WELCOME

SALDEA – Salvadores de Animales, Inc., is a volunteer community-based organization based in Chiriqui, Panama

SALDEA’s mission is to provide for the well-being of all companion animals in Chiriqui, especially those that are homeless, abandoned, rescued, abused, and injured. Our focus is on David and its surrounding communities. We provide foster care, medical treatment as needed, find lifelong loving homes through adoptions, and promote the animal/human bond through community service and outreach.  We help ensure adopters’ success through coaching, education, and continual support. SALDEA is dedicated to ensuring that animal abuse, neglect, and suffering are reduced or eradicated by raising public awareness through action, education, and advocacy.

Our approach to helping neglected animals ranges from talking to the owner about better pet care, through involving the police in the removal of a pet in a bad situation. SALDEA does not operate a shelter; we depend on foster homes in which people give rescued animals a place to recover and socialize. We are a no-kill rescue that never euthanizes animals to make space for new ones.  

SALDEA provides veterinary care, sterilization, medications, and food to all of our rescued animals.  Our dogs are all vaccinated prior to adoption.  We also donate food and care to animals in homes of individuals who use their own time and resources to serve the community.  

 

 

SALDEA’s MISSION

SALDEA’s mission is to provide for the well-being of all companion animals in Chiriqui, Panama, especially those that are homeless, abandoned, rescued, abused, and injured. We provide foster care, medical treatment as needed, find lifelong loving homes through adoptions, and promote the animal/human bond through community service and outreach.  We help ensure adopters’ success through coaching, education, and continual support.

SALDEA is dedicated to ensuring that animal abuse, neglect, and suffering are reduced or eradicated by raising public awareness through action, education, and advocacy.

SALDEA VISION

SALDEA is an all-volunteer, foster-based, community organization located in Boquete, Panama that rescues, rehabilitates, and adopts dogs and cats.

WHAT IS A NON-PROFIT CORPORATION?
Salvadores de Animales, Inc. is registered with the U.S. federal government as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation.  As such, there are certain things we must do and not do.
We must:
  • Register and maintain good standing with the State of Florida as a charitable corporation.
  • Register and maintain good standing with the Internal Revenue Service.
  • Register and maintain good standing with any state in the US in which we choose to raise funds.
  • File state and federal tax statements every year, and make those tax statements available to the public at all times.
  • Disclose current and past financial statements to the public.  Detailed, accurate financial statements available to the public are the core of a non-profit’s accountability.
  • Maintain full transparency.  We must disclose our corporate by-laws, registration information, correspondence with the IRS, tax forms, EIN, conflict of interest policy, and annual reports to the public.
  • Issue receipts for any donation or bequest which the donor intends to deduct from his or her US income taxes
  • Follow the mission as stated in our corporate bylaws, and refrain from engaging in activities or spending money on matters unrelated to our core mission.
  • Maintain a Board of Directors, who collectively make administrative decisions for the corporation and are responsible for its daily operations.
  • Hold Board members and all our volunteers to the ethical standards put forth in our corporate by-laws.
We must not:
  • Extract funds from the operating budget as unearned profit directed to any board member of organization member.  All income to the corporation is directed toward the operation of the organization, according to the budgetary line items it has established.
  • Engage in political activity or lobbying for legislation in the US or Panama.
  • Engage in religious activity, because churches must follow separate guidelines.
  • Hide, mislead, or obscure our bylaws, financial and tax records, annual reports, or other evidence of ethical compliance with the law.

SALDEA’s fundraising efforts involve public appeals, applying for local and national grants, and seeking donations of food and other in-kind supplies.  We conduct fundraising events with local businesses and the community.  We also use social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, the Saldea web site, local community board sites, and email to advertise our organization to gain volunteers, local financial support, and homes for animals seeking adoption.

SALDEA conducts its affairs with the highest possible standards of ethics, responsibility, and transparency.  All volunteers and board members are held to high ethical standards.  No member of SALDEA may receive compensation, profit, or unreimbursed funds from the organization.

SALDEA collaborates with other animal organizations, such as La Casa de los Animales and SOS Colitas Callejeras, to further assist in the animal welfare effort.  We believe that a team of partner organizations is stronger than an organization working alone.

SALDEA maintains a network of foster homes for animals waiting for adoption.

SALDEA provides all media and written information in English and Spanish, in an effort to include our Panamanian community.

SALDEA supports certain low-income families with food, veterinary services, vaccines, medicines, de-worming, flea prevention, and other supplies, on an as-needed basis.  We help families that help animals.

SALDEA will never euthanize animals due to space or time constraints. We may elect to euthanize to prevent suffering in the case of terminal illness or massive injury, or when there are concerns about extremely dangerous behavior.  Because we do not euthanize to make space, we cannot take in every animal that may need our help. We also refuse to spay an animal that is known to be pregnant. We care for babies that are born to pregnant dogs and cats, and then ensure that the babies and mother are sterilized prior to adoption.  

SALDEA is deeply committed to these goals while ensuring the financial security and stability of the organization for future generations.