Kingston's street dogs blanket the roadways, and street dogs may suffer even more than dogs in homes. They get hit by cars, and are left to slowly die by the side of the road, they may starve to death, they suffer from many illnesses, and people throw rocks at them to chase them away.

Most of the costs for Deborah's work have come directly from Deborah's bank account.

Deborah is an independent community animal welfare volunteer. She and sometimes some assistants, if she can round them up, are the only volunteers in Kingston working directly with low income communities, to spay, neuter and provide other care for dogs and cats, and education for the local people. On the island, there is a Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which operates a shelter, but has no consistent or effective community outreach program. As needed, Deborah sometimes collaborates with the JSPCA.

Note from Karen
I lived in Jamaica for ten months, and spent every Saturday with Deborah, taking food to people to supplement their dogs' diets, explaining to people that dogs need to eat more than once a week (a misconception that seemed fairly common among dog owners), convincing people that their dogs need water just as humans do, taking care of their ill and injured dogs and cats, getting their pets spayed and neutered, and visiting and feeding street dogs, who would have received no other care if it wasn't for Deborah.

I went with Deborah only on Saturdays, but Deborah has different routes she takes every single day of the week, where she drops off food, checks on dogs and cats, and talks to neighborhood people about their pets. The people-as well as the animals-on her rounds expect her, and if she doesn't show up, her phone starts ringing: "Ms. Binns, are you ok? We didn't see you today and we're worried about you." Deborah is responsible for getting hundreds of dogs and cats sterilized, and for currently helping care for about 300 animals.

How can you help Deborah
Spay-Neuter Fund: Deborah always welcomes funds to contribute to her spay-neuter efforts. She works with one vet on the island who has agreed to give her discounted prices; others have refused to discount their prices, and charge her the full cost.

Deborah's discounted prices are as follows for:
Spaying a dog.......US $45 Original cost ..US $ 100
Neutering a dog.......US $ 35 Original Cost...US $ 75
Spaying a cat.........US $ 35 Original Cost...US $ 50
Neutering a cat......US $ 30 Original Cost..US $ 40

Deborah also covers costs for all the other veterinary care needed by the dogs and cats she cares for, and welcomes donations to help defray her costs. For more information or to contribute to Deborah's efforts contact us.