The faces of rescue

There are so many dogs in Puerto Rico that need forever homes. At Amigos de los Animales there are dogs of all shapes, sizes, colours and breed mixtures. Please share with your friends and family the organizations website if anyone is looking to adopt a new four-legged member into their family. American Airlines generously provides ADLA with a low cost transportation option to get the adorable pups to their new home. I have added a link on the right hand side that will direct you to their website, but have included here some of the many beautiful faces currently awaiting new homes:

Ángel de los animales

On any given day at ADLA there is one light that shines brighter than any other and that is Bethzaida, the only paid member of the team. Starting each day with a chorus of excited howls on her arrival, the dogs absolutely adore her. 'Betsy' as she is known to everyone here, although diminutive in stature is a powerhouse behind the cleaning, feeding and care of all the four legged residents. With one clear command she can silence the entire chorus. She can wrangle even the biggest dog into it's kennel by her own tender, playful method.While inside the house on a coffee break, she keeps tabs on what's going out in the yard, recognizing each dog individually by it's bark - an amazing feat, in my one week, I had difficulty remembering more than a dozen or so names, let alone the sound each dog made! Betsy is an eternally cheerful and dedicated member of the team, singing and dancing her way through the work day, her love of animals is always evident - and they all love her in return.

Veterinary Day

Dr Jose Cruz and his amazing team spent the whole of Tuesday at Amigos de los Animales. The team arrived early to set up for what was going to be a long and busy day. Each of the 96 dogs here received updates or initial treatment on vaccinations for Rabies, Bordetella and Distemper and also were tested for Heartworm and Ehrlichia chaffeensis - a mosquito born parasite, similar to Lyme Tick disease. The team work diligently and quickly, each dog having a medical check for overall condition, dental assessment and nails clipped if required. Some of the dogs were perfect patients, while some really did not enjoy their visit with the vet and did their very best to escape from the treatment table!

Dr Cruz is a regular visitor to ADLA often bringing his mobile surgery van to carry out spaying, neutering or sadly euthanization when required. He recently received international recognition for his humanitarian work.

Cleaning Day

Saturday is cleaning day and extra volunteers are on hand to assist with the task of cleaning all of the sleeping crates. Raymond, an 11th Grade student plans to attend Veterinary School on St Kitts. Adri, Ina and Neda were in full swing and I just had to try and keep up with them as we all cleaned out the crates and dragged then out onto the patio, where each one was scrubbed, rinsed and dried, before being stacked again and lined with fresh newspaper sheets. The pups were out of the way, either at the side or back of the house to give us room to work.
The high schools in Puerto Rico have a community service component to the curriculum and some of the local kids come to ADLA to help out. Some, like Sebastian, who I met, come back during college break to lend a hand whenever they can.

The dogs of Puerto Rico

Before my trip, I had read quite a bit about the situation with stray dogs in Puerto Rico. The hardship and mistreatment seemed unimaginable and people like Adri at Amigos de los Animales seemed to be few in number. Traveling the island and also a side trip to the smaller island of Vieques gave me an opportunity to see just what some of the conditions were like. Driving the narrow mountainous roads, it was horrifying at first to round a sharp bend and see a dog belonging to a nearby finca resting in the middle of the road, oblivious to the danger. Yet, in all of my travels I saw only one dead dog, killed on a major highway on the east coast of the island. I imagine as pups these animals have to develop road sense very early in life if they are to have any chance of survival at all.

It was heartwarming to see in so many places, like Isabel Segunda on Vieques, donation jars and posters showing what I would like to believe is a growing concern and care for these abandoned and victimized pets. The reality is that it will take generations to change a society that for the most part regards these loving creatures as disposable, all too evident in some of the conditions that many of the 'lucky few' household pets are kept in.

Dead Dog Beach

I did not think I would get to Playa Lucia in my travels of Puerto Rico, but as fate would have it, I stayed two nights in the south eastern corner of the island and it was only a short drive away. I don't think I could prepare myself for what I expected to see, but I was fortunate to be spared the sights described in Stephen McGarva's book: Rescue on Dead Dog Beach. It was midday and the temperature was in the mid eighties. There were no dogs to be seen on my walk through the rows of Palm trees and the beach was also deserted. I was filled with sadness, seeing the tire tracks and paw prints in the sand, overwhelmed by the sense of unimaginable cruelty that takes place in what is supposed to be a tropical paradise. It was little relief not having to put faces to the surviving pack and I left with a heavy heart and tears in my eyes.

Arrival

I got here minus one of my bags - the one with all the donated vet supplies - which seemed to go astray in Houston. Being Christmas Eve everything was closing early and it looked like I wouldn't be able to get it today.
Luckily Christmas Day arrived and so do my bag I was able to retrieve it after much conversation with United Airlines help line, who weren't too sure if the local office was open. My dear new friend Myrna took some time away from her family to take me out to SJU to collect it and then out to ADLA to drop it off - a late delivery from Santa!
I'll be back here in two weeks after spending a bit of time traveling the island.