The Yvonneka Foundation’s Puppy Paradise shelter in Puerto Vallarta welcomes tourists to socialize and walk rescue dogs
Puerto Vallarta’s Yvonneka Foundation recognizes visitors who often hope to return home with both tequila and a tan after vacationing in the coastal city. And the foundation also hopes they’ll consider heading back with a furry new friend as well after their vacation comes to an end.
The Yvonneka Foundation, founded in 2012 and named after its founder, serves as something of a Mother Theresa for area stray dogs, overseeing a dog shelter called Puppy Paradise.
And the foundation’s Jessica Montes says tourists who choose popular Puerto Vallarta for a holiday are welcome to lend the shelter a helping hand during part of their stay.
“We currently have about 100 dogs, including puppies, pregnant mothers, adults, and young dogs. They all arrived because they were rescued from the streets. Each one has a story. Most are dogs that wandered the streets looking for food in garbage or were abandoned puppies,” says Montes. “We are open to receiving visits from tourists and volunteers. We have a program where you can walk a dog for a day. This helps the dog socialize and increases its chances of being adopted. All the dogs are happy when they (tourists) visit us at Puppy Paradise and come to give them love and play with them.”
The foundation will also help those wanting to adopt one of the dogs with the adoption process, enabling them to bring one of the canines home.
The foundation recently promoted its work by having volunteers bring two dogs named Bombero and Rambo to the the opening of the annual Gala Puerto Vallarta Nayarit tourism show, where the friendly, tail-wagging canines — each sporting a distinctive yellow collar that read Adopt Me in English –were introduced to many of the foreign delegates on hand for the show.
Most shelter dogs are from Puerto Vallarta and nearby areas. Puerto Vallarta does have a free spaying neutering service for residents to bring their pets to, helping to control the stray dog population, reducing the number of dogs on the streets.
The Yvonneka Foundation has the blessing of Michelle Fridman, tourism secretary for the state of Jalisco, which Puerto Vallarta is located in.
“We’re very pro-animal,” says Fridman, who personally actually has taken in an impressive 15 dogs that were once strays.
Meanwhile, Montes suggests that her shelter enables those vacationing in the Puerto Vallarta area to take on the Good Samaritan role for at least part of their stay.
“Many tourists have visited Puppy Paradise shelter, spending time with the dogs, playing with them and walking them, and giving them lots of love. They all leave surprised by the number of dogs we have and how wonderful the shelter is—a safe place for all the stray dogs,” she says.
“There’s time to do everything (on a Puerto Vallarta vacation) and they (tourists) can take advantage of it to take a dog out of the shelter for a day and take it to the beach, a good deed while on vacation,” Montes states.
