Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – An animal rescue center struggling with the fallout of COVID-19 is making a desperate plea for “flight angels” to help dogs stranded in Puerto Vallarta.
Speaking to Banderas News, The Sula Society co-founder, Lisa Godfrey, said: “No one wants to be a flight angel at the moment, which I understand because everyone’s worried about leaving. But the flights are going to stop soon and then we’ll have no way of getting the dogs to their new homes.”
Currently, the non-profit organization needs people to take newly adopted dogs to their “forever homes” in Canada’s Toronto and Vancouver Island, plus a volunteer driver heading to near Tacoma, Washington, in the United States.
Ms. Godfrey added that the center has also seen a drop in donations after the emergence of COVID-19 and is now struggling to make ends meet.
“We’ve got no money,” she said. “No one wants to donate at the moment. I get that everyone’s in desperate times (but we need) any donations really. Money donations, food donations, toys, collars, and leashes. All of that.”
To offer your services as a flight angel, or to make a donation, contact thesulasociety(at)gmail.com. Or, to follow their latest adoption needs, visit and like their Facebook page.
The non-profit’s plea comes in the midst of a financial crisis for many members of the Puerto Vallarta community who are feeling the full effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a bid to help, Mayor Arturo Dávalos Peña has halved his salary to help fund a food distribution program to support the city’s most vulnerable families.
Elsewhere, the owners of Texas barbecue restaurant, Tunnel Road BBQ, have converted their eatery into an emergency food bank. While a group of Vallarta volunteers are working around-the-clock to produce face masks, disposable gowns, and bed sheets for the local health care industry.
Do you know a Puerto Vallarta resident doing something extraordinary during the COVID-19 crisis? Contact sammurraynews(at)gmail.com to share their story.
Sam Murray is a travel writer from London, England, who is currently residing in Puerto Vallarta. You can find his latest work on his Facebook page.
