The Santuario may come to an end
By Sharon St. Joan, Best Friends NetworkIn May of 2007 Gwen Bouschor was doing her regular rounds of the feeding stations she has set up for feral cats. In one of the empty lots where she feeds the cats faithfully, out of a pile of brush, emerged a little kitten. Gwen remembers, "The little guy came out and was crying, and that's when I thought to myself, 'There's never just one.' "
Putting her hand into a hole in the ground under the brush, she found five more hungry kittens in need of help.
One of the kittens, Wildfire, is now a beautiful white cat, still less than a year old. Wildfire and her five siblings enjoy life in the beautiful tropical garden that is the Santuario, the no-kill sanctuary in San Carlos, Mexico, founded by Gwen Bouschor.
A little calico cat, Colores, was tossed unceremoniously out of a car, along with her two kittens. All three landed in the carport right next to the Santuario. Colores and her kittens, Matilda and Michael, now live a very happy life there.
The two lots of land, which are the tropical paradise that is home to rescued and abandoned cats and kittens, lie on the slope of a hill, stretching for about ninety-five feet by about sixty-five feet. A high wall surrounds the garden, twenty-five feet tall at its highest point, electrified along the top, so that the cats are safe and protected.
In the warmth of Mexico, they play along a waterfall where a creek drops into a pond. The garden is filled with tropical plants and flowers. There are banana, guava, and orange trees, and nestled among them a thatched roof shelter.
Gwen has created all this for the sanctuary cats, and she's just finished constructing a special sleeping room, with shelving all around, and the floor all tiled. For cool or windy days, there are movable beds and wind shelters. Some of the cats prefer a little house on stilts.
Every cat is spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and receives excellent medical care and good food. As many as possible of the Santuario cats are adopted out, though adoptions can be slow in this small Mexican town, four hours south of Nogales, Arizona. San Carlos is part of the town of Guaymas (pronounced 'Wymus').
An idyllic life threatenedVery sadly, the idyllic life of these cats may soon come to an abrupt end. Gwen explains that a neighbor, the recent purchaser of a house at the bottom of the hill, is not happy about the presence of the cats above him, and he has lodged a complaint with Department of Ecology.
A law was passed not long ago limiting the number of pets to two dogs and two cats. There are far more than two rescued cats living at the Santuario, but then they are not pets, but sanctuary cats.
This week it is expected that the Santuario will be given what is called "Notice". Following the Notice, there will be fifteen days in which to reply. If there is no reply, all the cats will be killed.
Gwen, of course, will reply, with the assistance of a lawyer, and hopefully there will be an extension--maybe of several months.
But even with legal help, at the moment it seems likely that the cats' days in this lovely garden are numbered.
This event has come as a great shock.
Years of helping animals In about '91 Gwen moved to Mexico with her husband. Immediately sensitive to the plight of the animals on the street, Gwen began by rescuing dogs and puppies. As they were building what is now their home in San Carlos, on the coast of the Sea of Cortez, Gwen says, "There were cats everywhere." There was nothing else to do, she felt, except take care of them.
The organization Santuario came first, starting officially in '95. It was soon followed by the SBPA de San Carlos, A.C., a Mexican civil association. SBPA stands for the Society for the Protection and Benefit of Animals; it was founded by the Santuario, brought into being by Gwen and the friends she had gathered together who loved animals. Today the two groups work hand in hand.
The SBPA runs a free animal clinic for the poor. No-cost spay/neuter is provided. Any abandoned, stray, or feral animals, as well as the pets of those who cannot afford veterinary care, are given free treatment by the clinic.
The SBPA picks up and cares for animals injured on the roads. Gwen herself still covers six feeding stations for feral cats, and spends eighteen hours a day caring for and rescuing animals. The community of San Carlos has been consistently grateful and appreciative over the years for all that the help that the Santuario and the SBPA have provided to homeless animals and to residents who cannot afford veterinary care for their animals.
The garden of the Santuario where the cats live is known to be immaculately clean.
Now the cats need loving homesAt the Santuario, there are around forty or fifty very adoptable cats and older kittens, in excellent health--spayed, neutered, vaccinated, and adorable.
Gwen feels that the most urgent need these cats have now is to find a loving home. If need be, she would be able to arrange for cats to be taken to the Arizona border, or even to Tuscon, to be adopted.
Photos: courtesy of SBPA / Top photo: Gwen with some of the rescued cats / Second photo: Wildfire / Third photo: ColoresHow you can helpIf you would be able to adopt any of these cats, please contact Gwen
Bouschor at santuariosancarlos@yahoo.com
The website of SBPA and Sanctuario, with many more photos of the cats, is
http://www.sbpa-inc.org