by Cindi Kirchhoff

As it appeared in August’s edition of the Baja News.

12 years ago, my neighbor and friend, David Larsen in La Mision asked me if I wanted to volunteer at a spay and neuter clinic in Guadalupe valley at an orphanage.  I was intrigued with the idea of a mobile spay and neuter clinic, and have always liked David, so I said yes.  It was my very first clinic and I am pretty sure it was also Robin Gunther’s first clinic.  I had no idea what to expect.  It was exhausting, and energizing at the same time.  Uncared for animal population was, at the time, and still is, the only thing I didn’t like about living in Mexico.  I had begun a lifelong habit of walking daily with my friend, Beverly Wilburn and we were always upset at the number of street animals in poor health that we passed on our walk.

Learning Is the Journey

The first clinic was a real lesson for me.  Because it was kind of a new thing, we didn’t actually have that many animal candidates that day; the orphanage didn’t want their cats neutered because they killed the mice!David had pledged money to pay for an entire clinic, so I asked him if he would like to spend the remainder on a clinic at my property in La Mision.  It worked out well for all of us, David, Robin, team Joaquin Villasenor.  The vets used ironing boards to perform their surgeries. It was great!  That clinic was the start of a 12-year roll.  Each surgery cost me $20 at that time.  We now pay $25 per surgery. Just at my property alone, we have neutered over2,000 animals over the years. 

The Math of Spay and Neuter

The math is astounding, yet simple.  One single female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 puppies in 7 years.  Dogs have 2 litters a year.  A single female cat and her offspring can produce 370,000 kittens in 7 years.  Cats have 3 litters a year.  You could actually see the difference! Consider a donation of $1,000 – and what it will accomplish over 7 years.  That donation will eliminate well over 5 million unwanted births.  Most unwanted cats die a hardship death, and don’t forget the hardship to poor local people who try to support them is not inconsequential.  The local folks now start lining up at least a couple of hours before the vets start.

El Rancho Exilio Animal Santuario

The number of street dogs and cats had greatly reduced.  At El Rancho Exilio, we have developed a competent and devoted volunteer team.  We began an animal education program in the schools, stressing the importance of spaying, neutering, vaccinations and care of animals.  We were able to conduct at least 4 clinics per year; sometimes more.

Covid Crisis

Then came Covid…Covid put us at an extreme disadvantage.  Veterinarians were unable to staff our clinics, so there were no clinics for 2 years.  Many veterinarian clinics were closed completely or severely restricted.   We are now seeing the explosion of unwanted animals on a daily basis.  All one has to do is look at the desperate pleas on Facebook.BUT, with the help of terrific donations, we have been able to ramp up our efforts and have done four clinics so far in 2022, and have another one scheduled for July 29.  And still, we have to turn folks away until the next clinic.  The poor veterinarian teams and our volunteers work until we drop.  We have been able to spay and neuter 180 cats and dogs in the first 6 months of 2022.We will have at least three more clinics this year.  With any luck, even more. 

Please feel free to contact me at krchhff@yahoo.com for more  information.  Opinions, advice and tips are always welcome!