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Description
DATES REQUIRED - from 14th May onwards. Ideally 2 people. Spanish is required as I'll (the English speaker) be away in late May/early June for a week.
We are a small street dog rescue located right in the centre of Quetzaltenango (Xela), Guatemala. We need help with walking dogs, supervising dogs, and cleaning up after dogs.
PLEASE NOTE:
*You need to be able to communicate in intermediate Spanish*
*We have a 10.30pm curfew do as not to cause chaos with the dogs at night*
Following a funding crisis in 2022, we had to move from our large country property into the centre of town. This means we have less space, but we're more conveniently located for travelers to enjoy all that Xela has to offer.
Presently, we have 22 dogs. The smaller space is somewhat chaotic with this many dogs, which is why we always need help with walks and supervision.
Historically, we picked up mainly female dogs, spayed, vaccinated, flea treated and wormed them and provided whatever other treatments they needed. We returned about 25% of the dogs to the street, found homes for about 50% of them, and the remaining 25% went back to their low-income owners, or people who look after them in the street. However, now in the smaller premises we are simply unable to bring in dogs and are changing the way we operate.
We plan to close the project in July 2024, and right now we are focusing on finding homes for the dogs that we still have. This means part of your role is taking dogs out in the central park with "Adopt Me" bandanas and talking to people about adoption in your general walks (Spanish permitting).
The project is run completely voluntarily by Alyce (Australian, 51, has lived here for 9 years, Spanish & English) and Mario (Guatemalan, 44, Spanish only).
We have room for 2 volunteers / 2 sets of volunteers - one room with a double bed and one room with two single beds. These rooms share a bathroom.
Types of help and learning opportunities
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.
Many long-term travelers in Xela are here studying Spanish. This is a great opportunity to obtain free accommodation with a flexible schedule while you study or do other work online.
Our caretaker Mario speaks only Spanish, so you will definitely get to practice your Spanish. He understands a lot of English, but can`t really speak it.
Help
We need help with the dogs for about 3 hours a day, 6 days a week.
1) Clean pee and poop from the patio - this is ongoing, whenever you're around and you see an accident, clean it up.
2) MOST IMPORTANT: Walk dogs - about 2 hours per day. Some days might be a long 2 hour walk with other friends in the hills, other days might be 15 minutes per dog leash training dogs on the street outside, or a half an hour or an hours walk in the nearby cemetery. The aim is to get 10-12 dogs out a day. Usually it's possible to take 2-3 dogs per person. Often one of us can come with you.
3) Stay home with the dogs and supervise if we 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.
4) Wash dog blankets and towels and hang to dry - usually every second day.
5) 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. We usually go once a week to the vet.
7) Help with adoption fairs if / when we go to them (hang out with dogs for 3-4 hours on a Sunday in a nearby park or shopping centre and hope people are interested in adopting them).
8) Bathe dogs from time to time.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
Accommodation
You will stay in a private bedroom and share a bathroom with the other volunteer room (there are separate additional toilets).
We have 2 rooms - one with a double bed, and one with 2 single beds. Both have a bedside table, chest of drawers and a desk.
We can provide you with a Q200 allowance for food each week and you'll have access to a kitchen with all the equipment you need to cook with and a water filter.
Mario is an experienced chef and will probably cook for you once a week, something exotic like Thai or Indian food. Mario also makes tofu and tempeh, which you can use for free in your own cooking.
What else ...
We are located about 4 short blocks from the very center of town, right by the Las Flores market. You can walk within about 10 minutes to almost everything of interest.
Within 1 small block of the house there is a fresh food market (Las Flores), a small supermarket, a large liquor store and various small speciality stores (bakery, butcher, dairy). There are street food stands and other cheap takeaway food only 3 blocks from the house, in front of El Calvario Park.
The most common thing to do in Quetzaltenango is study Spanish, which you can certainly fit in around the dog chores. It's a medium sized town, so there are enough restaurants, cafes and bars, and yet it's small enough that you'll meet everyone in a couple of weeks. There are several hills around town for hiking, as well as volcano hikes which are done with guides in a one day or overnight trip. For yoga fans there is the very affordable and popular Yoga House. Basically, Xela is a town for living in, not for touristy activities, and that's why we like it!
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
If you have a very well socialized, spayed or neutered dog who is up to date on their shots, we can see how it goes. We have 22 free range dogs so there will be probably some scuffles initially. Our dogs are very used to accepting new additions. Cats and other animals, for obvious reasons, cannot be accepted.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
3 hours a day, 6 days a week (flexible with hours)
Feedback (4)
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
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(4.3)
Communication:
(5.0)
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
