We learned today that we should expect to see shortages in the coming weeks of dog food supplies in our area due to the impact of Covid-19 and the closing of the U.S. - Mexican border.
Dog food is currently available in some locations, but because it is shipped from Mexicali, local sources may soon run out. Our main priority right now is to buy as much food as possible and stockpile it for our needs in the weeks ahead.
These are tough times for everyone, we know. But if you are able to help, our friends John and Michelle Freise and Jim and Mary Schwebel have pooled their resources. They are each offering to match your donations, up to $5,000.
Every dollar donated by Thursday, April 3 will be tripled, allowing us to buy three times as much food.
We were able to transfer 35 dogs across the border last week, but since then, our biggest rescue partner has temporarily closed its doors. This creates a significant problem for Barb's Dog Rescue, as the population here will continue to grow. We will need to continue taking as many dogs as we can from Animal Control - those we do not take will be euthanized.
We have closed our doors to all other dogs in need of shelter during this time. It is a very tough decision to make.
With our inability to transfer dogs to the United States, and the coming influx of dogs from animal control, we will see an increase in the population at the shelter - which will make the demand for food even greater.
Currently, no tourists are being allowed into Mexico. Many of the volunteers at Barb's are winter residents, and because of the virus, they have gone back to their homes in the U.S. or Canada, depleting some of our volunteer help.
On average, the shelter goes through 150 pounds of adult food, 80 pounds of puppy food, and 48 cans each day. A food purchase of $15,000 would allow us to weather the storm for some time to come.
If you can, please consider a donation to help us weather this storm. We're grateful for anything you can do to help.
