Isla Animals
We enjoyed visiting with the dogs and taking them for a walk today. We hope the dogs enjoy the goodies we donated today. We will definately be back this week, Jersey stole our hearts.
About Isla Animals
Who are we?
Isla Animals started informally in the year 2000. There was already a group on the island, Amigos de Animales, that was taking in and adopting out puppies. With Alison’s help they did the very first Spay and Neuter clinic on Isla Mujeres, sterilizing over 200 animals.
As tourism grew the wild dog population was viewed as a threat to vacationers so Isla Animals instigated a system of trap, sterilize and release. This program WORKED! Within a few years, the wild street dog population was ELIMINATED. However there was still an overpopulation of strays and unwanted litters of puppies. Alison’s house became the unofficial humane society for Isla Mujeres from 2000 to 2013. She registered the rescue as a non-profit in Colorado in 2009.
Isla Animals organizes and sponsors 1 or 2 large Spay and Neuter campaigns each year where hundreds of dogs and cats get sterilized. Today, we are lucky to have the facility the government has provided as a shelter and an arragement with a local vet clinic where we continue to offer free spay & neuter surgeries once a week, as well as free or low-cost vaccines, de-wormer, flea & tick medicines for dogs and cats.
note 2023/2024: we DO NOT have that facility any longer by no fault of our own and it was a blessing in disguise… as out of desperation Isla Animals Oasis was born and today we have an amazing huge, efficiently designed space that, while unfinished, no one can take away from the abandoned and street animals!
Alison won the Doris Day Kindred Spirit award for her work with the animals. She has also been featured in Good Housekeeping Magazine, People Magazine, and many well-published animal magazines, and has also been interviewed for several radio and television programs.
Our Mission
To provide free spay/neuter clinics to help control the animal population
To provide free or reduced cost veterinary services and vaccinations
To offer animal foster care and promote adoptions in Mexico, USA and Canada
To educate pet owners about humane animal treatment, care and responsibility
And to do all of the above in the most humane, compassionate way possible
The Story
When Alison moved to Mexico in 2001, there was no animal rescue on Isla Mujeres (THERE ISN’T ONE STILL!). The street dog population was out of control and there were packs of wild dogs on the beaches. With no veterinarian services available on the island, there were puppies EVERYWHERE. Most female dogs were either pregnant or nursing their babies.
Alison decided that she could make a difference. She started by taking puppies into her home, but at that time did not considered herself as a rescue. She built kennels out of anything she could find…old doors, windows, blocks, etc.. As word spread, people started to tie unwanted dogs to Alison’s front door. At this point, she was unavoidably considered a “rescue”.
Keeping on top of the growing numbers of animals was a monumental task. In 2015, the government recognized the value of Alison’s work and offered her a space to continue her rescue efforts. Since then, Isla Animals has grown with more volunteers and donations. Sadly, in 2023 the local government decided we had already solved the problem (as if) and reclaimed the space… without having any other options for animal welfare, spay and neuter or Centro de Bienestar Animal, which by law they should have. Disappointing doesn’t even start to explain what it feels to have 24 years of work thrown away by greedy politics.
Isla Animals has a highly-educated vet, Dr. Arturo Dzul Leon, that has created all our medical protocols and guarantees our animals get the best possible vet care. The rescue has also expanded their efforts into Rancho Viejo, a very poor area on the mainland, which is included in the municipality of Isla Mujeres. And since those days, it has actually grown to help in areas as far as Merida and Tulum.
2024 and what the future brings?
At the end of Feb 2024 we made the big move into Isla Animals Oasis. The place is still very much a construction site but it was time. We are doing a lot of the painting, building, fixing, and setting up… in our eyes we can see what this place is gonna look like in the near future. While we cannot receive volunteers at the moment, please stay tuned… So many projects coming soon!!!!!
Meet The Team
Alison Sawyer Current started Isla Animals Rescue at her home on Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Since the year 2000 she has organized spay & neuter campaigns, recruited volunteers, promoted government involvement, and pushed for vaccinations, education and wellness care.
Trina Noakes is the owner and operator of CARM. Her energy and dedication to Isla Animals has made her the partner that Alison has always needed. She also donates her vans and drivers to take every dog that we rehome to the airport.
Dr. Arturo Dzul Leon is the official veterinarian for Isla Animals. His medical skills are unsurpassed and his love for the animals and generous spirit make him our all-time favorite animal doctor.
Ceci Knopfler is officially the adoptions’ coordinator who deals with the logistics of dogs going from Isla to their FURever homes, and, unofficially, the do-it-all girl. She has been running the day-to-day life of the rescue since 2020 and with the support of many amazing people has managed to keep it alive and make it into something new!
Sabrina is our fabulous vet tech & rescue expert with whom Isla Animals most likely wouldn’t have had a chance given all the challenges of 2023. She came right at the time we got evicted and from day one was a pillar of Oasis, taking the responsibility of building a future for Isla Animals. We couldn’t have done it without her!
July is our star foster mom, hands-on rescue on the mainland and the island, and an amazing partner in changing the lives of thousands of dogs! Always positive, always smiling, always super loving, we are blessed to have her, her experience, and her commitment to the dogs as part of the Isla Animals Family!
Nicole is an amazing volunteer that Isla Animals cannot make without. This lady is a force of nature with the sweetest heart and a fantastic hardworking predisposition… always trapping dogs, fostering, and making a difference every day!
Ale is our shelter girl, do it all, always willing to help chica! She is up to anything when it comes to dogs and it’s an invaluable gift to have her over at Isla Animals Oasis!
Jeannie Johnson is our dog whisperer for shy pups as well as a fabulous foster mom and she also feeds every dog in her neighborhood.
In March we adopted our Rowan
We are so grateful for the opportunity we had to work with Isla Animals during our stay and bring the most special gift back home and into our family. He was 8 lbs when we first got him and he’s about 22 lbs. now! He’s settling in and growing up! He’s our fabulous Mexi-Pup!
Bianka Fuksman
On January 11th, 2017, on our last day vacationing on Isla Mujeres we spotted Isla Animals rescue, we stopped by and well, the rest is history 🙂 My husband and I brought home (Toronto) our new fur friend. We named her ISLA because of where she came from 🙂 Isla is doing very well as she adjusts to Toronto living. Everyone she meets loves her and she is getting bigger every day. We are so grateful for Isla Animals and the work they do, we love our new family member very much!
Lisa Larmon
Our Goals
Want to get involved?
Contact us
If you have any questions or comments, please fill out the form below and we’ll reply as soon as possible or you can email us directly at: info@islaanimals.org
Thank you for your interest!
Our clinic is located mid-island on Isla Mujeres in La Gloria nestled into the Hacienda Mundaca Parque. You can’t miss it – there is a HUGE thatched palapa roof over an open space.
WE ARE CURRENTLY HOMELESS. We are working on an immediate and very temporary solution to welcome you, as well as a PERMANENT future for Isla Animals.
