$\"Saddleback$ $\"Saddleback$ What do dogs and sea turtles have in common? Usually nothing, but on the\u00a0southern Pacific coast of Mexico, the stray dog population effects the\u00a0survival of sea turtles in ways that most people have never considered.\u00a0The local dogs feed on hatchlings, eggs and even occasionally nesting\u00a0adults. These beaches are among the most important nesting sites in the\u00a0world for many species of sea turtles, including the extremely\u00a0endangered leatherback turtle.<\/p>\n

In the early years, one small team worked in a village every day for 5\u00a0days and less than 100 dogs were spayed or neutered. In the last few\u00a0years, the project has grown to 3 or 4 teams, each with several\u00a0veterinarians, working in different locations for 5 days and in January\u00a0of 2018 close to 400 animals received surgery free of charge. There are\u00a0fewer dogs on the beaches and in the villages and they are better cared\u00a0for and healthier. There have also been no incidents of dogs attacking\u00a0adult turtles on the primary nesting beaches. The mission has clearly\u00a0had a positive effect on the area.<\/p>\n

In 2000, Nancy Fantom and her husband Hugh Davis, DVM had the unique\u00a0opportunity to become part of the first trip to the coast of Oaxaca to\u00a0participate in a spay\/neuter mission to help reduce the numbers of dogs\u00a0in small villages near these nesting beaches. Along with Dr. Richard\u00a0Rodger of Grafton, MA , the founder of the project, and several other\u00a0veterinarians and volunteers, Nancy and Hugh traveled to Mazunte, Mexico\u00a0and a passion for this mission, the area and its people, the welfare of\u00a0the dogs, and protection of the sea turtles began and has continued for\u00a015 years.<\/p>\n

The Mazunte Project, as it is now known, works in partnership with local\u00a0sea turtle conservation projects to ensure the sites for surgery are\u00a0close to the nesting beaches and benefit the local people who have\u00a0limited access to veterinary care for their dogs. One project, Palmerito\u00a0Turtle Rescue, is funded solely through donations and one man, Dr.\u00a0Marcelino Lopes-Reyes, is entirely responsible for patrolling a large\u00a0beach and protecting thousands of hatchlings every year. Dr. Davis and\u00a0his family are personal supporters of this project and encourage our\u00a0Saddleback family to join us in this mission.\u00a0Palmaritoseaturtlerescue.org<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div> A Mission Making a DifferenceWhat do dogs and sea turtles have in common? Usually nothing, but on the\u00a0southern Pacific coast of Mexico, the stray dog population effects the\u00a0survival of sea turtles in ways that most people have never considered.\u00a0The local dogs feed on hatchlings, eggs and even occasionally nesting\u00a0adults. These beaches are among the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"

A Mission Making a Difference<\/h3>
$\"Saddleback$ What do dogs and sea turtles have in common? Usually nothing, but on the\u00a0southern Pacific coast of Mexico, the stray dog population effects the\u00a0survival of sea turtles in ways that most people have never considered.\u00a0The local dogs feed on hatchlings, eggs and even occasionally nesting\u00a0adults. These beaches are among the most important nesting sites in the\u00a0world for many species of sea turtles, including the extremely\u00a0endangered leatherback turtle.<\/p>
\u00a0<\/p>
In the early years, one small team worked in a village every day for 5\u00a0days and less than 100 dogs were spayed or neutered. In the last few\u00a0years, the project has grown to 3 or 4 teams, each with several\u00a0veterinarians, working in different locations for 5 days and in January\u00a0of 2018 close to 400 animals received surgery free of charge. There are\u00a0fewer dogs on the beaches and in the villages and they are better cared\u00a0for and healthier. There have also been no incidents of dogs attacking\u00a0adult turtles on the primary nesting beaches. The mission has clearly\u00a0had a positive effect on the area.<\/p>
$\"\"$ <\/p>
In 2000, Nancy Fantom and her husband Hugh Davis, DVM had the unique\u00a0opportunity to become part of the first trip to the coast of Oaxaca to\u00a0participate in a spay\/neuter mission to help reduce the numbers of dogs\u00a0in small villages near these nesting beaches. Along with Dr. Richard\u00a0Rodger of Grafton, MA , the founder of the project, and several other\u00a0veterinarians and volunteers, Nancy and Hugh traveled to Mazunte, Mexico\u00a0and a passion for this mission, the area and its people, the welfare of\u00a0the dogs, and protection of the sea turtles began and has continued for\u00a015 years.<\/p>
$\"\"$ <\/p>
The Mazunte Project, as it is now known, works in partnership with local\u00a0sea turtle conservation projects to ensure the sites for surgery are\u00a0close to the nesting beaches and benefit the local people who have\u00a0limited access to veterinary care for their dogs. One project, Palmerito\u00a0Turtle Rescue, is funded solely through donations and one man, Dr.\u00a0Marcelino Lopes-Reyes, is entirely responsible for patrolling a large\u00a0beach and protecting thousands of hatchlings every year. Dr. Davis and\u00a0his family are personal supporters of this project and encourage our\u00a0Saddleback family to join us in this mission.\u00a0Palmaritoseaturtlerescue.org<\/p>
Northwood Veterinary Hospital - our partner in your dogs health\u00a0Nancy and her husband, Hugh Davis, DVM, have owned and operated\u00a0Northwood Veterinary Hospital since 2015.\u00a0 Only a few miles away from\u00a0Saddleback, we can offer medical care for your dog while housed at\u00a0Saddleback - whether it be an exam for an emerging health problem or a\u00a0scheduled surgical procedure - we can coordinate with NVH to help with\u00a0your pets veterinary care.<\/p>
$\"\"$ Hugh Davis, DVM was selected for the inaugural class of Tufts University\u00a0School of Veterinary Medicine.\u00a0 A 1983 graduate, he began a career in\u00a0small animal medicine that continues to be successful and fulfilling.\u00a0His philosophy of veterinary medicine is to put the pet first; he\u00a0believes in providing the best quality medicine possible for reasonable\u00a0cost and thoroughly recognizes the importance of pets in a family. Dr\u00a0Davis has worked in private practice, in emergency medicine and as a\u00a0clinician at the Animal rescue League of Boston. He is an accomplished\u00a0surgeon and diagnostician and we are pleased to be able to offer our\u00a0guests at Saddleback access to veterinary service.<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-110","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackpet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackpet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackpet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackpet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackpet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackpet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/110\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":534,"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackpet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/110\/revisions\/534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saddlebackpet.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}