How Can I Help SALDEA?

95% of donations go directly toward the delivery of services to animals and the community, according to our mission and  bylaws. The remaining 5% go to necessary administrative fees and expenses. We are an all-volunteer organization; no person is able to draw profit or salary from SALDEA funds.  Because we do not operate a shelter, manage a property, or pay salaries, we keep our overhead low and direct more donated dollars toward the animals.  Please contact us if you would like to view our 990 tax returns or current financial data.

What to do with $50

  • Donate dog, cat, or kitten food. Pet food is one of our biggest expenses.  We provide all foster animals with pet food.  We support several feral cat colonies.  We donate pet food to families impacted by COVID-19.
  • Sponsor a foster dog or cat.  Sometimes an animal remains in foster care for a long time, until the right adopter comes along.  This is particularly true for cats. Donating to the regular upkeep of specific foster animals allows us to save more animals without over-extending our budget. Read more below!
  • Donate to vet expenses.  Many of our foster animals are severely ill, malnourished, and/or injured.  Many females are pregnant at the time of rescue. Vet expenses can be significant for sick animals that need complex rehabilitation.
  • Purchase pet supplies.  Cat litter, leashes and collars, pet beds, crates, humane traps.  You can donate old towels and blankets. Dogs and cats love toys and treats, too!
  • Donate to community service. SALDEA contributes to local Panamanian pet helpers who give their own time and money to help animals in need. Many of these folks have financial limitations. We help them to help animals.  Read more below!

Donate to Our Extraordinary Vet Services Fund

Some foster animals are easy to prepare for adoption. Others require many months and sometimes thousands of dollars to rehabilitate.  Quinty is an example.  She is a young dog who was struck by a car.  She collapsed in someone’s back yard, in great pain and unable to move any further.  She was taken in by SALDEA and put in rehabilitation with La Casa de los Animales, a nearby rehabilitation center.  Quinty recovered from her injuries, from malnutrition, and from parasites.  We then discovered she was pregnant!  Quinty delivered eight beautiful, healthy puppies.  When Quinty finished nursing, she was sterilized and vaccinated. She was adopted along with her puppies.  The care and rehabilitation for this pregnant mama and her eight pups was costly.  Special donations help us to work with severely injured or needy animals such as this family.

Local bank donations

If you live in Panama, you can do a bank transfer or deposit to the following account: Global Bank savings account (centa de ahorros) 41332003463, Diane Louise Englerth.

Sponsor a Cat

Saldea has a distressingly large number of gorgeous, loving, and healthy cats in foster.  Some have been in foster for over two years.  Why?  Because people want baby kittens.  If kittens miss the “cute” window of 2-6 months, adopters tend to pass them over.  Hence, they become adults and somehow less attractive to the public.  All these cats are sterilized and need nothing extraordinary.  But the monthly cost of food and litter runs about $25/cat.  Over time, the cumulative costs of maintaining 15-20 cats in foster add up, and prevent us from taking on other needy cats.  A sponsor can pay $25/month for a particular cat, and Saldea can send them photos and updates about “their” cat.  This way, the donor has a relationship with the cat and understands where the money is going.  Please look at the Adopt a Cat and Cats in Foster Care pages and see who speaks to you.  You can set up a recurring payment through PayPal for a particular cat, and we will keep you updated on your new friend!

Sponsor Community Service Projects

Even before COVID-19, SALDEA was engaged in community service work.  Our mission includes helping members of the local community who help animals.  Many of these open-hearted pet helpers have very little resources themselves, so we help them to help animals.  We provide food, pay vet expenses, and pay for flea treatments for local animal advocates.

With the pandemic, everything has changed.  Many responsible, loving pet owners lost their jobs and are struggling to feed their animals, never mind themselves.  We are buying Animal Planet pet food at a steep discount from Agencias Escoffery, S.A., a local pet food distributor.  We then donate the food to local families impacted by the pandemic.  $25 per month will buy a large bag of pet food to help a deserving family weather this economic and epidemiological storm, or it can pay for sterilizations or flea treatments for people with limited economic means who are dedicated to helping needy animals.