Overpopulation of cats and dogs is a serious problem in Guatemala. Unidos para los Animales aims to improve the situation by bringing sterilization clinics to the people and animals who need them the most.
The Issue
Every year in Guatemala, thousands upon thousands of dogs are born to roaming family pets or in farms and fields or on the streets. There simply are not enough homes to absorb them all. Most people love their pets, but live in areas without veterinary care. For those few who do have access to competent vets, the prices charged for spays or neuters are far beyond the means of most families (typically one surgery runs more than 1/2 a month’s minimum wage!).
Who We Are
Unidos para los Animales is a small animal welfare organization based in Antigua, Guatemala.
The organization was founded in 2010 by Terry Kovick Biskovich and Linda Green, long term Antigua residents, in response to the never-ending problem of sick, injured, and abandoned dogs and cats left to fend for themselves in the street. They formed a legal non-profit association in Guatemala, a 501c3 in the US to accommodate their own rescued dogs and cats and to be able to support other individuals and groups struggling to address the animal overpopulation and animal abuse in Guatemala. Since incorporating in 2010, Unidos para los Animales has spayed and neutered more than thirteen thousand owned and free roaming animals in partnership with our volunteer veterinarian Dr. Jim Bader and our local Guatemalan veterinary team.
In July of 2022 we decided to focus all our efforts on sterilization programs and community education as we were forced to close our wonderful rehabilitation facility due to the ongoing CDC ban. This ban has prevented us from sending adoptable animals to the US since the spring of 2021. During the years we operated our rehabilitation facility, we rescued, rehabilitated, trained and placed over a thousand puppies and dogs in loving homes.
What We Do
We bring high quality sterilization and vaccination services to impoverished and underserved communities in Guatemala via mobile clinics. Our highly trained veterinary team travels with us to our target villages with multiple vets who are skilled in microsurgery and high-volume spays and neuters.
Our all-volunteer support team vaccinates, tattoos, and monitors animals in recovery, and provides educational support to guardians.
We also work alongside independent rescuers and communities to address the issue of free roaming and un-owned animals with an ongoing TNVR (Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate and Release) program.
We are 100% volunteer run. We do not have paid staff and do not receive government funding. We rely on private donations and grants to fund our programs.
Of course, truly lasting change comes through education. We promote humane treatment of animals through our educational activity book, distributed at clinics, to other animal welfare groups, and is available as a free .pdf file upon request to anyone.
$30 USD
Total cost of one sterilization/vaccination package
You work hard for your money, and so do we. Our priority is to ensure that your dollars are spent effectively and efficiently. Our funding goes to spay/neuter programs and projects that deliver high impact. These clinics are in urgent need of funding and have been extremely successful. We operate with a clear focus and over the past 14 years we have demonstrated commitment to making the best use of available resources and have a strong reputation for accomplishing our objectives.
Since our establishment in 2010, we have provided more than 13,000 sterilizations to our community, thus preventing hundreds of thousands of unwanted births and untold suffering.
So far, we’ve sterilized
772
animals this year.
Our goal is
2000
sterilizations in 2024.
Won’t you help us get there?