And always bad news along with the good
Dead Dog Beach is aptly named. The dogs there fight for their lives - sometimes literally - every day. I hesitate to describe the atrocities that occur there - it's just too hard to stomach. But briefly, and as delicately as I can, here are some recent events.
The carcass of a horse is laying near the building where all the dogs congregate. Apparently, it died and someone wrapped a chain around its neck and dragged it all the way to the beach for "disposal". Near its final resting place, the chain around the horse's neck severed the head from its body. Steve, rescuer extraordinaire, found the carcass and then nosed the head which was thrown into the bushes. He also found a tiny puppy, less than three weeks old, curled up and terrified in the body cavity of the dead horse. He braved the assault of rotting flesh on his nose and got the puppy out but the little one is very sick. It is suspected he has distemper and at the very least is dehydrated and anemic. Steve and Sandra are caring for him as best they can with antibiotics and good food.
Also, two dogs were found dead and decompossing in the tall grass near the building. Steve believes they did not just go in there together to die but rather were killed. He's seen nearly 1,000 dead dogs in his mere 16 months working at the beach. The way the dogs were laying and the condition of their bones (broken, shattered) suggest that they were literally beaten to death. This, sadly, is common, along with mass poisonings. Steve buries at least one dog almost every day. Even more tragic in this instance is that one of the dogs, Benji (pictured below), was to be picked up that very day and taken in for adoption. Benji had been missing for about a week prior and it was the hope, as it always is, that someone had taken him in to love and care for him. Unfortunately, nearly every time, the poor creature shows up dead a few days later. Poor little Benji was near the end of his horror at the beach, about to be rescued, but some horrible, evil, hate-filled individual ended his horror - and his life - before help could arrive.
Also at the beach yesterday, some young children were seen dragging a dog around by a chain around it's neck. They were yanking the chain and the dog was in obvious pain. Steve ran over and removed the chain and told the kids that what they were doing is wrong. They just ran away and will most likely do the same thing again. Aside from the obvious misery the dog was in, these instances also cause the animals to become fearful and aggressive and the likelihood of one of them biting a human is greatly increased. In fact, the people from the Health Department were at the beach that very day looking for a particular dog who apparently bit a man over the weekend. That dog will be taken in a put to sleep and probably because the man abused or threatened it or its puppies to the point where it had to defend itself. A great percentage of the dogs at the beach are friendly, loveable balls of fur - at least when they arrive there - or they are so fearful of humans, because they have been beaten and abused in the past, that they won't come anywhere near a person, even the rescuers who bring food and love.
Another dog, Yoshi (below), a sweet, playful, three-legged dog, was also to be picked up for adoption. Rescuers unfortunately discovered that he was heartworm positive and chose to pick up seven healthier, younger dogs instead. It's the sad sad reality there that the same amount of money it takes to heal Yoshi can get all seven of the other dogs treated, vaccinated, and sent to the U.S. for adoption. Luckily for Yoshi, a kind soul has offered to pay for Yoshi's treatment so as soon as someone can go pick him up, he'll begin getting treatment. Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Yoshi!
I'm sorry to be the bearer of such horrible stories but I believe it is really important for EVERYONE to know the truth about what happens at dumping grounds all around the island of Puerto Rico. I recognize as well that this is sadly not isolated only to PR but to many other countries as well, even in the United States. But this project is dedicated to working on protecting and saving the animals in Puerto Rico so that's where all these stories come from. Hopefully this reality will spur you and others to act on behalf of these animals. I encourage you to write to the Mayor of Yabucoa and to the Governor of Puerto Rico (addresses below) and ask them to take strong actions to end the cruelty inflicted on these innocent creatures. I've met with Mayor Garcia and with people from the Governor's office and they assure me they are committed to making the changes necessary - so you can be strong in your language but also be diplomatic. And, of course, I encourage you to donate what you can to Manos por Patas - and/or to other rescue groups on the island - to help cover costs for rescue of these animals. Their lives, truly, depend on all of us.
Honorable Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
Governor
PO Box 9020082
San Juan PR 00902-0082
Honorable Ángel S. García De Jesús
Mayor
P.O. Box 97
Yabucoa, P.R. 00767
The carcass of a horse is laying near the building where all the dogs congregate. Apparently, it died and someone wrapped a chain around its neck and dragged it all the way to the beach for "disposal". Near its final resting place, the chain around the horse's neck severed the head from its body. Steve, rescuer extraordinaire, found the carcass and then nosed the head which was thrown into the bushes. He also found a tiny puppy, less than three weeks old, curled up and terrified in the body cavity of the dead horse. He braved the assault of rotting flesh on his nose and got the puppy out but the little one is very sick. It is suspected he has distemper and at the very least is dehydrated and anemic. Steve and Sandra are caring for him as best they can with antibiotics and good food.
Also, two dogs were found dead and decompossing in the tall grass near the building. Steve believes they did not just go in there together to die but rather were killed. He's seen nearly 1,000 dead dogs in his mere 16 months working at the beach. The way the dogs were laying and the condition of their bones (broken, shattered) suggest that they were literally beaten to death. This, sadly, is common, along with mass poisonings. Steve buries at least one dog almost every day. Even more tragic in this instance is that one of the dogs, Benji (pictured below), was to be picked up that very day and taken in for adoption. Benji had been missing for about a week prior and it was the hope, as it always is, that someone had taken him in to love and care for him. Unfortunately, nearly every time, the poor creature shows up dead a few days later. Poor little Benji was near the end of his horror at the beach, about to be rescued, but some horrible, evil, hate-filled individual ended his horror - and his life - before help could arrive.
Also at the beach yesterday, some young children were seen dragging a dog around by a chain around it's neck. They were yanking the chain and the dog was in obvious pain. Steve ran over and removed the chain and told the kids that what they were doing is wrong. They just ran away and will most likely do the same thing again. Aside from the obvious misery the dog was in, these instances also cause the animals to become fearful and aggressive and the likelihood of one of them biting a human is greatly increased. In fact, the people from the Health Department were at the beach that very day looking for a particular dog who apparently bit a man over the weekend. That dog will be taken in a put to sleep and probably because the man abused or threatened it or its puppies to the point where it had to defend itself. A great percentage of the dogs at the beach are friendly, loveable balls of fur - at least when they arrive there - or they are so fearful of humans, because they have been beaten and abused in the past, that they won't come anywhere near a person, even the rescuers who bring food and love.
Another dog, Yoshi (below), a sweet, playful, three-legged dog, was also to be picked up for adoption. Rescuers unfortunately discovered that he was heartworm positive and chose to pick up seven healthier, younger dogs instead. It's the sad sad reality there that the same amount of money it takes to heal Yoshi can get all seven of the other dogs treated, vaccinated, and sent to the U.S. for adoption. Luckily for Yoshi, a kind soul has offered to pay for Yoshi's treatment so as soon as someone can go pick him up, he'll begin getting treatment. Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Yoshi!
I'm sorry to be the bearer of such horrible stories but I believe it is really important for EVERYONE to know the truth about what happens at dumping grounds all around the island of Puerto Rico. I recognize as well that this is sadly not isolated only to PR but to many other countries as well, even in the United States. But this project is dedicated to working on protecting and saving the animals in Puerto Rico so that's where all these stories come from. Hopefully this reality will spur you and others to act on behalf of these animals. I encourage you to write to the Mayor of Yabucoa and to the Governor of Puerto Rico (addresses below) and ask them to take strong actions to end the cruelty inflicted on these innocent creatures. I've met with Mayor Garcia and with people from the Governor's office and they assure me they are committed to making the changes necessary - so you can be strong in your language but also be diplomatic. And, of course, I encourage you to donate what you can to Manos por Patas - and/or to other rescue groups on the island - to help cover costs for rescue of these animals. Their lives, truly, depend on all of us.
Honorable Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
Governor
PO Box 9020082
San Juan PR 00902-0082
Honorable Ángel S. García De Jesús
Mayor
P.O. Box 97
Yabucoa, P.R. 00767
posted by Ginny at 10:17 AM
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