Help for rescued horses in Puerto Rico

My name is Liz and I work for an organization in Puerto Rico called Amigos de los Animales. We rescue horses that are found in the projects here, and answer calls of abuse and abandonment. My friend Adri is in charge of the horse program, and she's seen some pretty horrible stuff, with photos to boot. I'm writing because we are in danger of losing our horse sanctuary, which has taken in 16 rescued horses. There are only two women running the show, and they can't keep up anymore. They run a trail ride business (of 12 additional horses - not rescues) and that business subsidizes the horse rescue. We are in need of manpower, supplies and funding. We are Puerto Rico's only horse rescue group.Is there anyone willing to come to Puerto Rico to geld males? Is there anyone able to send some supplies, or send money? Anyone familiar with equipment to clear land so green grass can grow? Or anyone interested in adopting and sending for a horse? We are not considered international, but the horse would probably have to travel by boat. We would also welcome any administrative help offered too, or suggestion and tips on how to run the horse rescue part of our organization better. This sanctuary is located on the ocean, and would be a perfect work/vacation destination. We would consider buying a ticket for a rescue vet, or someone that could help us in a significant way, or offer specific services, for the time he/she was here.I so appreciate anyone's help. If you can reply to me directly by email, that would be great. My email address is elizabeth_kracht@yahoo.com. We are open to any suggestions or help. We want to be able to continue to rescue horses here in Puerto Rico. They are so neglected and mistreated. We want to be able to continue to offer a safe haven, but we are in danger now of losing it. Sincerely, Liz

SO MUCH TO TELL YOU!!!

But I just can't right now. I'm in the middle of buying a house and can't take the time to fill you all in just yet. I will get to it early next week so you can hear all about the efforts from last week's spay/neuter campaign and the meetings with government and business officials. Please be patient with me!!!

Donations for Spay and Neuter campaign

I'm heading out to PR today and will be working with lots of other rescuers on Thursday, Friday and Saturday on capturing the more elusive dogs at the beach who are long-term residents and prolific breeders. They will all be getting spayed or neutered and given rabies shots as well. Unfortunately we have to take them back to the beach but these guys, especially some of the girls, have been there for years and have learned to avoid danger so hopefully they will be okay. When we have room in foster and adoptive homes, we can try again to get them off the beach for good.

In the meantime, although we have great vets who have offered us spay/neuter as low as $25, we have 15-20 animals we're planning on catching and we have to pay for boarding for them over the weekend as well. If you can make a donation to this campaign, please do so!

Article on Dead Dog Beach by WSPA

WSPA is the World Society for the Protection of Animals.

A Dog’s Life at Puerto Rico’s Dead Dog Beach

By CONTACT _Con-3F64BBC21 \c \s \l Alejandra Zuniga, WSPA

At first, it seems like any tropical beach, complete with palm trees, white sand and blue sea. But, as soon as you spot two dog skulls scattered on the ground, you realize that this is not the paradise it appears to be.

Welcome to Playa Lucía, also known as Dead Dog Beach, located in the outskirts of the Puerto Rican town of Yabucoa, about 80 miles southeast of the capital, San Juan.

This particular beach has become a place where people abandon their mixed breed dogs --known in Puerto Rico as “satos”-- when they no longer want or can afford to keep them. On average, five dogs are left to die at Playa Lucía every week, and that number rises during the summer and Christmas season.

According to local resident, Sandra Cintron, owners show up late at night and dump their pets when they think no one is watching.

“They leave them here to die, sometimes they even bring puppies. When I come in the mornings to feed the dogs, I can tell which are the newcomers because they seem so disoriented and lost,” she said.

These abandoned dogs suffer and die from starvation, dehydration and car accidents. But extreme cruelty is also present at Dead Dog Beach. Local men often throw bottles or rocks at the animals or shoot them with air rifles to amuse themselves. Some even make try to run them over with their motorcycles and ATVs.

“There is a law in Puerto Rico that prohibits animal cruelty,” says Cintron. “But people don’t pay much attention to it, they just do not care, they have become desensitized to the plight of these dogs.”

Cintron, a native of Yabucoa, has been coming to Dead Dog Beach since 2001 to check up on the satos. A casual outing to the beach six years ago left her saddened by what she saw, so out of her own pocket she has returned every day to feed them. She also buries the ones that do not survive.

This young woman knows some of the approximately 40 dogs that inhabit the beach and its surroundings. Most arrive at the beach beaten, hurt, and limping. Mara, for example, is a nearly blind female sato that was abandoned along with her five puppies.

These dogs roam not only the beachfront, but also the abandoned lots around it, the buildings of an oil company located at one end of the beach, and the grounds of a nearby hotel.

According to Cintron, it is well known that the hotel owners poison the animals: “They say they don’t do it, but it is too much of a coincidence that every holiday and every time the hotel is fully occupied, the number of poisoned dogs rises.”

Cintron has helped World Society for the Protection of Animals Member Society, Amigos de los Animales (Friends of the Animals), in their efforts to rescue dogs from Playa Lucia and provide them with nurturing homes.

“We started to organize this project and work with other organizations and individuals in September 2006. Since then, we have taken around 160 dogs off the beach: 140 have been given homes and 20 have died for different reasons”, said Elizabeth Kracht, from Amigos de los Animales.

The rescued satos are nursed to health at local shelters and private homes and later are adopted mostly by American families in New Jersey and Florida. Spay and neuter efforts have also taken place in the beach, the latest one in February 2007.

Both Kracht and Cintron agree that the solution to the Dead Dog Beach problem consists of both enforcing the law and educating people about animal welfare. “We desperately need a spay and neuter campaign and to work with the community in a positive way,” says Kracht.

According to WSPA’s regional Veterinary Officer, Dr. Monica List, who visited Dead Dog Beach last year, education is the missing link in this scenario.

“Dogs and cats will be dumped at Dead Dog Beach as long as responsible pet ownership culture is not instated.”

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Author’s note: Amigos de los Animales is one of many WSPA Member Societies working to help satos in Puerto Rico. For more information about WSPA’s efforts to help stray dogs around the world, visit: HYPERLINK "http://www.wspa-usa.org" www.wspa-usa.org

Press Release

This press release was sent out to media in Puerto Rico concerning our spay and neuter event next week. Representatives from the Governor's office, Representative Luis Fortuno's office, the PR Health Department, and the Yabucoa Mayor will all be present as well as various media:

"To all media people who are interested in exposing politicans who make empty promises, an important event will occur at Dead Dog Beach in Yabucoa on July 19 and 20. We are contacting politicians from the Governor’s and the Mayor’s offices to attend and we will try to lure the Mayor of Yabucoa to come out personally so that you may interview him.

Citizen animal protection groups will be working together, rounding up female and male dogs which have been prolific reproducers. We will trap them, spay and neuter them, board them till they are healed at our own cost and then put them back on the beach, a situation that the Mayor of Yabucoa said he would eliminate long ago and has since reneged - hoping that we would just “go away”.

We need media coverage of this event - to show the government how private citizens are doing the job for which the government is already paid by us to do. We need media coverage of this event. The Puerto Rican public must see that the government is taking our taxes and they are not protecting us from health hazards that these animals cause; it is against the law, cruel and unjust for the animals dropped off there to die or to be inhumanely killed.

After the Mayor of Yabucoa promised $1000 per month last year at an open press conference, to put a shelter in Yabucoa for these animals, he went back on his word. He lied. We are holding him responsible for the continuous dumping of dogs at ‘ Dead Dog Beach ’. It keeps the tourists at the hotels from seeing the inhumane and ugly part of Yabucoa. The Mayor turns a blind eye and allows citizens to brutally kill them because it saves him from paying for a shelter. You’ve seen this story on the news because Susan Soltero and Channel 4 both did pieces on it. We need news coverage of this event in order to shame the Mayor into affecting the change he promised long ago. We promise you an exiting news story.

I reiterate, we want to oblige the Mayor of Yabucoa to follow through on his promises of providing an animal shelter and also to provide signs on the beach prohibiting the dumping of animals there. The sign needs to mention Law 67 and make it clear that the public should be taking their unwanted animals to the closest shelter. Education is the key.

Thank you and hope to see you there.

The shame of a country?

I received these pictures in an email from Sandra. She is Puerto Rican.

"I want to let you know these things so you tell other people and puertorricans can be ashamed of this.

Today there were 2 puppies abandoned at the beach: one dying puppy inside a plastic bag and another anemic puppy was close to that bag--i couldn't tell if at some point the other one was in the bag too. The puppy in the bag died 5 minutes later. The other puppy is thin and was very hungry. I gave her Pyrantel, Ivermectin and vitamins. Later i will vaccinate her. Although she is anemic, she moves around normally."

Gatitos locos

Liz Kracht with Amigos de los Animales has been caring for a colony of feral cats living in the building next door to her. Plans are to tear down that building so Liz is frantically trying to relocate the little buggers before the demolition occurs and they scatter. We've found a sanctuary that will take some of them - 2 (Susura and Dulce) are pictured below and will be arriving at their new gato palace later in the week - but there are still at least 5 more that we need to place. They will, of course, be up to date on shots and other health records and will be spayed and neutered. If you have a good environment in which you can bring any number of these little guys, I know Liz would be forever grateful to you. You can contact her at elizabeth_kracht@yahoo.com if you can help.

Katie and Island Dogs

A young woman named Katie contacted me a while ago about starting a non-profit animal welfare group dealing with the stray dog situation in Puerto Rico. We had a great conversation and gave each other good advice and ideas to work with. A few months later, Island Dog was launched. It was so great to see something spring up from her heart like that and explode onto the web with passion and determination. I'm not sure how many dogs she's taken in so far and found homes for, but here are the most recent ones:

Gracie was taken from the beach in such horrible condition. She had a gash on her skull that apparently came from a machete blow - not uncommon with the dogs in this area. And she was ravaged with mange. But look at the recent pictures of this little beauty. Her skin is coming back in and her wound is nearly healed. And she's becoming more comfortable with the world around her. She's just a darling sweet little thing.
























Then there are Shiloh and Shasta. The first pictures I saw of them were hiding under the large metal containers strewn around the beach area. But look at the little sweethearts now! Under Katie's (and the wonderful vets, of course), they are thriving in their new surroundings. I know they will make terrific, thankful pets for some lucky someone! Thank you Katie!

I'm goin' with you!

Take a look at this precious girl. Sandra left her door open while she was feeding at the beach and this little darling jumped right up into her car with that "No worries, I'll just wait here for you" look on her face. She's obviously been someone's pet and used to riding in cars but they just decided they didn't want her anymore and threw her away at the beach. I guess we are truly living in a disposable society.

Spay and neuter event in July

We'll be having a TNR (trap - neuter - release) event on July 19 & 20 at Dead Dog Beach to get the "repeat offenders", particularly those girls who just keep pumping out puppies, spayed and neutered. We've tried many times in the past to get them but they are just not interested in being nabbed - they won't let any of us get close to them. But we'll be equipped with catchpoles, hotdogs, sedatives, and lots of patience. Dr.'s Reyes, Ramos, Serrano, and Alviero have all agreed to take part in the event, giving us reduced costs for the procedures. The dogs will also get their rabies shots. Unfortunately, we don't have any foster care set up for them so they will have to be returned to the beach after a few days of recovery at the clinic. It's sad and we hate doing it, but really, these girls are pretty feral and their lives would be miserable in a kennel. So at least this will reduce the continuing population explosion. Anyone who would like to help out with the catching and ferrying of dogs to vets, please let me know because we can use you all! And of course we need funds in order to pay for the procedures - the spay/neuter, rabies shot, and boarding will cost about $80-90 per dog.

Duke's girlfriend

Yes, it's the perfect match - Duke and Daisy! Duke was adopted into a home complete with the perfect girlfriend! Here are photos of them snuggling, as those in puppy love often do, and one of them totally wiped out after a day of playing! Could anyone BE any more relaxed than Duke is in that second photo?!?!

The Luquillo 7

A while back I received an email with a picture of seven of the cutest puppies I'd ever seen! It was a long time before we could find someone to try to rescue them. Last week, two of the seven were nabbed and are in foster care. The rescuer will go back to try to get the rest of them as well as their mother. As soon as any of them are ready, they'll be put up for adoption. Here's a picture of the whole family and one of Gerry and Sammy, the two who were rescued.

Rex needs a home!

Rex was rescued from the beach by Sid, who lives in Tampa. Rex is all ready to go, after having been treated for heartworm. If you need a little love in your life, please let me or Sid know! Take a look at the picture of him from the beach then see the flyer below to see how beautiful he is now! Great job, Sid!

My visit with Angie

Oh, this is the sweetest girl ever!!! She's very shy but when she looks up at you with those big brown eyes, you can't help but melt into a puddle. I visited her at the Treasure Coast Humane Society today. I just talked with her and petted her and we played with her little chew toy. It takes a bit for her to warm up to you but it feels so satisfying when she finally relents and gently lays her head down on your knee.

Shana gets a home!!

Shana was dumped on the beach about 2 months ago and today she went home with her new family who will give her all the love she deserves! I was lucky enough to be at the shelter when her new family was adopting her and got to talk to them and take this picture. Her new name is Sable and I hope all this little girl's doggie dreams come true!