Help street dogs near Antigua, Guatemala

Details

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  Description

  We need help with walking dogs, loving on dogs, cleaning up after dogs and supervising dogs when we go out or need to travel.
  
  We are a small street dog rescue located right in the centre of Parramos, half an hour from Antigua, Guatemala.
  
  For 7 years we had our own project in Xela. In August we are moving to Parramos where we will be supporting the efforts of local spay / neuter campaigns and doing very small scale spay and release.
  
  Over the years we have accumulated 12 personal dogs - 10 of whom are calm and very easy to work with, and 2 of whom are a little more energetic. We usually have 2 new dogs at a time coming in for spay and release. The volunteer position is to help with their care and supervision.
  
  PLEASE NOTE:
  *The volunteer room only has one single bed, 100cm wide*
  *You need to be able to communicate in intermediate Spanish*
  *We have a 10.30pm curfew so as not to cause chaos with the dogs at night*
  
  BACKGROUND
  Over the last 7 years we have saved over 500 dogs. 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 looked after them in the street.
  
  However, now with increased prices on everything from dog food to spay surgeries, barely anyone adopting due to the same cost pressures, and downsizing to a smaller premises, we are changing the way we operate and will not be bringing in as many dogs as in the past.
  
  The project is run completely voluntarily by Alyce (Australian, 51, has lived here for 9 years, Spanish & English) and Mario (Guatemalan, 44, Spanish only).

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Animal Care

  Help around the house
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  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.
  
  Parramos is a very "local" town. I doubt you'll see any other foreigners out and about. 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.
  
  Beautiful, colonial Antigua is only half an hour away by public transport (and we drive in once a week) and is full of touristic things to do - from chocolate workshops to climbing the highest volcano in Central America.

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  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). The dogs are well behaved and usually it's possible to take 3-4 dogs per person. Often one of us can come with you.
  2) Clean up pee and poop - this is ongoing, if you see some poop (or sometimes pee in the house), clean it up.
  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 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 twice a week.
  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.
  6) Help with adoption fairs and castration clinics if / when we go to them.
  7) Bathe a couple of dogs a week, or if they happen to roll in poop.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Fluent

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  Accommodation

  We have room for 1 volunteer in a smallish room with a single bed, wardrobe and desk. The room is connected to its own private 1/2 bathroom, with a toilet and sink. There are two other bathrooms with showers - shared with either Alyce or Mario. The bedroom opens out directly onto a large shared balcony.
  
  We can provide you with a Q200 allowance for food each week and you'll have access to a well equipped kitchen with filtered water, appliances, and oil / sugar / spices.
  
  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.

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  What else ...

  We are located 2 short blocks from the very center of town, right by Parramos Park.
  
  Within 1-2 small blocks of the house there is a small but well stocked supermarket (La Despensa Familiar), a Cruz Verde pharmacy, and many small stores of all types.
  
  There are street food stands and cheap restaurants (nothing fancy) all within a few blocks.
  
  Parramos is NOT a tourist town, but you can catch the bus into Antigua (half an hour, Q10) every 15 minutes or so. An Uber is about Q70-100, and usually easier to catch from Antigua TO Parramos.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  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.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  If you have a well socialized, non aggressive, spayed or neutered dog who is up to date on their vaccines, flea and worming, we can see how it goes. Our dogs are very used to accepting new additions, but yours might not be so happy. Cats and other animals, for obvious reasons, cannot be accepted.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  One

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  Hours expected

  3 hours a day, 6 days a week (flexible with hours)

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