Newport Polo All Day Charity Benefit Match

This Sunday July 15th is the Newport Polo (3rd annual) All Charity Day event. This promises to be a fun afternoon with fast-paced polo action and the opportunity to help out some fantastic charitable organizations. This event will benefit local charities with 100% of the ticket sales going to the support of these organizations. According to the Newport Polo website the All Charity Day event last year drew over 2,000 spectators and raised $22,000 for the participating charities.

I recently had a chance to talk to one of the organizers, Karen Puerini-Razza of San Pancho Animales.

Can you tell me a little bit about San Pancho Animales? How long has it existed and how did it get started?

Karen: San Pancho Animales has been around since the 1990s. We started with clinics and paid people $10 each to bring in a dog. We had dogs come in wheel barrels and tied in the back of trucks. At that time we really didn't rehome dogs, we would put the homeless dogs back on the street. It was started by a woman named Betty who could not bear seeing any animals suffering in the village. I got involved by initially volunteering, and then realized that the dogs were put back on the street. I started to rehome them. When I first moved to Mexico in early 2000 the street dog problem was unbearable. My heart would break on a daily basis. There were so many sick dogs and skinny dogs. So many puppies. My background is in nursing, I'm a registered nurse and I have worked in the operating room since the 1970s. So I felt like I had a bit of skill to contribute to this work.

What does San Pancho Animales actually do now?

Last year we spayed and neutered over 170 animals and rehomed over 50. One was actually a donkey! We do one big clinic per year and then we do a small weekly clinic. In between the weekly clinic, if someone wants their dog spayed or neutered we take it to the local vet all paid for by San Pancho Animales. We also supply food for families who come up short and can't afford food for the month. We supply vaccines for animals that need it, we will do blood testing and treatment for any tick borne diseases. We beg, borrow and steal for donations. Volunteers seem to be there when we need them thankfully! It's hard to count the number of volunteers but at any given clinic we will have up to 10 people per day.

Where have you rehomed animals?

One dog went to Greece. Another one went to France. Many dogs have gone to the Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary areas of Canada. I have sent some to San Francisco and other places in California and many to Newport, Rhode Island. We also have a lot of local adoptions.
Out of the 100 (more or less) that I have rehomed, one dog didn't work out and we were able to rehome it to a better situation. One other adoption, the owner got sick and needed to give up the dog but that dog also found a wonderful home. Facebook has been a friend as we advertise for Flight Angels on many different sites specific to our area in Mexico.

You use volunteer Flight Angels to help rehome the animals?

Yes. To travel it's best if an animal goes with a passenger. They can fly cargo but it's very expensive. All they need are their shots, a healthy dog certificate and a crate to carry them in. Sometimes we get the same Travel Angels year after year that always contact us and say they will take a pet back if there's one going their way. I'd like to say there's been at least 50 to 70 different people stepping up to fly pets home. I told friends they can come visit me. I will put them up for a week or two in our upstairs Casita but their payment is they have to take a pet back to New England with them. Maybe even two.

San Pancho Animales is always looking for donations. Any amount helps. The website is www.sanpanchoanimales.org

Full Disclosure: There are 3 dogs in my life. 2 of them are rescues from San Pancho Animales.

The All Day Charity Benefit match will be held at Newport International Polo Grounds, 250 Linden Lane in Portsmouth. Support some great local charities and enjoy all the action watching local teams competing in a 6-chukker match!

You can also find out more about the Polo Match and the other participating charities by visiting the Newport Polo website at: https://www.nptpolo.com/