Founded in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, in 2007 by a long-term resident originally from California, Janice Chatterton.

We opened our sanctuary in January of 2012 on the outskirts of Puerto Vallarta. We are a no-kill shelter and can house up to 130 animals at once. We rescue and find permanent homes for over 200 animals each year.

Our main focus is to rescue the abused, homeless animals from Puerto Vallarta’s streets and place them in foster homes in both the United States and Canada until permanent homes are available.  We are not supported by the government, corporations, foundations or businesses. We fully function on private donations. US donations are tax deductible, to donate go here: SPCA-PV/Adopt.

Animals are often found living on the streets after being discarded and/or extremely abused.  We devote ourselves to their physical and emotional rehabilitation and invite everyone to come and interact with the animals at our private shelter on our weekly escorted tours Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you would like to come visit, please email us to spcapv@gmail.com to sign up.

If you are interested in adopting a dog, please read our adoption information here and see videos of dogs for adoption: SPCA-PV Adopt.

The SPCA de PV has a need for “Angels with Wings” to accompany our dogs to their new homes or foster home in Canada and the US. It is very easy and we cover the airline fee for the dog and have staff at both airports.  If you are Canadian and flying back to BC or Alberta, please contact us, or if you are American and are flying to SEATTLE please email us at spcapv@gmail.com.

Interested in adopting one of our Furry Friends?
 
Have a look at our album of dogs for adoption on Facebook.

Have you found a pup you are interested in? Then email us for more information and to receive an application form to spcapv@gmail.com.

Once your application has been reviewed, we will be in contact. Please allow us a few days of review before expecting to hear from us. Be aware that there may be additional contact required, such as a home visit before the adoption is approved. Please understand that we want to make sure this is a perfect fit for you as well as our rescue.

We will guide you through the transport process and provide you with all the necessary veterinary records regarding vaccinations, etc.

You will also need to agree to the terms of our adoption contract.
 
With the help of flight angels we are able to send dogs to Alberta and British Columbia in Canada, as well as Seattle in the US.
 
Our adoption fees for adoptions in Puerto Vallarta are 3000 Pesos.
 
Adoption fee for Canada and the US that include the flight fee is $380 USD.
 
Adoption fees are subject to change.

How to become a volunteer? Volunteers are needed all over! We have pawesome volunteers in British Columbia and Alberta Canada, the United States and of course here in Puerto Vallarta.

IN MÉXICO (PUERTO VALLARTA)

Sunday Dog Walks

We try to get as many dogs as possible at least once a week a bit further out of the shelter to help socialize them. We meet on Sundays at 11am and take dogs to a local park where they meet strangers, other dogs, see more traffic etc. which is crucial for their socialization process. The more volunteers we have, the more dogs we can bring there to have them walked for a bit so that they can experience ”a life outside the shelter.” If you are interested in joining us for that and have 2 hours sometimes on Sundays, please email us!

Sunday River Walks

For some extra fun for our dogs, we organize River walks sometimes where we take a van full of dogs to one of the local rivers, often the Nogalito River south of town, sometimes others, and we need volunteers to help walk them. Disclaimer: you will get wet! We are not walking along the river but inside the River, sometimes over rocks so it involves a bit climbing. You should be relatively fit for this and own a pair of good shoes or sandals with a good grip and clothes that can get soaked. This is usually a 2-3 hour trip total and so much fun for the pups! Email us if you are interested in that and we can let you know for when we have the next splash-walk planned.

Quarantine Dog Cuddlers

Newly rescued dogs are quarantined separately inside the shelter until they are fully vaccinated and those vaccines are in effect. So they are not allowed to play with the other dogs yet, and as we are working with minimum staff right now, we need volunteers to help us give our new rescues more attention and some much needed TLC. We are looking for volunteers who will go into the quarantine kennels (there is no risk of contracting anything) and cuddle and play with the new dogs. This is something that can be done pretty much any day during the morning up to 2:00 pm. We do need volunteers to have their own transport to get to the shelter though, not Taxi or Uber. Email us if you want to give our new dogs some love.

Drivers to Help on Visitor Days

During Winter Season we are desperate for volunteers with cars to help us on our visitor days. The visitor days are usually Tuesdays and Thursdays but can change, and we have lots of tourists signing up to visit the sanctuary. We meet at 10:45 am at the Costco parking lot and from there we take visitors to the shelter for about 2 to 2.5 hours to get a tour of the shelter and they can also play and interact with the dogs. We need volunteers who help us bring the visitors from Costco to the shelter (11:00 am) and back (around 1:30 pm). If you have a car and can help with that, even if you are not available every week, but sometimes, that would be a big help us! We put you on our volunteer list and will be in contact to see when you are available.

Farmer´s Market Volunteers

From November to April we have a booth at the “Olas Altas Farmer´s Market” in Old Town where we give information about the organization, shelter visits and adoption, and also sell SPCA merchandise: T-shirts, hats, calendars etc. and we collect donations. This is every Saturday, time commitment is 7:45 am to 2:00 pm. If you are available a few Saturdays during winter season, let us know and we sign you up!

IN CANADA (BC AND ALBERTA) and US (Seattle area)

Fostering

We are always in need of foster homes. If you might be able to let one of our dogs crash with you for a few weeks, please read more here: SPCA-PV/Foster.

B´nB for Airport Dogs

If you want to help but are not able to foster longer-term, maybe you can help us by giving our new arrivals Bed and Breakfast for just one night. We frequently adopt dogs to Vancouver Island or further north, or homes further away from Edmonton or Calgary, and the flights generally arrive later in the evening so it´s difficult for them. We need volunteers to pick up the dog at the airport, keep and feed it for one night until the adopters can come the next day to pick the pup up from you.

Help with Kennels

Every dog arrives with travel kennel and we need to collect these, store them and when we have willing vacationers flying to PV, we have to send them back with them. If you have a car that can accommodate larger stacks of kennels and are available to drive to the airport sometimes and/or drop off kennels with the flyers, then please contact us.

Home Visits

The last step in our adoption approval process is to arrange a home visit for the new adopters with a dog savvy volunteer in the area. The goal is to get to know the family a bit, see the home and how dog suitable it is. If you have experience with that or are interested in working with us to learn how to do it, please contact us.

Fundraising

We are always looking for volunteers who have ideas or experience for fundraising, as we are not government supported and maintain our shelter solely by private donations.
 

SPCA-PV is supported by individual donations and fundraising events.

SPCA-PV is not supported by the government, corporations, foundations or businesses. Financial donations are always needed. Monies received will be applied where the need is greatest.

For tax-deductible donations in the U.S. you can also email us to get our Wells Fargo deposit/wire information at spcapv@gmail.com.

Mexican Peso checks must be made payable to:

SOCIEDAD PROTECTORA Y COMPASIVA POR LOS ANIMALES DE PUERTO VALLARTA, A.C.

and can be mailed within Mexico to:

Hotel Hacienda San Angel
-SPCA PV-
Calle Miramar 336
El Cerro, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico 48300

or email us for wire information to our Mexican Scotiabank account at spcapv@gmail.com.