Summer 2023

After a full day of teaching, this tireless woman begins her rounds, setting traps, driving animals to foster parents and to have them spayed and neutered at organizations such as the SNIP (Spay Neuter Imperative Project) Bus, a non- profit founded by Melanie Scherer of Pebble Beach that provides low- or no-cost procedures. “I’ve known Maria for four years,” Scherer says. “She is instrumental in getting so many pets spayed, especially in the Hispanic community.” The prohibitive cost of spay and neuter pro- cedures is a large contributor to the overpop- ulation problem. Villagómez says that it can cost up to $500 to have a female cat spayed, and $1,400 for a large female dog.The process she uses is called Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR). “We trap the adults, neuter or spay them, then return them to their homes, either as pets or to go back to happily eating mice in a barn.” This aspect is essential. “If we just show up and pick up a litter, we’re just going to have to go back in four months to get the next one,” Villagómez says. Ironically, Villagómez’s mission began not with cats, but with dogs. “We didn’t have dogs in my family. I had my first one when I began living on my own.” Her first was a terrier she rescued off the street, when she didn’t know the process was called “rescuing.” Villagómez rescued another she named Lexi. “I didn’t know then what I know now. Lexi was almost feral. If I’d taken her to animal control, she would probably have been euthanized. She was my launching point, first experience with a feral dog that set me on the path to rescuing ani- mals.” Soon, she was picking up strays and tak- ing them to animal control. Prior to forming ONPP, Villagómez was affili- ated with South County Animal Rescue (SCAR) where she found herself in a mainly administra- tive role. “I was on their board for a while, but realized I wanted to be out on the street.” Now, “She’s always hands on and boots on the ground, all over South County,” says Scherer. So far, ONPP consists of a core of three or four people, including Villagómez and adminis- trator Lou Rinehart. Shelley Tomlinson is also a trapper. There is a network of ten other 178 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R 2 0 2 3 Above: Ear-tipped cats living out their lives free from reproducing, and fighting. Below: ONPP volunteer Izabella Villanueva preparing a feral cat trap. Villagómez has now formed Our Neighborhood Pet Project (ONPP), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to breaking that cycle and improving the lives of both cats and humans.