will follow up on it. Thank you.

MexicoPete wrote:I feel so sorry for the staff. The first thing I posted was which country and will she be coming back. Somehow we should all back off and let the hard working volunteers reorganize things and help them where we can, Me? No more questions and when I get back in a week or 2, I shall see you at Wednesday market and donate.

Again I am sorry we are all asking so much about Anita and her animals. She barely knows me yet I feel like she is one of my best friends because of the wonderful thing she does for the animals. I hope that we can all back off and give you all more time to complete this truly hard transition. May God bless you all and I thank you for the great job you are doing,

Thank you Pete. From what I have been told she will stay in Germany, but who knows we all change our minds. At this time in her life and her age she felt it would be best to turn over the keys to a younger generation. The transition team has only the well being of the animals in mind and are working hard to get all organized. They want to work with the local community and do want volunteers, all they need is some patience from the community first. The shelter is open 9-1 2-4 for adoptions, adoptions are always needed. Anyone else wanting more info can either send me their contact info to send to Jan or go and meet her at the Wed. Ajijic tianguis. Thanks again for caring.

Actually it is some of the Facebook postings that have me concerned. I will wait for the public announcement. Thank you.

I spoke w/Jan today.

In my 13-years here, I have only run into one instance where someone almost conned me ut of US$500. It was an individual young man. Lucky I didn't just turn over cash to him as I found later, what would have been fed was not the several animals at this home.

With that singular exception, I have fount 100% of the volunteers locally to have a true love for the animals and the time they put in is a labor. I do not think anyone is trying to run a con or there is some conspiracy to make $$ for any purpose other than the animals. , I think it's is just a confusing situation where Anita left "quickly" and didn't have time to work with a transition team. As to Anita's physical/health situation and/or her reasons for leaving, IMO, those are irrelevant, what is relevant is taking care of the animals.

Honestly, there are many people Lakeside who will gladly give of their $$, one way or the other, but how many of them/us will give of our time?

If anyone is really worried about who is involved, I'm sure that will be posted. I feel any concerns may be tempered by donations of food rather than cash.

IMO, give these dedicated volunteers some breathing room for a bit to get things organized.


So unless someone

Mad_Max wrote:So Anita has legally turned over the running of the shelter to Jan and group?      Am happy to donate if the animals have no food - but color me confused on what is happening.

So today the answer is no - Anita did not legally turn over the running of the shelter to Jan and group. From the chapala webboard today: The people who have SOLE LEGAL RIGHT for all activities involving the shelter are: Edelweiss Padilla, daughter of Anita and Doris Bitterci , who has legal power of attorney given to her from Anita to act on her behalf.

and this is what the transition team transitioned to - They sent Ms. Bitterci , the legal representative of Anita, an e-mail dated June 25, 2017 from Janice Raschko that stated: [ “we” being the Transition Team ] : We will not however be purchasing the property, attending the Tianguis, cleaning up the property or raising funds for Anita's shelter. It will once again become your responsibility. Toni, Linda, Cindi and I want to thank you both for helping us during the transition time, but please do not involve us any further with the complicated administration of Anita’s. We wish you the best for a bright future of the shelter

for more details - see the thread labeled - Anita's Animals - as of today - on that webboard.

I am very sorry to see what happened. I volunteered at Anita's for a few years - the dogs and cats always appeared to receive good care. I hope the community will help out and find homes for the remaining dogs and cats. Perhaps some other shelters can take a few - but now it is time for the community to get together to help find homes for the remaining animals and lend Doris a hand.

When I originally posted what was happening up at Anita's I was very hopeful that this would work out for all concerned. I got in touch with the woman that posted on Gringos in Ajijic Lakeside and offered help if they needed it. I spoke to my veterinary Dr. Berenice and she offered two vets and med supplies at no cost to them to go up to the shelter but I never heard from her again. The next thing I was hearing was that all the books would be sold for scrape and they would be clearing out the shelter of all items that Anita had. I decided that I would not get involved with people that would not even put out a clear statement as to what their plans were for the shelter. I started hearing other things that did not sit well with me. It's a shame that it had to come to this ending. Our area needs more facilities working together not less.

What is the population of the shelter, now? Anybody know? How many dogs and cats. Have any sick animals been treated, put down?

Maybe the best thing is to go out there and see for oneself.

Sad, after all these years and sweat, blood and tears, that it ends this way. Perhaps something will change and something better will work out. I was never too keen on this transition team anyway.

Trailrunner wrote:What is the population of the shelter, now? Anybody know? How many dogs and cats. Have any sick animals been treated, put down?

Maybe the best thing is to go out there and see for oneself.

Sad, after all these years and sweat, blood and tears, that it ends this way. Perhaps something will change and something better will work out. I was never too keen on this transition team anyway.

last i heard - an estimate - 60 -65 dogs and 40 - 45 cats - don't know the answer to the rest -

From what I have heard, Edel is trying to sell the property as a shelter. The price IMHO is pretty high all things considered and someone would need some very deep pockets to spend that much money and then try to rehab it and then run a shelter.

The transition team is now trying to vet and place the existing dogs and cats. Edel is not interested in continuing the shelter. If you know anyone willing to foster or adopt a dog or cat, send them to Anitas.

There is a dog there that I am interested in seeing again, but there has been so much speculation and talk about rampant disease and dead animals that I am reluctant to go until the dust settles. I did see mange there a couple of weeks ago.

I went, a couple of weeks ago, with money for food and to pay the workers and took a good look around and to me the place looked clean, animals were well-fed, and I saw no obvious disease or sickness with the exception of the mange. I went up the stairs and looked down on several pens. Saw no dead dogs either.

Monday I was at Dr. Pepe's and asked him what he thought about the situation at Anitas and he knew nothing! He was stunned when I told him what has been going on. He was incredulous. He asked how much food they had and I told him I heard enough for 6 or 7 weeks. He just looked down and was profoundly sad. It was obvious he was not one of the vets that had been contacted by the 'transition team'.

I will go today and bring him up to speed. Maybe he will have an idea.

Mad_Max wrote:

Trailrunner wrote:What is the population of the shelter, now? Anybody know? How many dogs and cats. Have any sick animals been treated, put down?

Maybe the best thing is to go out there and see for oneself.

Sad, after all these years and sweat, blood and tears, that it ends this way. Perhaps something will change and something better will work out. I was never too keen on this transition team anyway.

last i heard - an estimate - 60 -65  dogs and 40 - 45 cats - don't know the answer to the rest -

correction - these figures are for when Anita left - not current numbers.

Posted TOB by Jackie - long time volunteer for Anita's;



Doris told me , as I remember [ with olde age adjustments ] there are about 50 cats, and 43 dogs present at the shelter site.

Various sizes, ages and "breeds" . A golden puppy was adopted yesterday.

Doris is working on an animal sheet for each animal , with the dog's pictures and essential data.

I believe she will do some posting on Facebook when she has completed the dogs. Then the cats will follow.

I look forward to seeing that, thanks. What is the FB page where the info will be?

Just talked to Pepe, he is really sad. Said he would try to get a hold of Edel as he knows or has met her. He did not know Doris. He has never been to the shelter, said they always brought the animals to the veterinary. I told him the current status.

Trailrunner wrote:I look forward to seeing that, thanks. What is the FB page where the info will be?

Just talked to Pepe, he is really sad. Said he would try to get a hold of Edel as he knows or has met her. He did not know Doris. He has never been to the shelter, said they always brought the animals to the veterinary. I told him the current status.

I'm sure Jackie will let us know the FB address when she gets it. Doris is a long time friend of Anita's and someone that goes to the shelter quite often. Ya know, what is troubling to me is people praising this team without even knowing who they were or what really happened up there. I always knew that Anita would have to give it up sooner or later but I can see that it was not planned out well at all, and not because of the original volunteers. I was hopeful that this team was the answer and offered any help I could but found out quickly that apparently they did not want my help. Running a shelter is very hard and time consuming and you need the right people, people that can deal with the general public and questions they may have, it's all part of the job. It was no surprise to me that people in the community wanted to know what was going on, its only natural, especially with how long Anita was here. No shelter is perfect either but what good does it do now to put it down and pass judgement on things from the past? I wish that people could just work together for the good of the animals and keep their personal opinions and feelings of Anita to themselves. What I feel very badly about is how this came about, the people loyal to Anita and others that helped her for many years should have been involved and yes the community as well. I can't imagine how and what Pepe must be thinking and feeling after so many years of helping Anita's Animals. All we can hope for is that many of these animals will be adopted or transferred to another shelter that could help them and that is what Doris is trying to do.

TrailRunner - right now the dogs are being "vetted". I don't know by whom and how competent they are. There are 2 kinds of mange - one only affects that dog and is a bear to treat but is treatable. The other is highly contagious (and NO! Dr Pepe cannot eyeball the mange and tell them apart - must have a skin scraping and a microscope) and that dog must be isolated and treated but treatment is relatively simple.

blabbyabby - thanks so much for trying to help. I think this was partly a case of people thinking they could easily do something they were ill equipped to deal with. Stepping in to run a well organized shelter with up-to-date features, such as everything on an online database and current financials, would still be a daunting task. Stepping into shoes of someone who operated pretty much by the seat of her pants was nearly impossible. Hubris is a dangerous thing.

I think once the dogs have been treated, it will be safe to adopt them. I suspect that some of the 'disease' - such as wide spread diarrhea - was as much due to stress over a new frightening situation with new people and an influx of different dog foods donated by well meaning folks as actual health issues. IMHO

Right now we at the Ranch are overcrowded and it seems like every time we adopt a dog, someone dumps one or two over our fence. BUT, we have agreed to take in Anita's dogs as we have room. I expect that Lucky Dog is doing the same thing. We are all in this together. So if you have decided to adopt a dog but don't find one at Anita's that you fancy, or are concerned about the condition of the dogs, please also look at the Ranch and Lucky Dog so we will be able to take in more of her dogs. If the community pulls together, we can make something good come from all of this.

Yes, I agree. And knowing this community, we will do it and we will do it well. 'Cause that's how we roll.

Flamingo, I didn't say Pepe saw mange, I did. Pepe has never been to Anita's.

Trailrunner wrote:
Flamingo, I didn't say Pepe saw mange, I did. Pepe has never been to Anita's.

I was just pointing out that Pepe thinks he can tell but unfortunately has been shown in the past to guess wrong. Just a warning.