It's raining Dalmations!

Yet ANOTHER Dalmation has surface needing help! This boy, Rocco, was found wandering in Humacao, P.R., a town in the southeast of the country. He has a wire collar around his neck that was so tight it dug into his skin all the way around his neck creating a deep circular gash. His rescuer has been giving him antibiotics and caring for him as best she can. We've already arranged foster care for him with Miami Dalmation Rescue but he needs a vet to work on the serious wound. He's a sweet, loving, playful boy given all that he's been through.

Teddy Bears need homes too!

Liz Kracht came across these teddy bears, apparently overstock from the Build-A-Bear store. Wait, no, they're breathing! There are five Chow-Chow puppies looking for homes. (pictures of two from the litter are below - 4 are lion colored, 1 is black) They are, as you can tell, super cute but a little timid and shy around people - they also growl a bit when approached (usually pretty normal for the breed). If anyone has ties with a Chow-Chow rescue, please contact Liz at elizabeth_kracht@yahoo.com to see what you can arrange.

More dogs to Florida

I received six of the sweetest, most precious little satitos on Tuesday. Only Major is from Dead Dog Beach, the other five were rescues from Mary Eldergill - since money has been low in our bank account, we haven't been able to take many Yabucoa dogs in for a while. Major, Maybelline, and Arlene are all at the Treasure Coast Humane Society where they are up for adoption. Foxy, Lindy, and Sammy are sharing homes between Danielle Woodell and myself. They are just amazing little dogs. Full of energy and life - and lots of kisses. These three will stay with us until Sunday when they will then be taken to the humane society for adoption. I am setting up a table in a swanky mall on Saturday and want to have cute little rescued pups there to draw the people in to learn more about the situation in Yabucoa and to donate funds. I'll be pretty attached to these three by then but ready to have them go on to their forever homes - and to reopen mine to others in need.

ELEVEN MORE DOGS OFF THE BEACH!!!

Liz Kracht and Christine Driscoll are my heroes - well, that's nothing new. But yesterday they took ELEVEN little darlings from Dead Dog Beach and by now those dogs are probably had their first restful night's sleep in possibly their whole lives. These rescues were made possible by Steve McGarva - friends of his from New York came through with a big donation to help him with his work at the beach. So thanks to those from the frozen hinterland! Of those rescued, Scampie will be coming up to Florida, with her puppies, to stay in foster care with me. The three DARLING Dalmation puppies are going to the wonderfully amazing Miami Dalmation Rescue to be placed into adoptive homes. The fate of the others is to be rehabilitated and placed in shelters in the U.S. But, of course, we are looking for donors to help sponsor their transition from horror to home. Take a look at these angels and try not to fall in love with at least one! (they are Ashley, Bradley, Cindy, Emily, Angie, Maggie, Scampie, Taz, and the three Dalmation darlings):

Weebles wobble!

But they don't always have homes. This beauty needs help! I think someone tried a cruel experiment in crossbreeding her with a horse! Wow, what a huge belly! She is a stray and is obviously ready to pop - seems like LITERALLY - any minute. I urged her finder to get her to a vet immediately but she's concerned about money to pay for the care the dog will need. It's uncertain whether Weebles (that's my name for her) will be able to safely give birth to the puppies because she is so tiny - there are either a lot of little ones in there or a few really big ones. A C-section to avoid probably complications - the bill could be very high. This girl is an absolute darling - and her finder says she's the sweetest thing ever. I'm sure we can place her and her babies in a heartbeat but we need financial assistance to take care of her and get her here.

Help for Ricky and Chari - two little ones who need homes

I received this call for help from Liz Kracht of Amigos de los Animales. They are too precious to lose. If you can help, please email Liz at elizabeth_kracht@yahoo.com.

Do you know anyone who can help with these two dogs? They have the most pathetic story ever.

I noticed these two dogs across the street from our store some time back. I would see them make rounds on a busy street like clockwork. Eventually they started full-time living outside this Chinese restaurant. I was trying to find someone to take them in because at that time I wasn't as connected as I am now. Customers of the restaurant would complain to us about
the dogs, so I knew their time was limited. Then one day they went missing. I found out through Christine that another rescuer had spotted them and rescued them. Apparently their owners, who used to own the Chinese Restaurant, up and moved and sold the restaurant, and then dumped the dogs at the restaurant to live out their days.

So the rescuer got them a home with an older woman. The woman ended up having to move in with her son, and the son didn't want her to have the dogs, so he abandoned them in a lot. Both dogs took shelter in an abandoned car. Eventually someone noticed them, and called on their rabies tags. Our vet called the rescuer, and now we have both dogs back in our custody.

These are special case dogs. They have never been apart. They are both about 10 or 11 years old. The vet said one or both has a heart valve problem (which is common in little old dogs apparently) and will need a pill(s) for the rest of their lives. They are both friendly. I can get more info on their vetting, but just wanted to get their story out. I care about these little guys because I would watch them and feed them across the street. I even wrote about them a few
times on my blog because I was sure they were addicted to MSG since they were eating from the Chinese restaurant. When I would bring them dry food they weren't in the least interested.

Trampy Scampie?!?!?

Well, we've had a sort of "virgin birth" miracle at the beach this week. Scampie turned up pregnant!!! Scampie is one of the dogs who has been at the beach the longest. She's an old girl with lots of gray hair and the hard-life scars of a sato. She's also just the absolute sweetest thing EVER!!! She's always there to greet you and will follow you around all day. She'd rather be petted than eat, most of the time. And the poor thing is constantly molested by the males who relentlessly mount her. And for as long as anyone can remember, she's been sans babies - until now! So, she's ready to give birth in a couple of weeks. We're worried about the health of the pups to such an old girl and their safety after birth since we don't know what kind of mother she is. AND we just want to get that supremely deserving girl off the beach and into a safe and loving home. Steve is taking her to the vet this morning and she'll stay there until she gives birth. Once she gets the a-ok from the vet, she'll go into foster care until the puppies are ready to fly. Then she'll be bound for the Sunshine State. The puppies will be easily adopted. I'll work on getting a home for Scampie but if that doesn't work out, she'll stay with me and the gatos (they'll get over it eventually) for the rest of her days. She'll be loved and snuggled and, well, probably hissed at quite a bit, but she deserves good things and will get them. Remember Scampie, keep breathing and PUSH!!!!

Xena - Before and After

I realized that I never showed you the "results" picture of Xena! She was always a sweetheart but her skin was in pretty bad shape and she was, of course, unhealthy at the beach. Take a look at the "before" photo from the beach and then at the "after" one taken at the Treasure Coast Humane Society. BEE-UUU-TEEFUL!!!

Doggies go home!

I mean that in a GOOD way. Elsa, Scooby, Xena, and Frances were all adopted within 8 days of being at the Treasure Coast Humane Society! I'm not at all surprised because they were all amazingly wonderful dogs. Elsa was the last to go and the entire shelter had fallen in love with her. They said it was bittersweet when she left.
































We're all so thankful to TCHS as well as Vero Beach Humane Society, who took Betsy in, for helping us find great homes for our precious satitos.

New little love

This poor little girl showed up at the beach about a week ago. She's infested with mange, as you can see, and extremely skinny. Sandra says she doesn't like the other dogs (it takes a while to get settled in to the new situation) but loves to be around people.

Lannie's puffy ear

Poor little Lannie. She's missing an eye, apparently from someone actually removing it. She recently got smushed into a kennel and taken to the vet to be spayed. And now, the poor girl has a hematoma on her left ear! It's basically just an infected scratch and isn't really not a serious issue if she gets taken to the vet. The ear is filled with fluids - puss and blood - I know, totally gross. The vet will stitch a shunt into the ear to allow it to drain and put her on antibiotics. If you're interested in helping with these vet costs it would be most appreciated - especially by Miss Lannie!

We lost sweet Jules

On Thursday, Sandra found Jules dead, with his head in a water bowl and blood running from his mouth. Steve smelled antifreeze in the water. This is a common kind of poisoning since antifreeze is easy to access and it's easy to just pour some in the water bowls - the only fresh water the dogs can access at the beach. Jules was a sweet little guy with lots of personality. Since other dogs were noted as missing around the same time, we all fear they will share the same fate.

Cindy and two puppies need help

Cindy was dumped at the beach about a month ago. She was very pregnant, which is probably the reason she was thrown away, and gave birth a week later to three little darlings. Three days ago, someone stole two of Cindy's 3-week-old puppies. If these people don't know what they are doing - that they need to bottle feed the puppies with the proper formula - the puppies will not survive. Near the same time those puppies were taken, someone (same person? not sure) left a puppy about 4-5 weeks old at the beach near where Cindy is. This puppy had a hind leg severed and the people actually brought the leg with them and left it beside the puppy! We have no idea how the amputation happened, but it did and there's a little puppy in need. This little sweetie, now named Sugar, was taken to Dr. Reyes clinic where she'll be cared for over the weekend. On Monday, Dr. Reyes will amputate the leg a little higher up in order to get a clean cut and to remove any potentially gangrenous material. Cindy had been nursing this little one so we want to place Cindy with her natural puppy plus Sweetie, her adopted one, in a safe place until the puppies are weaned and can be adopted. Cindy is a fantastic girl and will make a great pet as well so she will then go up for adoption as well. However, the surgery and care for Sugar plus the rehabilitation and boarding for these three will not be cheap and we need help to cover expenses. If you can make a donation to help, please do.

News story on Patrice's rescue

Si, it's in espanol, pero I pasted a babel fish translation below - it's pretty sketchy but I think you can get the gist of it.

La gata Patricia junto a su dueña Peggy Ann Bliss después de su rescate. Abajo, Bliss enseña por donde se cayó Patricia. (Primera Hora / Laura Magruder)

Patricia agota una de sus vidas

jueves, 5 de abril de 2007

Adela Dávila Estelritz / Primera Hora

Dicen que los gatos tienen siete vidas, pero Patricia -una gata persa que ya había sido rescatada una vez- acaba de salvarse de una muerte segura.

La felina cayó por un hoyo en una pared de un condominio el 26 de marzo y estuvo atrapada entre tuberías y paredes de concreto durante 10 largos días. Ayer, a eso de las 4:00 de la tarde, personal de Emergency K-9 Rescue Team rescató al animal de lo que casi fuera su tumba en vida.

Patricia fue encontrada detrás de la pared de un baño, un piso más abajo de donde cayó. Pero su salvamento fue poco menos que una odisea, pues requirió la intervención del Cuerpo de Bomberos, la Agencia Estatal de Manejo de Emergencias, el equipo de rescatistas profesionales de Emergency K-9 y Amigos de los Animales, una organización sin fines de lucro dedicada al rescate de animales abandonados y maltratados.

Patricia había sido rescatada por Peggy Ann Bliss, una periodista retirada, de un zafacón del Condado el 17 de marzo, día de San Patricio. De ahí su nombre.

Ve cómo fue el rescate de la gatita

Bliss, iniciadora de Fundación Valentina, una organización sin fines de lucro que rescata gatos abandonados, se llevó a la gata para su casa en el cercano condominio San Gabriel. El veterinario certificó que la gata estaba ciega, aunque en ese momento no pudo precisar las causas.

Todo estuvo bien hasta que el 26 de marzo, de madrugada, Patricia -jugando o peleando con otro de los gatos rescatados por Peggy Ann- huyó por un hoyo en la pared del baño donde se encontraba alojada.

“En la pared de ese baño quedó un hoyo luego de unas reparaciones que le hicieron al inodoro”, informó Bliss. Pero, a pesar de que dicha abertura estaba tapada con una madera y unas losetas, todavía quedaba un pequeño resquicio. Y por ahí mismo cayó la gata Patricia.

En cuanto amaneció, Bliss trató sin éxito de que los vecinos de los pisos debajo del suyo le permitieran intentar descubrir en cuál de sus apartamentos había quedado emparedado el animal.

Incapacitada de rescatar a la gata por sí sola, Bliss recabó la ayuda de cuatro personas que resultaron instrumentales para el salvamento del animal: Damaris Massanet, abogada; Elizabeth Kracht, directora de Amigos de los Animales; y F. J. Lozano, un amigo, también rescatista.

De hecho, una de las primeras gestiones de la letrada fue acudir al tribunal de Hato Rey para pedir una orden de la corte con el fin de que los titulares de los apartamentos donde se sospechaba que Patricia estaba atrapada les permitieran acceso. Para complicar el asunto, uno de los baños -el mismo donde la gata finalmente sería encontrada- había sido recientemente remodelado.

Con la orden judicial en su poder, Bliss, Massanet y Kracht lograron que los bomberos y AEME intentaran recuperar al animal. “Pero pasaron varios días porque cada vez que la buscaban, decían que no la veían y que tampoco la oían”, relató Massanet. “Pero nosotros seguimos insistiendo”, apuntó Bliss.

Afortunadamente, el proceso de rescate fue bastante rápido una vez se localizó a la gata Patricia ayer. Usando un cable de fibra óptica con una cámara, Erick Cintrén y Antonio Rosa, de Emergency K-9 Rescue Team, ubicaron a la gata y la extrajeron de su prisión de cemento.

El animal, menos asustado de lo que se podría suponer, gustosamente se acomodó en los brazos de Bliss.

Patricia sobrevivió porque Bliss y sus amigos le arrojaban comida y cubitos de hielo por el hoyo por donde había caído.

En ingles:

Patrice exhausts one of her lives Thursday, the 5 of April of 2007

Dicen that the cats have seven lives, but Patricia - a Persian cat that already had been rescued one time finishes being saved of a safe death. The feline fell through a hole in a wall of a condominium the 26 of March and was stuck between pipes and walls of concrete during 10 long days. Yesterday, about the 4:00 of afternoon, personnel of Emergency K-9 Rescue Team rescued the animal of which almost outside its tomb while still alive. Patricia was found behind the wall of a bath, a floor more underneath where fell. But its rescue was little less than an odyssey, because it required the intervention of the Body of Firemen, the State Agency of Handling of Emergencies, the equipment of professional rescatistas of Emergency K-9 and Amigos of the Animals, an non-profit organization dedicated to abandoned and mistreated animal rescue. Patrice had been rescued by Peggy Ann Bliss, a retired journalist, of zafacón of the County the 17 of March, day of San Patricio. Of there its name. It sees how it was the rescue of the kitten Bliss, initiator of Foundation Valentin, an organization without profit aims that rescue left cats, took to the cat for its house in the near condominium San Gabriel. The veterinarian certificó that the cat was blind, although then could not need the causes. Everything was or until the 26 of March, at daybreak, Patrice - playing or fighting with another one of the cats rescued by Peggy Ann- it fled by a hole in the wall of the bath where it was lodged. “In the wall of that bath it was left a hole after repairs that did to him to the toilet”, Bliss informed. But, although this opening was covered with a wood and losetas, still it was left a small resquicio. And that way same the cat fell Patrice. As soon as amaneció, Bliss dealed without success which the neighbors of the floors underneath his allowed to try to discover him in which of its apartments it had been emparedado the animal. Incapacitated to rescue the cat by itself, Bliss successfully obtained the aid of four people who were instrumental for the rescue of the animal: Damaris Massanet, lawyer; Elizabeth Kracht, director of Friends of the Animals; and F. J. Lozano, a friend, also rescatista. In fact, one of the first managements of the lawyer went to go to the court of Cattle ranch King to request an order of the cut in order that the holders of the apartments where he suspected that Patrice was stuck allowed access them. In order to complicate the subject, one of the baths - the same one where the cat finally would be found had been recently remodelado. With the judicial order in their power, Bliss, Massanet and Kracht obtained that firemen and AEME tried to recover the animal. “But they spent several days because whenever looked for it, they said that they did not see it and that either they did not hear it”, related Massanet. “But we continued insisting”, pointed Bliss. Luckily, the rescue process was enough express once was located to the cat Patrice yesterday. Using an optical fiber cable with a camera, Erick Cintrén and Antonio Rosa, of Emergency K-9 Rescue Team, they located to the cat and they extracted it of its cement prison. The animal, less scared of which it would be possible to be supposed, with pleasure complied in the arms of Bliss. Patricia survived because Bliss and its friends threw food and ice cubes to him by the hole by where it had fallen.

PATRICE IS FINALLY RESCUED!!!

Patrice has been rescued once already. Today, she used up another of her 9 lives to be rescued again.
I think many of us gave up a few times during the ordeal but thanks to dedicated animal lovers, little Patrice, the blind kitten, was finally extracted from the wall she'd been stuck in for 10 days! All the city and state departments contacted in San Juan were not only unable to save Patrice but even said they didn't believe she was in there. One of the "rescuers", not sure if it was police or fire, even told their supervisor that they had successfully rescued the kitten - that was almost a week ago! It wasn't until the Emergency K-9 Search and Rescue Team was called that any real glimmer of hope appeared. Liz Kracht and Damaris Massanet were instrumental in the final outcome because they refused to give up. Liz has recounted the story with some great pictures and I'll just let you go to her blog to get all the details. (photo courtesy of Liz Kracht).
The entire cost of repairs to the apartment walls that had to be broken into is at the hands of Liz, Damaris, and Peggy who signed a contact agreeing to pay for the damage. If you would like to make a donation to help cover these costs, please send it to:

Amigos de los Animales
PMB 357
1357 Ashford Avenue
San Juan, PR 00907

Kitten is still trapped - 10 days and counting!

Poor little Patrice is STILL inside the wall of the apartment building in San Juan. I honestly can't tell you why the city departments haven't already taken out enough of the wall to get to her - but they haven't. I hear today is the day (I'll believe it when I see it) that they will actually do the work to get to her. This little angel has been fighting for her life all this time - I just hope she can hang on a little longer.

Liz is keeping a good blog on the situation and she knows much more since she's there. Check out her blog classandcircumstance for more info.

The news in Puerto Rico didn't pick up on this story very quickly, which is unfortunate. And sadly, one of the newscasters who went to the scene and did a story just talked about how much this was costing the city and how the money could be better spent on taking care of the homeless! I hope someone with a heart will be there today to tell the story of this brave little girl.

I also hope to convince the media to put a phone number or website address up on the screen when they do the story and encourage people to make donations to the "Free Patrice" fund. The reconstruction of these walls is going to cost a lot of money and it will be all on our (the rescuers who have agreed to pay) heads to pay the costs. If you would like to make a donation to help us out, you can do so on this website via credit card or mail to the address listed - make a note that the funds are for Patrice.

More dogs come from Puerto Rico!

Today I got a wonderful, tail-wagging, face-licking present at the Miami Airport of six bouncing baby dogs! Alana, the beautiful dalmation, was taken to Pati with the Miami Dalmation Rescue group to be fostered until she can find a forever home. I hadn't met Alana before but she is a beautiful, sweet, petite dalmation with a heart of gold. I was sad to see her go but know she's on her way to a better life. Pictures below are of Alana with Pati and with me.
















Elsa, Scooby, Xena, and Frances all went to the Treasure Coast Humane Society in Palm City, Florida. I took a couple of pictures but, well, I guess I have other talents, photography not being one of them (the only good pic is of Alana below so I copied the others from the TCHS website)! I had met Xena before when we were there last month to TNR some of the girls. She is such a little sweetie! She curled up on the passenger seat and rested all the way to the shelter. Elsa, the little beauty, gave me a near heart attack when she escaped from my arms and went tearing around the loading dock at the airport, nearly missing forklifts and steel-toed boots! We finally rounded her up and got her settled back in. I will say that her new family will DEFINITELY have a ball-chaser to play with! Oh and that Scooby - what a charmer! He laid his head on my leg the whole two-hour trip! Frances, a beautiful girl from Salinas (Mary had her ready to go so she put her in with the Dead Dog Beach dogs) just stole my heart. The most beautiful eyes I've ever seen and so gentle and shy.















Miss Betsy, the little girl who had such a horrible skin condition just a month ago we thought she'd need vet care for a long time, looked GORGEOUS!!! Dr. Rivera in San Juan did a fantastic job with her. She went to the Vero Beach Humane Society. She needs a few more days to clear up some of her mange spots but will be ready to go soon. And she will be a fantastic addition to any home. She's got lots of energy and lots of love. And she's smart, too! She learned how to open the half-door at the receiving area at the shelter - I guess she wanted to come home with me!

It was really hard to leave them all - it's hard to believe one can get so attached to those little guys when they're only in your life for a few short hours. But knowing their stories and the hardships they've been through seems to bond us with them so we feel close to them before we even meet them. At 4:00 this morning I was wondering what the heck I was doing driving all the way to Miami to pick up just six dogs. At 4:00 p.m. when I finally arrived home, exhausted and hungry, I realized why and it was all worth it.

Bruce's Extreme Makeover

Take a look at what great work Steve and Sandra do at the beach. These are photos of Bruce before they began treating his skin condition and of him now. He looks so much better! I know he feels a lot better than he did before he got such good care from the DDB M.A.S.H. docs! If anyone is interested in adopting Bruce, please let us know. He's a very sweet boy and deserves to be in a safe and loving home.

Latest on the trapped kitten

After a week of working nearly around the clock to get to the little kitten trapped in the wall, the heroic rescuers - Damaris Massanet, Liz Kracht and her husband, Efren, and Christine Driscoll finally got a court order allowing the police to enter the 3rd floor neighbor's apartment and cut open the wall to get to the kitten. When they did so, they could not find the kitten. The poor little one may have fallen farther down the wall or may even be dead. It's so heartbreaking and enfuriating to know that this could have been avoided from the very beginning if the neighbor would have consented to let them enter his apartment. Now we have a hefty bill for the repairs that will have to be made in his apartment and no precious kitten to show for it. I'm afraid there won't be a happy ending to this tragic story.

Update on Trapped Kitten

It's Day 7 and little Patrice/Jessica hasn't been heard from this morning. She was meowing last night so we hope she's just sleeping. The police and fire departments STILL have not done anything to go into the apartment. A court injunction was applied for last night to force the man to allow rescuers access but no word yet. One more day and I will post the man's name, address, and phone number on this site and anywhere else I can. This situation goes far beyond the life of this innocent little creature but exposes a culture of indifference and neglect. I will provide a listing of government and newspaper addresses and phone numbers and I urge everyone to bombard them with letters of disgust toward this situation. This should NEVER have gone this far.