Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda led celebrations this week marking the second anniversary of Santuario Mily, a state-run shelter in Mexicali dedicated to dogs and cats rescued from abuse. The governor announced plans to expand the facility’s capacity from its current 210 animals to more than 300 spaces.
From Emergency Rescue Project to State Model
Santuario Mily opened in March 2024 as the state’s first government-operated shelter focused exclusively on animals seized during raids by the FGE (Baja California’s state attorney general’s office). Unlike municipal lost-and-found shelters, it takes in only animals that have suffered documented abuse, neglect, or abandonment.
Over two years the sanctuary has sheltered more than 280 animals. Of those, 152 have been adopted by families. Rescued dogs and cats receive veterinary evaluations, behavioral rehabilitation, proper nutrition, vaccinations, parasite treatment, and sterilization before entering the adoption process.
“Two years ago, we made history in Mexicali and across Baja California,” Ávila Olmeda said during the event. She credited citizen organizations and animal welfare advocates, singling out the group Patitas Callejeras and its founder, Juliana Ortega, for their role in pushing new animal protection laws at the state level.
Mily Bus and Coastal Expansion Planned
Norma Elvia Martínez Santos, head of the Secretariat of Environment and Sustainable Development, detailed a new “Mily Bus” program. Mobile units will travel through Mexicali neighborhoods to host adoption fairs and deliver adopted pets directly to homes. The buses also serve as outreach tools for responsible pet ownership education.
At the sanctuary’s first anniversary in February 2025, the governor had announced plans for a second shelter in the Zona Costa region of Baja California, which includes Tijuana, Rosarito, and Ensenada. That coastal facility would extend adoption and rescue services to the western half of the state, where no equivalent government shelter currently exists.
The sanctuary also accepts volunteers for activities like socializing cats and dogs, according to previous state announcements. The expansion to 300 spaces is expected to begin soon, though no specific construction timeline has been released, as reported by Uniradio Baja California.