Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
24 Jul 2025
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 28 days
Feedback
16
Email verified
Badges (3)
Details
Description
We are a small street dog rescue and dog boarding service located in San Lucas Sacatepéquez, half an hour from Antigua, Guatemala (between Antigua and the capital).
We need help keeping the house clean (vacuuming and mopping floors 3 times a week), walking dogs (daily), loving on dogs, and supervising dogs when we go out or need to travel. You have a private room where you can escape the dogs, but otherwise they have free roam of the house.
For 7 years we had a rescue project in Xela which spayed and recuperated over 500 street dogs during its time and housed 50 rescue dogs at our peak.
In August, I downsized and moved closer to Antigua.
Nowadays we are conducting low cost spay / neuter campaigns, taking on a few serious recuperation cases, and offering boarding and export services for rescue dogs to help pay the bills. This year we have spayed about 90 dogs, and we aim to spay 200 in total this year.
I have 4 personal dogs - 3 of whom are calm and very easy to work with, and 1 who's more "enthusiastic". I usually have 6 additional dogs in the house who are here for recuperation, awaiting adoption, or are boarding clients.
The project is run by Alyce (Australian, 52, has lived here for 10 years, Spanish & English) and Mario (Guatemalan, 45 Spanish only). Mario lives in Xela and can possibly receive volunteers there as well.
PLEASE NOTE:
*The volunteer room has 2 single beds which can be pushed together or used separately*
*We have a 10.30pm curfew so as not to cause chaos with the dogs at night*
*There is not a lot to do in the town of San Lucas, so this position is ideal for someone who also works online to fill the rest of their day, or for 2 people travelling together*
*If you wish to go into Antigua and stay for the night or a weekend, you're welcome to do that. You can also leave for a couple of days to hike the volcano or visit the lake - we are flexible*
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
Animal Care
Help around the house
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Here you will learn about the street dog problems in Guatemala, and learn about different treatments for common conditions (mange, skin infections, sexually transmitted tumors), as well as vaccination and worming schedules, export procedures to send dogs overseas etc. We are NOT veterinarians, but we see enough things that you're sure to learn plenty.
Help
We need help with the dogs for about 3 hours a day, 6 days a week.
1) MOST IMPORTANT: Walk dogs - about 2 hours per day. Some days might be a long 2 hour walk in the surrounding countryside, other days it might be a couple of half an hour, or hour long walks on leashes on the surrounding country roads (flat and shaded). Or in the condominium. The dogs are well behaved and usually it's possible to take 2-4 dogs per person.
2) Vacuum and mop the floors - 3 times a week, takes about an hour. Additionally, if you see some poop or pee in the house (occasionally) clean it up. I have limited arm strength and cannot manage the cleaning.
3) Stay home with the dogs and supervise if I need to go out. You can do other things during this time like study or cook or clean - you just need to be around at times agreed on to supervise the dogs. This won't be every day... some days it might be 1-2 hours, and other times it might be an entire day while we travel somewhere, or even a couple of days while we export dogs to Mexico.
4) Attend veterinary visits and assist with vaccinating, worming, wound care etc in the house - if you'd like to help with this we're more than happy to show you how it all works.
5) Help with adoption fairs and castration clinics if / when we go to them.
6) Bathe a couple of dogs a week, or if they happen to roll in poop.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
Accommodation
We have space for 2 volunteers in a comfortable room with 2 new single beds, a wardrobe and a desk. The room is connected to its own private bathroom, with a toilet and sink. The bedroom looks out directly onto the garden.
You'll have access to a well equipped kitchen with filtered water, appliances, and oil / sugar / spices.
What else ...
The house is in a very quiet, green, leafy private condominio. We are surrounded by farms, trees, and some small areas of forest.
Please bear in mind that we need to be very careful with our water use in the house, as water costs are high in this area. Ideally, 5 minute timed showers, and one load of washing a week per person/couple.
Modern San Lucas is about 10 minutes away by public transport (Q5). There you will find large supermarkets, Dollar City, San Martin Bakery, Cemaco, medical services and many tipical restaurants (mainly Asado - BBQ meat)
Beautiful, colonial Antigua is only half an hour away from the centre of San Lucas by public transport and is full of touristic things to do - from chocolate workshops to climbing the highest volcano in Central America.
It's best to visit us when you either arriving or leaving the country, as we are "on the way" from the capital as you travel to/from Antigua, the Lake, or Xela.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have a 50MB internet connection. As with all internet connections in Guatemala, the speed varies from great, to slow, to the power is totally out today.
Can possibly accept pets
This host has said they are willing to accept those travelling with a pet.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
My animals / pets
Feedback (7)
Communication was a little difficult because French is their primary language and Marie doesn't… read more
We started our trip to Guatemala with 2 weeks at their place which was an excellent first experience in the country to better understand how it works by going through security, transportation, places to visit
Alyce is very flexible for days off as long as we let her know in advance, a mutual trust was… read more
She attended a low cost castration clinic and learned a lot about high volume spay surgery techniques, which was a… read more
She adored the dogs and treated them all very well. Because Marie is quite petite we usually walked the dogs together so that… read more
They are great people who have a lot of love to give to animals!
During the stay I learned a lot about dogs, and I realized the reality of the country regarding dogs and it was very interesting and touching.
I had my own room and toilet, so a quiet place if you don't want to be… read more
Photos
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(4.4)
Communication:
(5.0)
Communication was a little difficult because French is their primary language and Marie doesn't… read more
We started our trip to Guatemala with 2 weeks at their place which was an excellent first experience in the country to better understand how it works by going through security, transportation, places to visit
Alyce is very flexible for days off as long as we let her know in advance, a mutual trust was… read more
She attended a low cost castration clinic and learned a lot about high volume spay surgery techniques, which was a… read more
She adored the dogs and treated them all very well. Because Marie is quite petite we usually walked the dogs together so that… read more
They are great people who have a lot of love to give to animals!
During the stay I learned a lot about dogs, and I realized the reality of the country regarding dogs and it was very interesting and touching.
I had my own room and toilet, so a quiet place if you don't want to be… read more
They also had the highest attention to detail cleaning the patio of poop and pee that we've seen… read more
She was fantastic with the dogs, very patient and gentle, using positive methods of training with them.
After her initial stay, she travelled for a month and then came back to us for a second… read more
She can easily look around and see what needs doing without needing to be told.
She was very good with the dogs and helped out with all aspects of their care including walking, bathing, supervising and… read more
They are young and energetic and very committed to walking the dogs. Brenda keeps a schedule of which dogs get walked when, to make sure that all dogs get out for their walks.
They both have responsibilities… read more
He would always notice that poop needed to be picked up or something needed to be swept or put away etc.
Mark is a great cook and was very happy to share meals and… read more
