We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Eva S a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Eva, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

In dog rescue, sometimes it is hard to maintain a positive outlook because we see a never-ending stream of heartbreaking cases. One of those heartbreaking stories happened right in our small neighborhood in Troncones, Mexico. We heard that a family had some Husky puppies and that they needed help. We rushed over and what we found was devastating. We found the mother dog and eight severely malnourished puppies crawling around in a huge pile of trash that contained splintered glass, broken planks with nails exposed, and traces of rotten food. The mom was tied to a pole on a 1 meter leash, standing in her own feces. Even her thick husky-fur couldn’t hide that her ribs were showing. Her big eyes looked hopeless and fearful. We gave her food and filled a bucket of water for her, then we started to inspect the puppies. They were just skin and bones except for their bloated bellies that were full of worms. It is no wonder the mom didn’t have enough energy to care for them or produce milk for all of them. One puppy had open wounds with worms crawling out of them, one was very lethargic and ended up dying the next night. It took us a very long time to convince the owners to let us help them. They had plans to sell the puppies, which is why they bred the mom in the first place. After weeks of going there every day and a lot of persuasive discussions, we were able to take all the puppies with us and nurture them back to health. They had a miraculous recovery and are now living their best lives in a cooler and the more breed-appropriate climate in Canada. It took a lot of effort and patience to finally get permission to sterilize the Husky mom. A few months after that, they decided to give her up, and we were able to get her adopted as well, to the most loving family. It is these stories with a happy ending that brings so much gratitude to our hearts and tears of joy to our eyes! Because of that, we continue every day to work with the hardest cases to help better the lives of dogs in need.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Surfers for Strays is a volunteer-driven 501(c)3 non-profit organization that reduces the number of stray animals in Mexico through spay and neuter programs and inspires compassion and awareness for the humane treatment of neglected animals, through education, rehabilitation and adoption programs.

We strive to provide the best veterinary care that we can for our rescued animals and we take pride in maintaining a very high standard in our screening process of applicants to ensure that our furbears are going to responsible, capable, appropriate and loving forever homes. We do our best to conduct ourselves in a very professional manner with compassion, empathy and love.

Surfers for Strays has a shelter in Zihuatanejo that can accommodate up to 30 dogs and a headquarters in Troncones that accommodates a few special needs cases. In addition to our team of volunteers on the ground in Mexico, Surfers for Strays has remote volunteers working in California, Georgia, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming and in British Columbia and Ontario, Canada.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I am a very enthusiastic person, and I will find joy in every job that I do. I tried many different jobs in the past and loved every single one of them but after a while every job I did felt meaningless and senseless. Usually, I continued for a while until I started chasing after my next dream. Coming to Mexico and volunteering for a non-profit rescue organization changed my life completely. On my bucket list there were always things listed like “volunteer to help animals in need” or “live in a foreign country” but I was too scared to leave my financial and emotional stability of home behind. Looking back, I wonder how I had the guts to finally chase my wildest dreams. I am so happy that I kept looking for my true passion. Now I have found my purpose in life, and I have never felt more useful in my whole life..

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The hardest part of working in animal rescue in a country with countless street dogs is seeing the end of a life that was too short. Even when you know there is no chance of recovery, it is the most difficult and heartbreaking thing to do. We have treated numerous dogs that had been hit by cars or that were deathly sick and untreatable. I have held stray dogs in my arms during their last breaths, while their fleas crawled all over my body and the smell of the animal that already gave up on life nearly choked me. They deserve to spend their last minutes showered in love. Even for those dogs that you didn’t have the opportunity to get to know, it is more painful than anything else I can imagine. Even though it breaks my heart every time, I can recover and continue to give my energy to the dogs that still need my full focus and attention. I guess it is because of my resilience that I can cope with seeing so much suffering yet not lose hope and continue to pursue the greater good in our work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.surfersforstrays.org
• Instagram: Eva: @_na.eve_ , Surfers for Strays: @surfersforstrays
• Facebook: Surfers for Strays
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/surfersforstrays
• Other: TikTok: @surfersforstrays