"Vagabundo" Case Cannot Go Unpunished: Port Authorities
Roberto Lopez, Captain of the local Port Authorities, stated that the party or parties responsible for the fire that engulfed the «Vagabundo» last Sunday, July 13th, in front of the Malecon and hundreds of tourists, cannot and should not go unpunished.
The ruling to be rendered by the Merchant Marine within the next couple of weeks will most probably determine responsibility properly.
The Captain admitted that despite all the norms, inspections, courses and requirements, there are still irregularities committed by the owners of the vessels and a number of the crews that operate in and around the Bay.
For example, it is said that prior to the compulsory inspections, members of some crews lend their equipment and life jackets to those of other vessels so that they may pass the inspections.
The «Vagabundo», owned by the local Princesa cruise ships company, was inspected a few days prior to the summer holiday period.
Captain Lopez also mentioned that in February of this year, this same vessel organized a whale watching tour of the bay for a group of reporters.
Unfortunately, a serious mechanical failure caused the boat to remain adrift in the high seas for over 5 hours.
Lopez also stated that this time, it was a short circuit in the machinery room that caused the fire leading to the evacuation of its passengers. It also appeared that the captain of the vessel, Hector Arreola Gonzalez, was the first to try to flee the scene of the tragedy. And that the 4 crew members of the «Vagabundo» did not know how to handle contingencies for the dozens of passengers.
«The Merchant Marine must issue a report and penalize those responsible; their zero tolerance policy states this with regard to any vessel that operates in an irregular manner. You cannot play with people’s lives,» said the Captain of the Port Authorities.
The «Vagabundo» is worth $600,000. Pesos, with a capacity for 70 passengers and 4 crew.
By the time personnel from the Mexican Navy arrived on the scene, the passengers and crew had been rescued by a couple of large pangas, so the Navy personnel devoted itself to put out the fire.
(Mauricio Lara - noticiasPV.com)
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PV’s Competition Paying for Smear Campaign?
According to Rafael Yerena, General Secretary of the FTJ (Jalisco’s Workers’ Union), the smear campaign by the Greenpeace organization, whereby it alleges that the beaches of this State are polluted, such campaign is being paid for by this beach destination’s competitors.
“…they only undertake this type of actions for the interests of those they represent, or by virtue of what they receive for putting in question a place as important as Puerto Vallarta,” he added. (Daniel Mora - Meridiano)
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SPCA & PEACE Conduct Joint Free Sterilization Clinics
by Janice Gonzalez
What a day I had yesterday. It was very long and exhausting, but so rewarding.
As the Adoption Coordinator, I normally work each Saturday at the library. Instead of my usual Saturday activities, yesterday I left PV with two other volunteers around 8 am and went to Ixtapa. For four days, volunteers from the SPCA and her sister organization PEACE, sponsored a free sterilization clinic in this low income city.
When we arrived, people and their pets were already lined up outside the school and a few volunteers began immediately completing the questionnaire getting pertinent information about the pet(s) and the family.
Other volunteers started getting cages ready to house each animal. Still others began setting up to “prep” the cats/dogs for surgery.
I worked the recovery “room”, actually the sidewalk in front of the classroom where the surgeries were conducted. There were two veterinarians there all day, as well as “our” vet who worked for a few hours.
Then things got really busy! One by one the animals were brought out, eyes taped and still drugged, and placed on sheets covering rubber mats. Paperwork followed along with each animal. I learned to first ensure a clear passage way by pulling out the animal’s tongue. We would then take temperature, respiration and pulse and log the data on the sterilization form. For the dogs, we needed to remove the catheter with an alcohol-soaked towel. Using charts as a guide, we also administered a post-op med orally, as well as a flea/tick ointment.
Cats take the longest to recover from the anesthetic, so they were operated on first. A few feral cats were brought down from a neighboring town to be sterilized and then released again. While they were still drugged, a vet came out, clamped an ear, and then proceeded to remove the tip. He told me they do this in order to identify those feral cats that have been sterilized.
As the animals begin to awaken, they are put back in a cage to await their owners. We waited a bit too long for one feral cat, who took a few swipes at one of the volunteers.
One animal I worked on was a feral kitten that was so tiny and whose temperature was cause for alarm. Carried the sweet thing out into the sun, covered in a blanket, and kept monitoring her while I warmed her. She rallied quite nicely.
This continued until late afternoon when we were finally able to take a break. People began to arrive around 4:30 to gather their pets and thank us. Then came clean-up - cages, instruments, etc. had to be cleaned and packed up. This was the final day of the free clinic.
A total of 117 sterilizations were completed during the 4-day free clinic; 29 of them done on Saturday.
I learned a lot and was glad I had participated. By 7 pm, however, I was exhausted. Besides the great work being done, I was able to meet some new volunteers. Lots of great people in this town!
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Pets… Pets… Pets…
by Gretchen DeWitt
Adoptions at the Library: 3 dogs - female Beagle mix; female Pinto puppy; female Waimaraner - unadopted dogs back to F.M.’s clinic - including the other Pinto female pup and a gorgeous black female lab, 5 kittens. Donations: $900 pesos.
Other Adoptions: At the Acopio (local pound) during the week of July 30th - 6 dogs and 2 kittens - all sterilized.
Other Donations: Joyce Dann from Vermont - $150 to pay for the rescue of one puppy from the Acopio. We will find a good home for it. Joyce rescued a dog with the same kind of looks several months ago. Dooli is happily living in Vermont with her very loving owner.
Julie Bunker and Domingo Hernandez - 2,000 pesos for mama dog and 5 puppies at Dr. FM’s - or where most needed of their expenses are covered for future. Heidi Hubner - 4 cases of canned cat food; 4 large bags of dog food; 3 large bags of cat food, James Hunter - 600 pesos, Diane Dungey- $100 - for expenses incurred by SPCA de PV for rescue of Serena the beach dog, who made it safely to Chicago and hopefully will live there happily ever after.
Vicky Mason - $200 U.S. and Carol Toops - $1,000 pesos for rescue of mama dog and 5 puppies (towards medical expenses), Trish Mooney; Joyce Dann; Susan Singer, Pegeen White - dividing evenly for boarding of Mama dog and 5 babies for one month at 40 pesos a day at Dr. Francisco’s, Yvonne Kalman - $6,000 pesos (for rescue and removal of 4 dogs from the Acopio - to Dr. F.M.’s clinic)
Mama dog and 5 puppies - Couldn’t sleep, so sent out an SOS at 3:30 AM Thursday. Got immediate responses from about 10 people - all offering to help pay costs of boarding the mommy and five puppies. James Hunter and Patty Marchak both offered to take the entire dog family in to foster.
At a cost of 40 pesos a day to board them at Dr. Francisco’s, we are planning on a month stay. Thank you to the all the others who very generously offered to help. I am very touched by all the immediate responses.
Unfortunately, this dog and her babies are not an exception to what one can see at the Acopio. A cage is not a great place to be for a new mother and babies, but a huge improvement over the cold, terrible cement cell at the Acopio. We are asking for foster homes for mother and babies now - and individually later. We will find homes for all these dogs. They will all be sterilized at peace free n/c clinics. If you can foster, please contact either dr. Francisco - 044 322 135-2323 or spcapv@gmail.com Thank you.
Kind hearts who foster: Judith Ewing Morlan - Tinkerbell - delivered to her Wednesday by Estelle Eisen, whose neighbor Jackie Vaca had rescued her. Dog is about 3-4 months old and very, very sick. She had been tied tightly around the neck by a clothesline to a garbage dump. Judith has renamed her «Molly» and will keep her if she lives.
Again - big-hearted James Hunter - tiny tiger striped kitten rescued by Alfonso Rodriguez and brought to my home.
Vicki Thorne-Ohly - is now fostering a male dog that showed up at the n/s clinic and ended up being fixed there..
Louise Mullins and her son Kevin - one criollo male puppy - tan/black/white and one female Schnauzer mix - both about 10 weeks old. Louise hopes to keep the male, as it will probably be small enough to fit under an airline seat when she moves back to Quebec next summer.
Traveling to Detroit or know someone who is? Contact charlesmiriam@yahoo.ca Miriam lives in Canada but would drive 60 miles to pick it up there.
Dog for Sale that I saw on the street - A female Xolo, the rare, hairless Aztec dog - 1,000 pesos because owner can’t keep it. Two years old, healthy, vaccinated but not spayed. This is the small version of the dog. Call Hector at 044 322 125-3667, tigre_77@hotmail.com
Neuter / spay clinics provided by the Acopio - Great news: the first week of June their vets sterilized over 40 animals in one of the poorer colonias, Guadeloupe Victoria. This figure was confirmed to Hannah Gibbs, star intern, and by the vet performing surgery.
Golden retriever needs home - owner can’t keep her: Her name is «Goldie» and she is 10 months old. Contact Maria de la Luz at 224-9013.
Thank You, COSTCO - Will hold all opened in transit bags of pet food for us to purchase at 70% discount. 7 bags being picked up this Saturday and taken to Dr. F.M.’s clinic. This will help us with food costs. Costco is also sending us 2 volunteers each Saturday for the library adoptions.
Visit to the Acopio - about 25 dogs and puppies needing homes; 25 plus kittens in one cage and no food at all at the Acopio for them (we left 12 cans of cat food and 2 large bags of cat kibble - all donated. Very sad there.) For directions - and please try to rescue an animal - they’re in dire need of homes: log on to www.banderasnews.com - by scrolling under the Pet Parade
Huge need of microscope for Dr. Francisco Medina - Please check on Craig's List and e-Bay for used vet microscope - basic version fine - and bring with you or send down with a friend. Do not ship!
SPCA PV volunteers at PEACE spay/neuter clinic this past week: Big thanks to Board Member, Luz Wong and star volunteer, Hannah Gibbs, for organizing the volunteers, getting the posters printed and delivering them in the deluges. Another big thank you to Amanda Aguirre, who provided delicious lunches for 10 volunteers all 4 days. Also - thank you to the City Hall of Puerto Vallarta for delivering lunch all four days of the clinic and to the Office of the Delegado of Ixtapa for daily coffee and orange juice.
For Correspondence - If you can’t find the information you need and the questions you would like answered on our website, please contact: veralugo_si@hotmail.com If she’s uncertain of the response, your e-mail will be forwarded to the appropriate Board member. Thank you.
PEACE Neuter & Spay Clinics - Call Lalo at 322.141-1031 for directions. July 21, 22, 23, 24 - Higuera Blanca, July 28, 29, 30, 31 - San Ignacio, August 4, 5, 6, 7 – Sayulita, August 12, 13, 14, 15 – Guamúchil, August 18, 19, 20, 21 – Tepic, August 27, 28, 29 – Chacala.
To volunteer to walk dogs / socialize with cats – Please call Dr. Francisco Medina to confirm day and time. He suggests 9 AM and 7 PM. His clinic is in Pitillal and easy to find. 044 322 135-2323. He also has rescue animals for adoption.
The Acopio also needs the same kind of help. Call first – 293-3690 or contact Vera Lugo by e-mail to make a date - veralugo_si@hotmail.com To volunteer on adoption days: Janice Gonzalez: jjg743@msn.com www.spcapv.com (how to donate, foster, adopt, volunteer, events)
www.spcapv.blogspot.com (photos of animals and news), http://elrincondelhueso.blogspot.com/ (some of the animals for adoption at the Acopio)
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PV Bomberos, Getting the Support WE NEED -
by Hook or Ladder!
By Stan Gabruk
We at Angels for Mexico have seen the public interest grow as the weeks go by for the under-funded, under-equipped Bomberos or, in English, firefighters of Puerto Vallarta. Lots of things have been happening in places you’d never expect in the past few weeks.
First, we have Jack and Barbara McReynolds becoming more and more active in the cause as they just donated a refrigerator that was being replaced to our Bomberos this week. This is just one of the things they’ve been doing in the background. They’ve been spreading the word better than I can and we’re seeing results. These beautiful people have put us in contact with high level people in the state of Texas, all of Texas, and hopefully I’ll be able to report some more good news soon, stay tuned!
One thing that is essential as a Fire Fighter is the ability to breathe fresh air in a burning building or in any situation where smoke inhalation can cause injury or death. But for the longest time these brave souls have had to brave smoke through a wet rag as it covered their mouth. Fire fighting is the most dangerous of all jobs and without breathing apparatus, it’s just more dangerous. Imagine you had to run into a burning building to look for people with nothing but a wet rag over your mouth as a filter in the effort to save lives. It’s hard to imagine, but that’s exactly what’s happening.
That’s why this week we’re very happy to announce that Travis Belisle, Fire Chief of the Somerset Wisconsin Fire and Rescue Dept. has graciously donated 10 sets of Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA). This includes mask, hoses and bottles! So we’d like to take a minute and thank Fire Chief Belisle and his Fire Fighters for donating this life saving equipment. It’s impossible to predict how many lives this will save in the days ahead. They are also donating 10 sets of clothing (jackets, pants) and some boots. These guys may never know how much this helps every man, woman and child in Puerto Vallarta!
The donations of the items mentioned above are wonderful, but it creates another issue and that is: How are we going to get this stuff down here to PV? This is the question that doesn’t have an answer at the moment. In previous donations like the refrigerator from the McReynolds, the fire trucks, and now the SCBA gear, the money isn’t there to transport it here and it’s not something the taxpayers would be interested in paying for from North America. So we’re trapped in a sense that now we have these things, how do we get them here? It’s not like we can drive across town and just pick them up.
This dilemma is growing since we’re now in talks to bring down two ladder trucks and at least two ambulances that we badly need. These may just wind up coming down in a caravan that will be driven by firefighters from the local areas as they make their way down here. That is really a spectacular idea that will happen in September - if all goes well. We’ll be talking more about this in the weeks to come.
The bottom line here folks, right now we have more than six hundred pounds of equipment waiting for a “ride” to us. It’s estimated that it will cost $1,200.00 USD to ship this equipment to Puerto Vallarta and that’s where we’re short. For this reason we’re looking for donations or ideas on how to settle this and other future problems of this sort as we get more and more support from the firefighters of Canada and the United States.
Remember, the power of words can move mountains and will save lives. If you want to be a part of this, it’s as simple as telling someone about this situation. Everyone knows someone and they in turn know someone else. If you want to donate time, money (your truck to pick stuff up) or as I just mentioned, words, it would be appreciated by those who will never know your name. But in the end, it will save lives. So if you have anything to donate from the kitchen, home, or garage, we’ll get there and pick it up the best way we can but it may take a few days, so please be patient.
For me, it’s a pleasure to be involved in a project as worthwhile as this. I’m working with wonderful, concerned citizens that care about the people who live, work and visit Puerto Vallarta. I’m proud to be associated with these fine people and I look forward to when we can all look back and say “Remember when the Bomberos were…”
You can contact Christena through the Angels for Mexico web site at: www.angelsformexico.com - Calgary Chapter - for donations or more information. You can also contact Angels for Mexico - PV Chapter - through Director Eric Carlos at 322 889 7833 during regular business hours here in Puerto Vallarta.
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