How remote workers are helping with Mexico’s street dog problem

With an open border and a six-month visa on arrival, the Mexican coastal resort of Tulum is home to thousands of remote workers.

And as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, there has been an increase in the number of abandoned dogs, but animal groups have also reported a surge of interest in adopting canine companions.

“Dogs provide a source of unconditional love and can help ease loneliness,” says Carmen Torres, the co-founder of Alma Animal Tulum, a non-profit animal rescue organisation.

“Due to the pandemic, we are seeing more visitors wanting to adopt our street dogs and take them back to their home countries. At the moment I have around 63 stray dogs living in the front yard of my home. It’s chaotic but I feel compelled to do something.

“It’s so heartbreaking seeing malnourished street dogs with skin diseases and other horrible conditions. We do our best to rehabilitate them so that they are fed properly, vaccinated and neutered, and ready for adoption.”

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The homeless dog problem is a complicated one.

Besides heartless owners who abandon their dogs, one of the biggest issues is people not getting their pets spayed or neutered.

“There’s a lot of ignorance about dog care – many people don’t bother to neuter or spay their puppies,” explains Carmen. “Occasionally this is because they can’t afford it – although we do have free programmes here – but it’s also because some owners are irresponsible and don’t think it’s a priority.”

Mexico already has the largest number of street dogs in Latin America.

The National Institute of Statistics and Geography estimates that about 70 per cent of the 18 million dogs in Mexico live on the street. They are either born as strays or abandoned by their owners.

An estimated 6,000 stray dogs are roaming around the streets of Tulum, dodging traffic and rummaging around for scraps of food.

Tulum, on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, is lauded as an eco-paradise resort, attracting affluent hipsters seeking to party all year round on the Goa-Bali-Ibiza circuit – at least, it was before the pandemic.

Nisreen Grodd, a 42-year-old eco-entrepreneur from the Hamptons, recently adopted two puppies that she found flea-ridden on the streets of Tulum.

“They were shaking and looked so vulnerable,” says Nisreen. “They were four-week-old sisters and I didn’t want to separate them so I decided to adopt them both. We already have a rescue dog called Leo and so I’m aware that they’ll need extra care and training due to their neglected upbringing.”

Nisreen is now busy doing potty and crate training with her new pups, Clementine and Jasmine, but will be travelling back to New York soon so they can meet her other dog, Leo, and enjoy running around on several acres of farmland.

“Conrad and I don’t have children of our own,” says Nisreen. “My dogs are my fur babies and I take my responsibilities as a dog mother seriously.”

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Others fall in love with Tulum’s street dogs over Instagram.  Jairo Zenteno, a 31-year-old Mexican engineer, set up Patashoot (a digital shelter) during the pandemic.

“Covid killed off my work projects so I got a camera and decided to volunteer my time taking photos of street dogs instead,” explains Jairo.

“It’s a team effort, as another volunteer in Guadalajara edits the photos and then someone posts the new image. Since pretty photos on Instagram generate lots of likes, the idea is to capture these dogs in their best light so we can help them find permanent, loving homes.”

One rescue puppy photographed by Jairo was spotted by Christiana Orlove, a 29-year-old mindset coach from New York, while she was scrolling through Instagram.

“I’ve always wanted a dog, but office life meant I didn’t have enough time,” says Christiana.

“Now that I work from home, I can take my pup on long walks and give him lots of love and attention.  I do spoil Bendito (which means ‘blessed’ in Spanish) and sprinkle his food with pieces of organic chicken, but he has brought so much joy into my life.

“I believe in second chances and can’t wait to take him back to New York to give him a better life.”

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Meanwhile Ynez Tulsen, a 45-year-old singer from Burton upon Trent, spotted a neglected dog begging for food outside an ice-cream shop in Playa del Carmen.

Not only did she end up adopting Milo; she rescued four more street dogs and flew them all back home to the UK.

“It was tricky transporting dogs back to England, especially during Covid,” admits Ynez. “Several flights were cancelled and I’d almost given up hope. Eventually I flew via Mexico City to Paris – the entire journey took 36 hours but it was worth it. My dogs are everything to me.

“They’ve taught me so much, especially how to be more patient and open-hearted.”