We've lost a special dog

Dear Bruce died last week due to a "mystery" illness. Bruce arrived at the beach a few months ago in horrible condition. He had been in apparent fights with other dogs and was covered with mange. Sandra and Steve tended to him and got him looking - and feeling - much better. Then Rosina, a woman who has been a big supporter of animal rescue in Puerto Rico, found a home for him in Boston. Shortly after he arrived, Bruce, now named "Rocky", got sick. He had all kinds of problems but the vets could never determine what the problems were and how to fix them. John, Rocky's new owner, gave him all the love and medical attention in the world, but in the end, Rocky just wasn't strong enough to fight anymore. The decision to euthanize him was made on Wednesday. We are all so very sad for Rocky - and John. It's actually not that uncommon for dogs that have lived in the "wild" for a long period of time to take ill with unknown problems - especially those with serious mange since it severely compromises their immune systems. Rocky will be missed by us all. He made a special nest in our hearts.

Another birth at the beach

There are four very prolific females at the beach - Dana, Danya, Darlene, and Rachel. They are wiley and we have not been able to catch them to get them in for spay - and believe me, we've all tried. Dana gave birth to 7 puppies last night. I will be in Yabucoa in July and the plan is to do whatever it takes to get those four girls captured and spayed. These girls are very smart and have been able to survive the conditions at the beach for years and they will continue to pump out puppies unless they are spayed. We're going complete with sedatives, hot dogs, and catch poles in order to get them.

Island Dog rocks!!!

Island Dog started basically the same way Manos por Patas did. Katie Block from Baltimore, MD, saw the abhorrent situation of the dogs in Puerto Rico and, in particular, Dead Dog Beach, and refused to turn her back on it. She started the non-profit and hit the ground running. This week she took a little sweetie named Sky from the beach. Sky is at the vet for a few days to get ready to go then will travel to Baltimore for adoption.








Island Dog also rescued Gracie, Shiloh, and Shasta. Gracie is still at the vet since her skin condition is so severe (she also has a large wound on her head that is believed to have come from a machete blow) but Shiloh and Shasta are up for adoption.

A "baker's dozen" arrives in Florida

Yesterday morning, 13 adorable satos arrived from Puerto Rico for placement into loving homes. The AMAZING women from Luv-a-Pet took 7 of them, including Angel, the little girl with 3 legs (pictured below in her new surroundings), and Clio, Hermione, and Talia whose photos are in a previous post. All of those guys will either go up for adoption immediately or be fostered until they are ready for adoption. Five more went to Treasure Coast Humane Society and will be adopted from there. I have 1 here with me, Scott, the very adorable puppy (with the emphasis on PUPPY). He is enjoying terrorizing my cats and chewing on anything other than the toys he's supposed to be chewing on. :-)

Saint Bernie

This little guy was found at the beach this morning by Sandra. He's only about 5 weeks old and is just starting to eat on his own. He's at the vet now getting a thorough once-over by Dr. Reyes and then will go into foster care in a couple of days. We named him Bernard since he looks like a little St. Bernard!

What a happy girl!!!!

This is Calpyso - now named Phoebe - in her new digs! She was taken in by the Miami Dalmatian Rescue and has found a wonderful forever home! Hurray for Phoebe!!!

New little happy girl

This is Arwen. Sandra discovered her at the beach last week. She's at Dr. Reyes' office in Humacao until she can be picked up for fostering. And hopefully she'll be heading north sometime in the near future. Any takers??? :-)

The little muses

These 4 angels were dumped at the beach 3 weeks ago. Sandra rescued them and took them to Yolanda for fostering. Daphne, the tiniest one of the bunch, didn't make it much past the time they were taken from the beach - she was just too small and weak. But the other girls are thriving. They are just about ready to leave the nest.

Growin' like a weed!

Remember Angel? She's the sweet little girl who was dumped off at the beach about 6 weeks ago with the amputated leg - oh, but remember, her "dumpers" were kind enough to leave behind the severed leg that appeared to have been twisted off? Well, she's been in the care of the supremely wonderful Yolanda since her rescue. Yolanda says she's getting the hang of walking with the missing limb and is just trotting around like a little trooper. Take a look at her before and after pics.

A match made in Hazzard County!

Duke was rescued from the beach in late April and spent a few weeks at the vet getting all spiffy to come to Florida for adoption. He arrived with some other dogs, unfortunately, mostly cute and fuzzy little puppies - the shelter only had room for a few dogs so the non-fuzzy Duke had to find other arrangements. He came home with me for a few days where he stayed by my side at every moment unless there was a cat blocking his way. Then I sent out an email with a flyer attached describing Duke, his previous life in Puerto Rico, and some pictures of him. Within 1/2 an hour of hitting the "send" button, Duke hit the jackpot. Not only was he adopted by two wonderful and terrific animal lovers (eh-hem, that'd be my boss and his wife), but he got a ready-made girlfriend - named Daisy! Daisy and Duke are just as happy as they can be with each other. They run and play together and even try to sleep in the same kennel together. Duke deserves nothing less than the wonderful life he has. Many thanks to his loving adoptive parents.

FINALLY able to take a breath!

It's been a month since I've updated the blog! During that time, quite a few dogs have made their ways here to the states and been adopted (check out the growing number of adoptions on the photos page!). It's not that difficult to do it - someone goes to the beach, picks up some dogs, takes them to a vet where they stay for a few days, then they come here and get adopted. Pretty simple. But we can do that forever and never run out of dogs needing homes. So it's time to change our tactics a bit. We have to really work to affect change in the situation these animals are in - in Puerto Rico. So far, almost NO ONE we've talked to in P.R. has really tried to do anything to help solve the serious problem of cruelty and abandonments. We've talked to mayors, police officers, the governor's office, the U.S. representative .... and everyone says "yes it's a terrible problem" but no one ever makes any moves to fix it.

Right now, Liz is working hard on organizing a spay and neuter clinic to occur in Yabucoa at the end of July. The idea is to get local vets to donate their time and a portion of the medical costs to providing low-cost spay and neuter, plus vaccinations, to people in the area. We'll look to a local business to sponsor the event and to kick in towards the procedures - we're hoping the Mayor will kick in a portion of the costs as well - so that hopefully we can offer very inexpensive ($10-15) spay/neuter and vaccinations to anyone who brings their dog or cat in on that day (or days). In promoting the event, there will be some level of public awareness of the situation and that there ARE solutions and there ARE people who are trying to fix the problems. More education at the actual event will be in the form of literature and face-to-face communication with volunteers there. It's a step in the right direction.

So, the point is, I just can't justify making the entirety of this program to bring dogs from P.R. to the U.S. when there are needy animals here already. We're not going to stop doing it but we ARE going to step up our game on working to affect positive change for the animals in Puerto Rico.