​​Field, Abroad, Reaching-out Veterinarians

Coco’s Animal Welfare, led by Laura Raikes, welcomes FARVets annually to participate in their Playa del Carmen low cost spay and neuter clinic.  Coco's was the first location FARVets worked with abroad and it will remain on the FARVets destination roster every March.  Dr. Katie Emerson currently leads this annual clinic.  She and Coco's four veterinarians work one on one to assist student surgeons with the sterilization of street dogs and cats from surrounding villages and shelters. 

Coco’s is building a new facility from which they run a low cost spay and neuter clinic with special medical discounts for stray and recently rescued animals.  Although not operating as a shelter, Coco’s has a kitten rescue program and keeps up to 20 kittens on site for adoption at one time.

FARVets worked with Planned Pethood for the first time this past March to orchestrate a free spay and neuter clinic for dogs and cats.  Most of the animals were transported from a local squatter community by volunteers.  FARVets student surgeons performed surgeries under the supervision of Dr. Paul Maza. 

FARVets was proud to have been the first organization to run a surgery clinic in the beautiful new Planned Pethood headquarters.  The facility is under construction near Puerto Morelos.  The finished facility will include a full surgery suite and recovery room, examination rooms, a training facility and dorms for veterinary students.  FARVets is looking forward to working with Planned Pethood annually.

FARVets visits Chetumal every other year to run a free spay neuter clinic for animals belonging to local shelter organizations and low income residents of the city.  MAOW and other rescue organizations depend on international groups to provide spay and neuter surgeries for their animal residents.  Student surgeons are supervised by Dr. Paul Maza. 

SOS el Arca is a no kill shelter located on the outskirts of Playa del Carmen founded by Sylvie Goetz in 2011.  It is a group housing based shelter serving as the home to over 100 dogs.  The organization rescues adoptable dogs from local pounds where animals are euthanized after a three day holding period.  FARVets participants assess animals with medical issues and provide flea, tick and deworming treatments.

Tierra de Animales (Land of Animals) in the forests outside of Cancun is a sanctuary for neglected animals that has a dedicated indoor/outdoor facility for the housing of stray and abandoned cats. FARVets provides vaccines and medical care for cats in preparation and hope that they will be adopted into loving homes. Tierra de Animales offers shelter for over 200 dogs as well, and FARVets participants have helped with bathing and deworming the dogs in the sanctuary.