Article on Dead Dog Beach in San Juan Star

This article was written by Peggy Ann Bliss, a journalist living in San Juan. Peggy has a foundation called Fundation Valentina which was named after her pampered and beloved cat, Valentina. Peggy has worked with rescue groups in getting information out to the public about the horrors that so many animals in Puerto Rico are subjected to. I met Peggy on my last trip to Puerto Rico, where she attended a press conference held in Yabucoa. She’s a lovely woman and has a great heart. Please read the article below – it’s wonderful. There's a picture of her below - she took Betsy (pictured) and Meiling to her vet in San Juan to get them started on their paths to adoption.

San Juan STAR, Saturday, March 3, 2007

A united front to help the animals

By Peggy Ann Bliss

Of The STAR Staff

Dead Dog Beach, Yabucoa

The beach evokes a canine version of “Saving Private Ryan.” War casualties wash up with the tide, and dull, lifeless eyes follow every movement of the invading army. Yet, a spirit of hope and solidarity exists among the [human] soldiers in the battle to eradicate this aptly named war zone otherwise known as Lucía Beach .

My visit last week capped a press conference by Yabucoa Mayor Angel García to announce his support for the ongoing rescue effort here by several animal organizations.

Two beautiful resorts, picture perfect from a distance, have been marred by the suffering of thousands of discarded pets, and the apathy of hoteliers who have accepted mass eradication and cruelty as the cost of doing business.

And while it is hardly unbridled enthusiasm on the part of some residents, a new wind is blowing over these frothy white caps and swaying palm trees, thanks to several local and stateside animal protection groups.

Several visitors descended on Yabucoa on Feb. 21 for what was to be a historic, precedent-setting meeting. Among them were Liz Kracht and Christine Driscoll Rodríguez of Amigos de los Animales, Ginny Cornett of Manos por Patas/ Hands for Paws. Before meeting the press, they huddled with representatives of the police, the hotel community and City Hall, coming up with some initial agreements which could make Yabucoa a pilot project, especially in the tourist areas.

García has pledged $1,000 a month to rent and administer a small no-kill shelter in his town where discarded animals can be housed while they await rehabilitation. The facility can also be used to triage, treat, and rehabilitate sick animals until they can find foster homes and “forever homes” here or on the mainland. Rescuers have already identified three shelters in New Jersey and several others in Florida that have waiting lists for people who want to adopt animals Puerto Ricans have thrown away.

Few communities in Puerto Rico have shelters, and even existing ones can offer a respite to only about 5 percent of the animals they take in. Legislation to create regional shelters and the $1.5 million earmarked for them has languished in the Health Department for the last seven years. Gilberto Torres, from the Yabucoa mayor’s office, claims the funds have disappeared, but García has promised to use his contacts in the House of Representatives of which he was a member for eight years.

And as the Yabucoa situation has hit the Internet, the community has presented a united front to help animals. But activists still want those responsible for the killing and and abuse they say makes Yabucoa unique in cruelty to be accountable.

“I have never seen the intentional cruelty that I have seen in this area,” said Rodríguez, who has traveled in Costa Rica , Mexico and Spain . “It rips out your soul.”

Kracht said $10,000 has been spent rehabilitating dogs and cats, a figure Jeannette Pollard, owner of Lucía Beach Villas, thinks could be better used on sterilization and euthanasia.

Pollard, whose resort had its grand opening last month, said visitors do not like to see the dogs, which are dropped off by owners. People, even from other towns, prefer to wear blinders, says Pollard, who has a background in public health. “In their minds the dog is alive and enjoying the beach.”

The municipality must remind businesses that poisoning and brutalizing dogs is illegal, says Kracht, while not accusing any of the participants directly. However, she has seen many examples of animals being poisoned, tied up, burned, shot at and beaten.

Called to action

Rescue operations at Dead Dog Beach began in September when Amigos de los Animales pitched in to help the unsung heroes who have been feeding the dogs – and some cats – there for nine years.

Steve McGarva and Sandra Cintrón, who brought the matter to the organization’s attention, “have seen so much cruelty and death it is a wonder they can still function,” said Kracht, a Californian. “Steve has buried more than 1,000 dogs at the beach alone. “

The four rescuers, plus Mary Eldergill, now sheltering 60 dogs in Salinas , were recently honored by Fundación Valentina and Westernbank with the Vita Award.

Marine biologist Cornett, of Jupiter, Florida , was moved by the plight of the dogs she saw on her monthly trips to Puerto Rico starting in summer 2005.

“Every morning, I petted these sad emaciated dogs and spoke kind words to them, hoping to convey a message of hope, and every time I cried,” she told Best Friends.

Finally in June 2006, Manos por Patas was born. She launched the first chemical sterilization “roundup” with Aguadilla ’s Dr. Gwen Davis of Puerto Rican Animal Welfare Society [PAWS], who later trained other veterinarians in the procedures. She also raised $2,500 by organizing a raffle.

Yabucoa is not the only place where strays abound, concedes Kracht, but it does have the worst cruelty rate of any town.

But with all the torture, burning and poisoning they have seen, the rescuers want to give every dog a chance at a new life, free from unwanted pregnancies and reproductive system cancers, parasites, skin diseases, and abuse.

The coalition must still get the agencies who own the land to cooperate. Kracht suggests that Lucía Beach have restricted access, with a $1 parking charge.

She also suggests that signs stating a fine for dumping animals be erected, and that there be regular police surveillance of the area. “Police must learn about Law 67 and commit to protecting animals as they do people,” she says. She wants the municipality to demand the Port Authority maintain their dilapidated buildings or bring a lawsuit to have them removed. As it is, they provide a place for teens to congregate and use dogs for target practice.

Then there must be regular beach cleanup and a “positive, poignant ad campaign” to sensitize people to the practice of dumping animals.

Cornett believes these battles on the beach are only the beginning of a revolution, and she sees “a future without the intense suffering and misery these animals live every minute of their lives”. She states “ When you come upon a dog who is so skinny his ribs protrude, his hairless skin, bloody with mange, hangs in rolls from his body, you kneel down and gently extend your hand. The dog lowers his head and anxiously approaches you, hoping against all hope that you are a friend, not a foe. That moment when your hand meets his muzzle and his muscles relax, because he realizes that you are good and you are kind, at that moment, your whole world changes and you are called to action.”

Peggy Ann Bliss is the president of Fundación Valentina, which helps rescue abandoned and abused cats and dogs. She lives with eight cats, one dog, and an occasional foster animal. Her cybermag Pure Bliss can be accessed on www.purebliss.info. Her e-mail is valentine@purebliss.info.