Page 22 - SanFelipe

On The Front Line of S.F. Animal Care

Cheryl Weiss by Sherri Brody / photos Joe Pier

It’s hard for anyone moving to
Mexico to miss the endless stream
of unsterilized, starving dogs and
cats wandering the streets. There
was little if any education amongst
locals about the benefits of spaying
and neutering, and it has taken a
lot of work to bring people around.
These days, there are far fewer ani-
mals roaming the streets, and Cheryl
Weiss is partly to thank.
Born and raised in Stevens Point,
Wisconsin, Cheryl was voted in high
school the “most likely to move to Cal-
ifornia,” and this is exactly what she
did as an adult. She received her B.S
in both Accounting and Business at
the University of Wisconsin in 1990.
Seven years later she moved to Co-
rona, California, where she worked in
accounting for an international com-
pany. When she got laid off from her full-time position after 17 years, Cheryl had
some time on her hands, so she started painting every room in her house, and then
continued with the outside of the house. “You need a hobby!” her significant other
told her. Her “hobby” was returning to school to become a certified veterinary techni-
cian. She also found time to take Spanish and art classes in adult education. In 2013
Cheryl settled full time in San Felipe and began volunteering for VIVA (Volunteers for
Indigent & Vulnerable Animals). VIVA
alternated with the now-defunct cat
shelter in covering the costs of spays
and neuters, while Cheryl found her-
self paying for vaccines out of pocket.
VIVA dissolved and in 2019, she be-
came one of five founding members
of SNIP (Spay Neuter is Important
for Pets), which has since carried
on the important work. SNIP Clinics,
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