This Season on Chuffed
This past season aboard Chuffed has been our most productive yet. After returning to the water in November 2023, we've provided free treatment to more than 450 animals across various communities. From spaying and neutering to flea and tick medicine to life-saving treatment, we couldn't have achieved this without your support!
Mulege
During our time in the Mulege region we provided veterinary treatment to over 40 animals . The work started as the volunteer vet at the PAW Mulege clinic. This clinic provides free veterinary care to the animals in and around the town of Mulege. They normally do not have a veterinarian on staff and depend on volunteer vets to come and run surgical clinics. It was a busy time at the clinic where we provided an array of different veterinary services including spay/neuter surgeries, lump removals, and treated other common illness such as gastrointestinal issues and providing vaccinations.
We also embarked on a reconnaissance sail from Chuffed to the surrounding communities to assess the health of the animals. On this trip we provided free vaccinations and parasite prevention medication to the local animals. We’d like to say a special thank you to the SV Delos crew who supported this project.
Agua Verde
The Agua Verde project was Vet Tails largest project we have run from Chuffed, treating over 120 animals. This was a three phase plan, requiring three trips to Agua Verde over the course of the sailing season, all building towards a large scale spay and neuter clinic, the first ever in Agua Verde.
During our first visit, we treated 60 animals for various conditions and provided free flea and tick medication. This initial visit was extremely important as we were able to obtain an accurate number of the animals in the town and asses the general health of the animal population, as well as make valuable connections with the people that live there.
A couple of weeks later, we returned with over 100 vaccines, protecting pets against rabies, parvovirus, and more. With the help of a local restaurateur, Joel, we made sure every animal received care. We also had two fellow cruisers and patrons, assist us with giving the vaccines and record keeping which made the day run extra smoothly. The community's gratitude was palpable as families and their pets lined up for their vaccinations and check-ups.
Knowing we couldn't tackle a large scale spay and neuter campaign alone, we organized a date with team of local veterinarians from Loreto to meet us in Agua Verde and spay and neuter as many animals as we could. With the support of a local family who offered their porch as a makeshift clinic, and help from a group of cruisers who were in the area, we were able to spay and neuter around 40 animals—nearly half of the community's pets! This effort will have a lasting impact on the animal population. We plan to return to Agua Verde in 2025 to repeat these campaigns.
San Jose Channel Fishing Communities
Vet Tails also provided vaccinations, flea and tick control, and free clinic days to the communities of the San Jose Channel. Over two years, we've treated over 70 animals in the region, effectively eradicating contagious diseases in this area by building ‘herd immunity’.
These small fishing communities are either boat access only, or extremely difficult to reach by land, therefore having no access to veterinary care. We began this project in 2023 and it was great to see it grow and expand in 2024. Revisiting the communities of San Evaristo, Isla Cayote, Las Cuevas, Punta Colorada, Nopolo and Los Burros each year builds trust with the community and allows for a greater standard of care to be delivered to the animals of these towns.
We are looking forward to visiting these communities again in 2025. These campaigns have been so successful other towns in the area have reached out to us and so we will be expanding our reach further in 2025.
Soft Paw Cat Sanctuary
Vet Tails provided veterinary care to the Soft Paws Cat Sanctuary in Loreto, vaccinating their 45 rescue cats, many of whom are looking for fur ever homes, and providing check ups and medical advice.
San Cosme and Juncalito
This past season also saw Vet Tails with its first veterinary student, Jeremiah, on board. We sailed with Jeremiah to Juncalito, where we treated 40 animals, spayed two dogs, and provided life-saving treatment to puppies with a tick-borne disease. We then sailed south, teaching Jeremiah about the boat and how we approach veterinary outreach. Our final stop with Jeremiah was the small fishing community of San Cosme, where we vaccinated all four dogs that call this community home.
It was then time to say goodbye to Jeremiah, who was heading off to Africa to help save rhinos! This trip with Jeremiah expanded our network in the region and we plan to revisit these communities in 2025 to provide ongoing support and veterinary care.
Puerto Madero
Puerto Madero is the small town in southern Chiapas where we spent 3 years refitting Chuffed to prepare her for the work we do now. During our time there we started the towns first spay and neuter clinics, started a number of outreach projects in surrounding neighborhoods, free clinic days, vaccination campaigns, and flea and tick medicine. During this time we had Dr. Jenni, a young veterinary student from Puerto Madero accompany us for these projects. Since leaving Puerto Madero, Dr. Jenni graduated from vet school and Vet Tails funds her to provide these same free and low cost services to the community that desperately needs it. This has not only helped Dr. Jenni build trust and connections within her community but also helps keep the veterinary clinic operating in a small under-resourced town.
It is extremely important to us that the work we do continues after we sail on, so being able to provide Dr. Jenni with funding and veterinary expertise to continue this important outreach is something that we are extremely proud of. This year Dr. Jenni and her team have spayed and neutered more than 50 animals and ran multiple vaccination campaigns in the community. She has also been treating stray dogs and cats, and even rescued multiple puppies this year. We’d like to say a special thank you to the TravelSketch crew who’s donation supported our projects in Puerto Madero for 2023/2024.
The 2023/2024 season has been a testament to the power of community, resilience, and the love people have for their animals. We look forward to continuing this journey with your support and couldn’t do it without you all, so thank you! I hope you all feel very proud knowing the difference you have made throughout these communities and how much gratitude has been sent your way! Our patrons and other supporters make these projects possible and keep our sailing veterinary clinic afloat.
We cannot say thank you enough, none of this would be possible without your support.