Gretchen Dewitt was a full time resident of Mexico, calling Puerto Vallarta her home.  She owned a San Francisco public relation/special events business for 25 years and was active in fundraising for several charities.  She was also a founding member of the board of directors of Planetree, a national health care resource.  Gretchen had a full heart, helping people and animals in need, loving this wonderful planet.

After moving to Puerto Vallarta in 2006, Gretchen co-founded the SPCA-PV and served as its first president.  In 2009, she joined to board of PeaceMexico for a 3 year term, focusing her fundraising efforts primarily on “Ayuda a los Animales”, the free spay/neuter clinics.  Brischa Borchgrevink and Amy Welch, former PEACE USA treasurer, founded PEACEAnimals.

Sadly, Gretchen passed away Wed, November 11 2020.  On this day we lost one of the kindest, most caring and overall wonderful people on the planet.

Amy assists with the websites (PEACEAnimals, Amigos de La Cruz de Huanacaxtle and Banderas Bay Charities, Inc) and coordinates U.S. grants and donations to PEACEAnimals and other registered charities in and around the Bay of Banderas (Puerto Vallarta).  Amy also serves as Treasurer of PEACEAnimals, Banderas Bay Charities and Amigos de La Cruz de Huanacaxtle.

Soon after arriving in La Cruz in 1997, she and her now deceased husband Bill started another foundation, Children’s Shelter of Hope Foundation (US non-profit) with their college friend, Christine Amo. Bill was a former CPA and tax attorney, formerly a tax partner with Coopers & Lybrand (now PriceWaterhouseCoopers). He helped with accounting, legal, tax filings and donor coordination.

Amy was a high school teacher and school administrator for Portland Public Schools (Oregon). Presently, she rents houses and condos in the Puerto Vallarta & Portland, during her free time. Floating back and forth between Portland, Oregon and Mexico, she enjoys travel, fishing and boats.

Hailing from Sweden (Brischa) and Norway (Ted), they met in Los Angeles in 1987. After living there for many years, they decided to move to Oslo to start a calm, “normal” life. After nine years there, Brischa and Ted found that it was too quiet and the weather was horrible. In 2004, they picked up their belongings, including their dog, and moved to Puerto Vallarta, where they built Hacienda las Animas, a B&B in the hills. People frequently mistake “Animas” for “animals” instead of “spirits,” but that’s a good thing because they have six dogs and six cats on the premises.

Over the years, the Borchgrevinks have accumulated various rescues, from cats and dogs to injured pigeons. The household grew, which took them to where they are now with LADRA (“bark” in Spanish), a ranch that serves as a boarding location and rescue site for dogs to recuperate and then be adopted. LADRA stands for Las Animas Dog Rescue Association.

Says Brischa, “We very much support spay and neuter as the best solution to control the many unwanted animals that end up homeless and suffering in the streets.”

In 2013, when PEACE Mexico, A.C. dissolved, several animal advocates launched PEACEAnimals, A.C. “A.C.” indicates Mexican government approved charitable status.  It was launched with the assistance of the accounting firm of  Terán Rojas & Assoc (teranrojas.com.mx) and the law offices of Connell & Associates.   It falls under the USA Partner Organization Banderas Bay Charities.  The original board of five directors was formed when PEACEAnimals was founded.  Since then, the Board of Directors has been as large as 14 but currently has only 9 Board members.  After the unexpected loss of PEACEAnimals President and Founder, Gretchen DeWitt in late 2020, Clare Leach took the reigns as President until the end of 2023.  In late 2023, Shalimar Blanchard joined the Board of Directors and was then elected the new President starting in January 2024.  She continues to look for new board members as well as secure corporate donations.

In 2023, PEACEAnimals sterilized 8,095 cats and dogs (7,505 in 2022, a total of 57,574 since 2016); and treated them for fleas, ticks and parasites, plus mange, if present.  This is an average of 37 cats and dogs per clinic day.  Pregnancies were terminated upon request by owner.  All these of services, plus consultations and occasional amputations, surgical removal of hernias, non-malignant tumors, etc., were provided at no cost to the owners.  Time after time, clients are unbelievably grateful to have a service like this in their community.

PEACEAnimals holds approximately 48 free, four day long spay and neuter clinics annually, plus 2 Sundays monthly.  These take place primarily in the neighborhoods, municipalities and ranch areas of Puerto Vallarta. If the need is great, the same area is visited twice or more in a year´s time.  For many clients, they simply do not have the funds to spay or neuter their animal and would not be able to afford to do so if not for the PEACEAnimal clinics.  Most can only walk to clinic locations, therefore the various locations we visit make it possible for those without cars to come to our clinics.  In 2023, clinics were held as far south as El Tuito, as far north as Punta Mita and as far inland as Mascota and Tomatlan.

PEACEAnimals has presentations available for neighborhood (colonia) schools where mobile clinics take place. The central focus is pet care, with an emphasis on the benefits of spay and neuter, and adoption or rescue versus purchase.  Also stressed are care and respect for wildlife and the environment.  When clinics are held at schools, students have the opportunity to witness the procedures, ask the medics questions, and assist with all other aspects of the clinic.

Our vet team and clinic coordinator secure locations that are suitable to host our mobile clinics throughout the year.  All locations are donated by either individuals, business owners or local government offices.  These free mass sterilization clinics cater to poorer communities that otherwise are not able to afford to sterilize their pet(s).  This will help to reduce the overpopulation of cats and dogs, as well as ensure cleaner, safer, quieter and healthier neighborhoods.