Article From The Guadalajara Reporter

Maybe it started when Anita Strehlow was a child living with her grandparents in the Black Forest after her family home in the German capital of Berlin had been bombed out during World War II. "My grandmother was very strict," Strehlow says. "She wouldn’t allow us to have pets — not even the tiny kitten I managed to find and sneak into the house rolled up in my apron." Strehlow told her grandmother she’d never forget. She never has. From an early age she knew she was destined to take care of animals.

"In a very real sense, this is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream," she says, surveying the pens, cages and lawns in her partially finished San Juan Cosala home that she has filled with 40 dogs and more than 100 cats, all strays and castoffs given to her by friends or brought by people who can no longer care for them.

The care and feeding of so many animals would be daunting for most of us, both physically and financially. Strehlow rises each day at 5 a.m. to walk the dogs. "It’s best then, because there are no people around for them to bother," she says. "I can actually let them run."

She then goes on to prepare the food, cooking up huge vats of scraps, vegetables and rice for the dogs. "The cats are more expensive to feed because they need a diet extremely high in protein," she notes. Every three days Strehlow uses 20 cans of commercial cat food which has been stretched with rice, egg yolk and liver. Adult cats must fed twice a day and the kittens at least three times.

An then there is the cleaning which Strehlow manages to do three times a day, aided by her teenage daughter Eidelweiss. Her San Juan property is astonishingly clean and orderly considering the wear and tear put on it by its 140 residents.

Keeping the cats’ and dogs’ stomachs filled and their living quarters sanitary is not a cheap task, and more expenses come with caring for the animal’s health."We never turn an animal away," Anita says. "A lot of them are sick or injured when they get here."

Local veterinarians Hector and Antonio Ladron de Guevarra examine the menagerie for free, and help with the spaying and neutering, but Strehlow has to pay for medicines and most of the vaccinations. Many times a day, she get to administer medication or treatment to handfuls of lively and not altogether cooperative animals.

When the cats and dogs are healthy, Strehlow searches for appropriate adoptive homes for them. She has even secured a spot in Ajijic’s Wednesday tianguis (outdoor market), where she offers them for adoption for free. Strehlow says she does not have many problems finding homes but is careful to follow up, offering assistance and assessing the new relationship between pet and owner.

"I am the one ultimately responsible for them. I have to make sure that the animal and the new owner are happy with each other," she says.

Sometimes Strehlow’s Wednesday market days end up with more animals coming home with her. She is well known in the community as "a softy" and many people bring her pets they no longer want.

Although this gentle, soft-spoken woman has used up all of her savings, lives in a half finished house and spends her days in constant motion with no vacations in sight, she is happy with her mission. She is infinitely grateful for the help she gets from certain restaurants and market vendors who save her scraps, as well as some local groups who regularly give her cash.

But the truth is, Anita needs more help. The money she earns doing translations, doesn’t go far enough to support their huge extended furry family.

"Sometimes I’m not sure how I’m going to feed all of them the next day," Strehlow says with a smile. "I just say a little prayer and the way presents itself."

Prayer alone, however, cannot help the hundreds of strays and abused animals in the Lakeside area. You can be sure that anything you donate to Strehlow’s Mission will be used to its maximum potential to care for these least of God’s creatures.

Article Fom Ojo Del Lago

"Anita Strehlow moved to San Juan Cosala just two years ago but has spent 33 years in other areas of Mexico. On her trips into Ajijic and Chapala, Strehlow took notice of the large numbers of stray dogs and cats running the streets. Being an animal lover and wanting to help, she became a Lake Chapala Humane Society volunteer. Some time later, deciding the society was too restricted in what they could do, she struck out on her own.

With the help and support of her husband Jesus and daughter, Edelweiss, 16, they pick stray animals off the streets of Ajijic and Chapala and take them to their home. They are not only fed and cared for; the ones considered unacceptable for adoption become permanent boarders. No animals is put down unless the vet who donates his services insists on it.

Today Anita’s Animals total 140 dogs and cats. She reckons the cost of cat litter, medicine and feed comes to more than $4,000 pesos per month. (Approx. $400 US) The only help toward the caring and feeding of the animals comes from donations.

To see some of Anita’s Animals visit the Wednesday market in Ajijic. You can’t miss her. Each week she transports big and little cages containing well cats and dogs, hangs a huge sign on the brick wall at the beginning of the market place, and waits for people looking to adopt.

Anyone wishing to help, either by donation or adoption can drop by the market on Wednesday or call Anita in San Juan Cosala, at 011-52-387-761-0500."