Update on dogs

i went to tchs yesterday to visit our guys. oliver is so adorable! apparently he was adopted but was brought back because he is too rambunctious. he's going to need a family that can enjoy a very active little guy.

pointer sister june seemed sort of depressed and it broke my heart. i'm sure she's missing ruth. the staff was really busy so i couldn't get permission to go in with her but i'll try to go tomorrow or this weekend and just hang out with her. apparently ruth's kennel cough is cleared up and she'll be back soon. i really hope these girls can get adopted together. as soon as either cooper or thor get's adopted - if either of the pointer sisters are there alone, i will "adopt" her from the shelter and home adopt her myself.

my friend at luv-a-pet will be posting cooper and thor on their page so hopefully they will get adopted soon. cooper is ready in lots of ways but not in others. he's such a total sweetie and he just breaks my heart when he plops his big ol' head on my knee and looks up at me with that hang-dog look. the other day, lucia (the kitten), was using his tail as a climbing/chewing toy. she had all four paws and her teeth around his tail (though i could tell they weren't going into the skin, just the hair). she was so happy. poor cooper just slowly picked his head up, slowly turned to look at me, slowly turned his head around to look at lucia, then slowly turned back to me and gave me this "hey, um, can't you do something about this kid?" look. i laughed out loud.

thor, he's terrific. he is still food aggressive with both cats and dogs. i simply feed him separately in a bathroom. he's not that way with toys, just food. his leg is healing well, i think. he goes in tomorrow to get the sutures out so i'll find out status for when his pins and cast can come off. he's a little ball of energy and loves to play catch and chase the kitties. he sits right by the cat door and barks at them when they try to come in. he'll be easy to adopt - best in a home where he's the only critter, however.

Three puppies looking for a sponsor

These 3, Jamie, Kelsey and Trixie, have been at the beach for a couple of days. Sandra started them on their vaccinations and worming and they are eating very well. They are all very sweet and looking for a home! If anyone is interested in sponsoring one or more of them, please let us know.

New boy off the beach

This little guy showed up a couple of days ago. Thanks to Sandra Cintron, Twig Mowatt and Rebecca Rogers, he is now off the beach and in safety at Dr. Reyes' clinic in Humacao. Sandra, who named this cutie "Chandler", took him to Dr. Reyes as Twig agreed to sponsor his vet costs and Rebecca will be taking him home with her when she returns to North Carolina from PR in a couple of weeks. She will then adopt him out from her home to a wonderful forever home. This is just one dog from that beach but this one dog will go to sleep tonight with a full belly and a warm and dry bed.

New additions at the beach

These two little darlings have been at the beach lately. The skinny boy is friendly, though timid at first, but Sandra can get close enough to pet him. The pregnant girl is to skittish and doesn't even come near for food. Sandra has some sedatives she can give to her and stay with her until she settles down enough to pick up. We want to put the boy into the adoption program and to get the girl at least spayed and returned to the beach, even if she's not adoptable. I am totally tapped out financially and can offer only to help place the animals if someone can get them cared for and sent here. I can take a dog or two who have the early basics: spay/neuter, heartworm, erlichia, coccidia negative plus no internal or external parasites. and they should have good personalities, even if they are shy or too wiggly, that can be worked with. do some basic testing on food aggression b/c i personally can't help a dog food aggressive to humans, I'm just not equipt. So there are some monies out there and getting skinny boy here would be in the neighborhood of $100 for neuter and shots and heartworm test and then hook him up with one of the people helping out with ferrying dogs on board as luggage. Keep your ears and eyes open and let me know what you come up with.

Release of "Street Dogs" photo collection by Traer Scott

Traer worked a lot with Liz Kracht in going to places in P.R. where there are lots of abandoned animals. She spent a lot of time at Dead Dog Beach and took some great photos of Jess and Leo. And apparently the book publisher is not doing a lot of press for book sales on the island so this needs to get out to as many outlets as possible in P.R.


STREET DOGS
Traer Scott

The follow-up to Merrell’s bestseller Shelter Dogs, featuring over 90 portraits & outdoor photographs of dogs living on city streets

“Scott’s haunting portrait album bares the souls of these unclaimed but unassailably dignified animals.” – PEOPLE Magazine

“Beautiful portraits that just might save the lives of hundreds of other dogs.” – Life Magazine

Merrell Publishers is pleased to present Street Dogs by Traer Scott, the author of Merrell’s bestselling book Shelter Dogs, to be released in October 2007

Street Dogs combines over 90 of Scott’s irresistible signature close-up portraits of dogs with stunning, dynamic, and unforgettable outdoor photographs of dogs living on the streets, caring for one another, seeking food or being fed, wandering, and even playing.

Scott traveled to Puerto Rico and Mexico to capture remarkable and soulful photographs of dogs living alone or in packs on city streets. Since many street dogs were formerly pets, they are often friendly, approachable, and eager to be adopted into new homes. As Scott documents in her eloquent introduction, she witnessed and assisted in the rescue of many of the dogs she photographed for this book. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of Puerto Rican, Latin American, and US organizations, many of these dogs have now been adopted into new homes in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. Some are being given the medical care they need before they can be permanently placed for adoption into private homes; others will be given life-long shelter in the compounds of rescue centers, where volunteers lovingly care for them.

By documenting not only the plight but also the unique characters of just some of the many dogs she has encountered in her travels, Scott raises awareness of animal welfare causes, particularly the need for rescue efforts and adoptive homes for street dogs.

Also included is a mini biography of many dogs featured, with details about their rescue and journey to a new home, and contact information on charities devoted to street dogs.

Scott has the inimitable knack of drawing you into an animal's plight—not by devastating you—rather, by arousing and inspiring concern and compassion by revealing the soulful personality of dogs, despite their circumstances.

A portion of the proceeds from sales of this book will be donated to the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA)

Traer Scott, author of Merrell’s bestselling Shelter Dogs (2006), is a fine art photographer with a background in portraiture and fashion. A long-time animal welfare volunteer, she lives in Providence, Rhode Island, with her husband and two beautiful rescued dogs.

Merrell Publishers of London and New York is an international publisher of art and illustrated books.

STREET DOGS
Traer Scott
Merrell Publishers
$22.95 US
Hardcover
ISBN 978-1-8589-4408-1
160 pages, 8.5 x 9.5
90 color illustrations
_________________________________________
publicity contact, Rob Moore at 60 Cycle Media
38 High Avenue, suite #1, Nyack, NY 10960
phone # 845-358-6026
rob.moore@60cyclemedia.com

My visit with Thor

Little Thor is doing terrific and has totally charmed the wonderful staff at North County Animal Clinic. He's getting the best of care and lots and lots of love. When I went into the clinic room, I saw his tail start wagging before he even saw me get all the way around the corner. We had a little snuggly time and he showed me how well he's getting around on his bum leg. It'll take a while but he'll be back to his bouncing, pouncing self once again!

Brave boy Thor has his surgery

Brave boy Thor had his surgery yesterday and came through it just fine. I picked him up this morning and took him to my regular vet where he will stay through Saturday morning. I'll bring him home then but I'm just nervous about leaving him at home alone during the first days following the surgery.

Even though he had extensive orthopedic surgery less than 24 hours ago and has big steel pins all the way through his upper arm, he looked really good and was wagging his tail and wanting to snuggle in my lap (very cute but uncool while driving, however). He's being a real trooper even though he is on some heavy-duty pain meds.

The vet who did the surgery, Dr. Latimer, fell in love with Thor and just felt so sad for him. He gave a good discount off the surgery - almost $500 to bring it "down" to $1,685. He did more than he had planned to do on Thor because he really wanted to make everything last for him forever and make him as comfortable as possible. My vet, Dr. Cook, has been great with him as well. She made a $200 donation for his surgery and is only charging me for boarding during the 4 days he'll be with her rather than the post-surgery charge that it should be - that would probably be double the boarding rate due to all his medications and having to care for the wounds. So people are really being helpful with little man Thor. He's got such a great spirit, even given all he's been through, and people can see that.

I'll take some pictures tomorrow when I go visit him.

Thor's surgery

Little Thor has been with me for a couple of weeks and is going under the knife this morning to fix his broken arm. The arm was broken when we met him at the beach and we've been trying to raise the $2,000+ costs to get him the surgery he needs. Too much healing was attempted in his arm over the last 6 months and the break is in an awkward spot so the break can't be reset. The vet will pin the upper and lower bones together to keep them from wearing on each other and causing pain and further degradation in the future. Thor won't be able to bend his arm but it will be so much better than having those bones sliding over each other with every step he takes. Let's hope the little sweetheart doesn't have any complications and he heals well and quickly.

Meet Cooper!

I got a great visitor Friday night! I will be hangin' with Mr. Cooper (so very sorry for that lame '90's sitcom reference) for a while until he gets comfortable being a dog and having people be kind to him. Cooper is a beautiful, sweet little guy who has obviously been through some horrific events in his life. He showed up a the beach a long time ago and was there for a while before he could be rescued. During his stay there he was hit by a car and his back left hip was dislocated. He hobbled in pain for a long time until finally the funds were available to get him the help he needed. His hip was repaired and he got a clean bill of physical health from the vet. However, he has scars from his life that will take a lot longer, if ever, to heal. We suspect he was kept on a short chain for much of his life. He now keeps to a very small living area and feels uncomfortable leaving it. He actually seems surprised sometimes when he stands up and starts walking and nothing yanks him backwards. He also will eliminate very close to his food and sleeping area which is a common habit of dogs kept chained up. But as of now, he's curled up in a comfortable mass of dog on the rug and wags his tail every time he hears his name. It will take a long time for him to be adoptable and he will not do well in a shelter so he will be adopted from my home (or from Sid's, his other foster parent). He's a beautiful boy and I'm so thankful for Chris Driscoll for sponsoring his rescue and for Sid for fostering him for the last month. If anyone has room for a gorgeous dog - inside and out - Cooper is the guy for you!

Crabs do it so why can't humans?

Sandra snapped this picture at the beach a few days ago. She met a guy at the beach who found a resourceful little crustacean! That should make all us humans feel really really silly about throwing plastic bottles and soda cans away!

Hurricane Dean in Puerto Rico

Last report I received, Dean hadn't done too much damage to our little beach area in Yabucoa. Here's the message from our intrepid reporter, Sandra.

"HURRICANE DEAN IS NOT EVEN CLOSE AND THE BEACH IS A MESS. IT'S BEEN WINDY SINCE YESTERDAY AFTERNOON WITH SOME SHOWERS. AT SOME POINT THE WATER PASSED WAY OVER THE NORMAL SHORELINE.

THE AREA AROUND THE BOATHOUSE SEEMS TO BE FINE, THOUGH. CURIOUS THING IS THAT THE DOGS SEEM TO BE HAVING FUN."

Fundraiser for Amigos de los Animales

I just wanted to invite you to the Pet I.D. Agility & Fashion Show "Make Your Pet A Star" which takes place at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, August 21, 2007 at the Normandie Hotel (a pet friendly hotel). Come and see who will win the much coveted cover spot on the next Pet I.D. due out soon.

Tickets are on sale at Ticket Center, La Gran Discoteca & available online at www.tcpr.com. Seats are limited, so buy your tickets now. We hope to see you there. And please forward this invite to your pet-loving friends.

Amigos de los Animales is grateful to Mariel Calderon, publisher of Pet I.D., for allowing Amigos de los Animales to be a recipient of the proceeds from her event. We currently have lots of vet bills, more dogs waiting to come in off of "Dead Dog Beach" and a new website about to launch...! Please come support us and Pet I.D. The event promises to be a good time for all.

Sincerely, Liz
Amigos de los Animales

Chocolate lab at the beach

This pretty girl showed up earlier this week. She's about a year old and very sweet. We're looking for a sponsor to help get her from the beach into a good home.

Bayamon Zoo in Puerto Rico

Primates, big cats, deer, hippopotamus, and other animals are being kept in primordial cement slab habitats within a facility that has failed to meet even the most minimum of standards of animal care imposed by the Animal Welfare Act.

Las condiciones en las que se encuentran los animales en el Parque de las Ciencias demuestran la apatia hacia los animales en nuestra isla por los mismos servidores publicos que se supone que protejan los derechos de los ciudadanos y que respeten las leyes como la Ley 67 (La Ley Protectora de Animales de Puerto Rico) de la que Policias, Tenientes y Sargentos en Bayamon no aparentan conocer.

Mis derechos fueron violados cuando fui, acompanada de dos oficiales, a poner una querella criminal contra el Parque de las Ciencias. Los derechos de estos animales tambien han sido violados y siguen siendo violados por la falta de respeto, la corrupcion, y la ignorancia que esta surgiendo en Puerto Rico.

If you made it to this site, you are probably aware of the petition to help animals living in deplorable conditions within el Parque De Las Ciencias in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/238521535

Petición en Espanol:

http://www.petitionthem.com/?sect=detail&pet=3857

Write Puerto Rico's Tourism Company and let them know that you don't agree with the conditions that these animals are being kept in and how their citizen's rights are being violated in order to protect political agendas.

http://www.gotopuertorico.com/

Contact the newspapers listed on the top right to let them know that Puerto Ricans need to pay attention to the conditions in which these animals are living and that they need to do something about it.

Televicentro at

Rafael.Perez@wapa-tv.com

info@lacomaypr.tv

This is a TV Station which produces a very popular show called La Comay in which they bring up gossip and other serious matters.

UPDATE!

The Mayor of Bayamon solicited for a hotel chain to build within el Parque De Las Ciencias. Holiday Inn accepted the proposal and will be building a brand new hotel, which is said to attract tourism to the city of Bayamon...(article on www.municipiodebayamon.com, fourth article down).

How is it that they have room to build a brand new hotel, but they do not have room to build spacious and adequate facilities for these animals????

Let Holiday Inn know that they should be embarrassed to partake in this project and that you will not stay in their hotel if you ever visit the island. El Parque de las Ciencias needs to take care of their current facilities before building any new buildings!

Holiday Inn contact info...

Info For Puerto Rico:

Email for HI Development P.R. Corp ( sole franchiser for Holiday Inn hotels in P.R.)

Mr Miguel Vega: miguelvegahi@aol.com

and/or

Mr Ian Callen: idcpr@aol.com

New shipment arrives in Florida

Everyone arrived safe and sound today. They are ALL totally adorable little loves. I have Thor and Sherman here at the house with me. Sherman is a bit timid - he just needs to learn that he's safe now and that no one (hopefully) will ever raise a mean arm to him again. Thor, what can I say, LOVER!!! His arm will have to be fixed - it's an old break that healed weird. My vet looked at the x-rays Liz sent and did a little feeling around on him. She, of course, suggested I take him to a bone guy, which I will. She said the best thing would be to get it fixed either by putting the bones back where they belong and putting pins to hold them or to just fuse the bones together - that way he won't be able to bend the arm much but it will stop the degenerative bone problems he's bound to have if it stays as it is. She said usually they have to get in there and look at the situation to see which way to go. I'm going to work on finding someone who will give a great discount for the work and will then work to get the $$ for the surgery. [Oh, and about Thor's food aggression, I haven't seen anything. i put a bowl of food down for him and one for Sherman about 6 feet apart. I sat between them. they both chowed down. i put my hand close to Thor's bowl. He kept chowing. I inched a little closer .... finally I gave the bowl and little push with my finger. He just moved over to start in on the kibble again. Long story short, he let me put my hand into the bowl and take kibble out and give it to Sherman. no worries at all. And Thor finished his food first, looked over at Sherman who was still eating, then plopped himself down by my side. So, of course I'll keep an eye on him and not leave them together with food for a while - but all indications are really good. Of course that's not with WET food, but i ain't pushin' my luck on his first day here!]

lucia, la gatita naranja, is laying here on the floor cleaning her lovely orange fur. she's a total doll. i'll keep her separated from my 3 boys for a day or two then slowly introduce them. they'll be fine in time.

everyone else went to treasure coast humane society. ruth and june were met with lots of love and kisses. since they are heartworm positive, they will be part of the "tracey's rangers" program at tchs which is specifically for the treatment of heartworm-positive dogs. candice, the director of the shelter, said they would certainly be housed together and they would try to - hope for - them to be adopted together. they can't guarantee, of course, but they'll try. oliver, mr. total cutie patootie, will be gone in a heartbeat. such a cute little wiggle-butt. mary sent candy, claudia, becky, and freddy and they are total dolls as well. last but not least is scarlett. she has a patch on her tail that appears to be a hot spot. (we'll call her "miss scarlett in the kennel with the hot spot" for now!) she'll stay in holding for a few days for evaluation of the spot and to get it healing.

everyone except scarlett is already on the website for adoption (which means they passed all the tests - now the only reason they will be taken off the floor (other than for adoption) is if they get sick or have aggressive issues, none of which should happen before they get adopted! i always have candice, meet me in the receiving room to take a look at all the dogs. if there are any she is questionable about, she recommends that i don't leave them b/c there is always the possibility that they will be euthanized. she was THRILLED about all these guys and said she'd be surprised if they weren't ALL adopted this weekend!

oh, and we should all thank the wonderful danielle for making the run down to miami at the butt-crack of dawn today to pick them up. i took so much time off work lately getting my house in order, i can't take vacation days for a while. she did the pick up and met me at the shelter. she pretty much rocks!

everyone who had anything to do with these little darlings getting here to safety and a good forever home, thank you so very much for your selflessness and hard work. thor and sherman are laying out on the patio taking naps and thinking about how thankful they are for you right now - and i'm sure the dolls at the shelter are as well.

(photos are ruth and june, oliver, roxy, scarlett, lucia, sherman and thor)

CALL FOR CASH!!!

I'm sending out the quarterly SOS for funds. As of now, I have bills of just over $4,000 for vets and boarding. There's also a shipment I'm responsible for going out tomorrow which will be about another $500. If you can help financially in any amount, it would be most appreciated! Thanks so much.

Lookin' good, man!

Here are pics of a few little loves who were rescued from Dead Dog Beach. Tatiana and Dallas are up for adoption at St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center in New Jersey. Both of these guys had pretty bad mange when they were rescued but look at how terrific they look now!!!


















Sky and Gracie were taken in by Katie at Island Dog and they are both doing so well.

Animal Cruelty in Lares and Arecibo

I received this email today and am working on investigating the information contained within. If anyone has any info to pass on concerning this, please let me know:

i dont know who to inform but in lares puerto rico and arecibo there were many satos in lares. there was a mother with pups in the beach in arecibo and many more satos. In lares there are dogs getting killed, poisoned, and also burned. i was walking down the rode and a man was burning something and i asked him "what are you burning?" his response was "el diablo". the next morning i went for a walk a smelled a horrible stench. i look to the side to see it was a white burnt dog with cardboard covering its face. the next day there were two kittens. one living and one hit by a car. I came back to florida with a sata puppy. Her names lacey and she is doing good now. she was living in this old warehouse owned by a man who i dont think he is gonna be able to take care of 4 female puppies and the mother. Over there the female dogs attract many male dogs leading them to the man's property which will bother him or the neighbors and they will poison them. please if you can visit lares and arecibo. Thank you.

Time to fill you in on the events of July in Yabucoa

I was in Yabucoa the week of July 23 for my job, but I stayed a few days later to work on some "dog stuff". Danielle, vet tech extraordinaire from Jupiter, met me down there and spent 5 days of her personal vacation to work as well. On Thursday and Friday, "coalition forces" gathered up as many dogs at Dead Dog Beach as would be gathered and they were taken in to local vets for spay and neuter. Individuals from various groups, or even unaffiliated with groups, joined in the efforts. I want to personally thank the following individuals:


Adri Gellar (Amigos de los Animales)
Christy Hoffman
Danielle Woodell (Manos por Patas)
Jessica Jimenez
Keishya Salko (Four Paws at a Time)
Mary Eldergill
Sandra Cintron
Susanna Rodriguez
Dr. Miguel Alverio (San Lorenzo)
Dr. Elvin Reyes (Humacao)

A total of 18 dogs were taken from the beach. Unfortunately, 6 of them were just too feral and aggressive to be adopted so they were spayed/neutered and returned to the beach. It's sad to have to do that but we are doing everything we can to reduce the growing PUPulation (that was originally a typo but i decided to leave it!) at the beach. Dana, Rachel, Morgan, Roxanne, Ruby and Darlene are just too used to life on the beach and actually even caused some injuries to those who captured them. The event was a great success because Dana, Rachel, Darlene and Ruby are prolific puppy-makers. Dana just had a litter of 10 a couple of months ago. Roxanne and Ruth were already pregnant and Ruby, who just had a big litter 2 months ago, was caught "inflagrante" with a rather smug little guy mounting her when the rescuers nabbed her.

The other 12, Cara, Cole, Scarlett, Sherman, Delia, Ruth, June, Oliver, Sophie, Wilson, Goliath, Paola were all spayed and neutered but have been either placed into foster or shelter care or have already been adopted (Cole and Wilson). Goliath, Ruth and June all have heartworm. Adri is looking for a sponsor for his treatment. Ruth and June will be coming to Treasure Coast Humane Society where they have a program called "Tracey's Rangers" which provides treatment to heartworm positive dogs. The rest will be coming to TCHS as well. This is a shelter that has a really fast adoption rate so I know these little angels won't stay around long.

We also spoke to some media, government, and local business individuals as well. A woman from AP (Associated Press) did phone interviews with Liz, me, and a couple of other people and also came to the beach to get photos and interviews. Channel 4 also did a story on the spay/neuter efforts. Omar Negron from Representative Luis Fortuno's office came by and got the tour of the area and we discussed important issues and ways to make significant changes made from the government. XXXX from U.S.P.S. also spent a couple of hours with us, watching the events and talking to us about how they can help. And I met with David Amaro and Andrea Lebron from the Shell facility about how Shell can help alleviate stress on the problem. David is responsible for calling the "dog catchers" who come to take dogs found on the plant; the dog catcher is paid $50 per dog and it is well-known that animals captured by these organizations are invariably euthanized, and usually not humanely (a bullet is cheaper than an injection or gas). I talked to him about working with us to call a rescuer instead to catch the dog - Shell could pay a non-profit the money and the dog would be taken care of humanely (cared for and placed up for adoption or humanely euthanized) and Shell would then reap the benefits of a tax write-off. Andrea Lebron is in charge of community affairs at Shell and she asked me to submit a proposal of how Shell can help us. I'm working on putting something together proposing a Shell-ter that would be a temporary place to house animals in the 2-3 week period from beach to airplane ride to a U.S. shelter.

So it was a very successful event in many ways. The momentum needs to keep up steam, however. I sort of "dropped off" for a bit b/c the day after we returned from PR, I closed on my very first house and have been in the midst of plumbers and title companies and tile installers and U-Haul trucks and mountains of cardboard boxes. I can see light at the end of the tunnel now so hopefully I can get cracking on following up.

Here are some photos of the very successful goings-on in July.

Chuck the Chow

Another success story! This one courtesy of Liz Kracht with Amigos de los Animales. Chuck was rescued from Dead Dog Beach over 6 months ago. He was in really bad shape but Amigos' and Dr. Ramos took great care of him. He has been adopted and has a wonderful new home in Oregon. You can read more specifics about Chuck and his adventures at Liz' blog. Here are the before and after photos, courtesy of Liz.