These four (Stephanie, Riker, Meredith and Kass) are now safe. I'm waiting to hear back from the doctor about whether any have heartworm, mange, etc.. - keep your fingers crossed on that. We are going to need donations for these guys. I'm already waaaaaay in debt and need to get bills paid and taking these guys on is going to be another approximately $500 at least.
Scooby and Kathy are now in foster care with Mary and Sabine. Both these puppies have demodex and will need a few weeks of care to get their skin clear. Thank you again to Diane who took care of their vet bill for all their shots and initial care - and to Mary and Sabine for taking these babies in.
Kass (who only has one eye), Riker, Meredith and Stephanie were all picked up and taken to the Humacao animal control shelter. We have no money and no foster homes and can't do anything to help these dogs. If anyone can help with money and places for them to stay for a couple of weeks in Puerto Rico, please contact us.
Little Ziggy man, named after Ziggy Marley because of those horrendous dreadlocks, if safe and sound and quite happy at my house with my gatitos. He was a bit snippy when he first arrived at the shelter and I decided not to leave him there. So here is is with me and whadyaknow - he likes cats! Not a problem at all - and they're not even afraid of him because he's so little! Ziggy will stay with me until he finds a home - here is his profile on petfinder.com.
We received five dogs from the island yesterday. Ziggy, remember he was the one with the horrible dreadlocks, is staying with me because he was a little anxious at the shelter. Shane, the beautiful Aussie shepherd mix is with Bob and Carol who are finding a home for him. The precious Kiley, who is one of the original "mob" from the beach, Negrita, rescued by Giselle, and Louise, rescued by Mary, all went to the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast for adoption. Thank you so much to Mary, Barbara and Dorene for getting the trip together and to Bob and Carol for transporting the dogs from Miami.
This new baby showed up at the beach yesterday. We are too swamped with all the dogs we have at the Humacao shelter, at the vet and in boarding so I can't take on any new rescues for a while. If anyone can help, please let Sandra know.
Here are 4 of the little babes that were rescued from the animal control shelter. Can you imagine these little babies in those scary cages at the shelter?!?! They are safe and happy now as you can tell. Darwin and Marley, the first two, need a few more weeks to grow up and get strong, but Kiley and Shane are ready to roll and we're trying to get them on the shipment to Florida tomorrow.
Here is the beautiful (she really is pretty in person!) Gina with her 7 beautiful babies. She is safe now with Dr. Ramos but we will try to move them as soon as we can so as not to keep the puppies in an at-risk environment. Today was just supposed to be Gina and Spot being rescued but little Miss Gina tossed us a surprise! In fact, both Gina and Spot were already on their way to the metro area when it was noticed that Gina appeared to be bleeding vaginally. Finally everyone realized "duh, she must have had her puppies already!". So then there was the scramble to get her back to her puppies immediately. Once back at the Walgreens, Gina lead everyone right to her beautiful brood crying for momma in the bushes. And dear little Spot is finally rescued as well. He's been on "the list" for a long time but kept getting passed by because of the continual dumping of puppies. Spot is with Barbara for the night - and is apparently petrified but will settle in soon, we hope.
As you can see, we're going to need a lot of money for this rescue that grew from 2 to 9 in the blink of an eye! When we had Shakira and her puppies at the vet for 6 weeks, the bill ended up over $1,500!
..and a boy... and a couple more girls and boys! When Sandra and Barbara went to rescue Gina and Spot today, they found that Gina had puppies! She must have given birth only within the last couple of days. There are 7 puppies! So far, mom and babies are doing well and are on their way right now to the wonderful Dr. Ramos who offered to take them in for a while.
Spot will be going to Dr. Vasquez for his shots and check-up then on to Barbara's for fostering until he can come to the states.
As a note, poor little Gina must be the most unphotogenic dog I've ever met! She is really a cute and sweet girl but just doesn't translate well on film! I'll post new pics of everyone once I get them from Sandra.
Jane Velez-Mitchell visited in Puerto Rico last August to see how she as an investigative journalist and Puerto Rican could help the island's animal-overpopulation problem after hearing about the Barceloneta tragedy. Several of Puerto Rico's animal welfare advocates are featured in the video, as well as many of Puerto Rico's famous and loved satos.
This website was sent to me by Bonnie and has a lot of information for different areas in the country. Go to seniordiscounts.com to find out more! And if anyone follows up on any of these leads, please let me know how it goes.
These two angels, Scooby and Kathy, are now safe and getting the treatments they need to start living their good lives! We had a generous donation from a woman in Boston contacted Sandra about rescuing Scooby. But when Sandra went to get her from the beach, there was yet another little girl dumped off, Kathy, so I told her to go ahead and take her in as well. And the beautiful donor offered to sponsor both of them!!! They both have demodex and will have to remain in Puerto Rico for a few weeks to get rid of that skin condition but once they are healthy they will be headed for the states and to their forever homes. Thank you so much to Diane, Sandra, Sabine, and Dr. Brito for this rescue.
Selena Gomez is a celebrity from Puerto Rico and has gotten involved in helping the stray dogs of her homeland. This video shows Dead Dog Beach and discusses the horrors of the situation. Thank you to Selena and Island Dog and all of the beautiful people who not only cried when they saw these animals - they vowed to do something about it.
The update today is that Tanya, the rottie mix, is heartworm positive. Miles, Frances, and Brandon are all heartworm negative but Miles has a slight eye infection and Frances is very shy and scared. All of the puppies are in foster homes or boarding though one of The Mob didn't make it. Ziggy, the dog with all the matted hair, has been shaved - in fact they found a collar with tags imbedded in all that hair - he will be heartworm tested tomorrow! Mika is heartworm negative but has a mild skin condition (looks like demodex in the pictures) and will have to stay to get treated for that. Once again, all thanks go to Maria for doing all the footwork on this and keeping everything up with Dr. Serrano. We have paid about half of our bill with him but will end up spending probably another $500 before all is said and done. But look at those faces and tell me if you wouldn't pay a million times more.
Don't forget you can make automatic monthy donations
We are now set up with paypal for supporters to make automatic monthly donations of varying amounts ($5, $10, or $20). Go to our donate page to find out more! It's a great way to donate - every penny counts - and it helps us have an idea of what money we can count on in donations each month.
Liz from Amigos de los Animales sprang Daly and Niko from the Humacao shelter last week - they were picked up in the beach sweep from the previous week. They are safe and happy now, thanks to ADLA. See Liz' posting and more pictures on her blog. There was also a gorgeous German shepherd there. I'm checking to see if he's still there and will try to get him as well - I'm always a sucker for a German shepherd. (pictures courtesy of Liz)
See what I mean? Look how much this little dog that was at Pet Fest looks like our Thor!!! If I didn't know Thor was still with his original adopters, I'd swear he'd gotten nabbed!
We had a great time at Pet Fest at Indian Riverside Park in Jensen Beach. We had the beautiful Alyssa there for adoption - she didn't get adopted but we took in about $150 in donations which is a pretty good haul for 3 hours! And take a look at that little adorable dog that looks just like our Thor boy! It's not Thor but I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw that dog, especially since Thor was adopted out in the area! Thank you so much to Courtney, Ivy, Sam and Ronnie for their help in taking in money and giving out information on our group.
These 4 puuppies plus their dad (pictured) and mom were found in an abandoned building in Vega Baja. I was contacted by a couple who are willing to sponsor their rescue but we need to get them out of that house ASAP - as usual, the neighbors are threatening to kill them. We need someone who can go pick up the puppies and transport them to a nearby vet. It's a matter of urgency since I'm sure someone's at the store buying rat poison right now. If you can help with transporting them, please contact me asap.
All of these dogs have been dumped at the beach within the last week. Last week, animal control picked up 18 of our dogs from the beach and we've been scrambling to find the money, transportation, and foster/boarding for them since then. And now there are all these more plus the ones that were not picked up by animal control! We cannot keep doing this!!! WHY DOES THE MUNICIPALITY OF YABUCOA NOT DO SOMETHING TO STOP THE CONSTANT FLOW OF ANIMALS BEING ABANDONED?!?!? It would take just a little foresight from them to help with public awareness and education and assistance with spay/neuter programs. Wouldn't being proactive make a lot more sense than being responsible for the potential deaths of these dogs? Why do we - private people and rescue groups - have to do THEIR work???
Sandra noticed Brandon had been missing since last week and she checked at the Humacao shelter and he's there. I'll be talking to the director tomorrow to get him on our list to be claimed.
The Mid-Atlantic German Shepherd Rescue in Maryland has agreed to take both of these beauties!!! Now their rescuer, Alexandra, is working on getting all their vetting completed and then have to raise approximately $1,000 for their flight to Virginia. If you would like to help with their rescue costs, please contact Alexandra at alexiabejarano@hotmail.com. And once again, thank you so much to MAGSR who have been heroes to so many of our Puerto Rico shepherds.
These two German shepherds, Nala and Oso, are in need of rescue and placement. We have our hands full with all the dogs taken to animal control last week so I'm hoping someone else can help out. Right now they are chained in a small backyard living with an elderly woman who can no longer care for them. Please contact Alma at NIKKOVONROTTIE@aol.com or Ingrid at ingridingridcaribenet8@gmail.com
There is also a beautiful boy named Rocco who is in a dire situation right now. He is only 2 years old but has severe hip dysplasia. His owner cannot afford the surgery for him and is willing to give him up to a home who can care for him. He is on daily medication that just dulls the pain. The surgery may be the best option for him but his condition is so severe he will need a specialist. If anyone can help, please contact Laura at laura.rosario@gmail.com
This is the GORGEOUS Sofi! She was rescued along with her two brother Jason and Mookie. All three of these puppies were so terrified of humans I thought I'd never place them. Jason and Mookie didn't ever come around so they went to a beautiful sanctuary in Indiana. But Sofi was adopted by a couple who gave her all the time she needed and look at her now!!!
In my zest to "clean house" on the website server, I unfortunately deleted nearly all the files for the site!!! Allison and Scottie scrambled to put it back together but the blog took a big hit. All the photos are gone so I'm spending my time replacing them. Just so you'll know what it looks a mess for a while. Sigh. I've been warned now against even LOOKING at the server and my administrative access has been taken away. I just can't be trusted!
There are a total of 17 dogs from the beach that were taken to animal control in Humacao (Sandra posted pictures here). The vet there, Dr. Serrano, is giving us a deal of $50/dog to claim them but that includes sterilization, DHLPP and rabies vaccination - not a bad deal but we still have to come up with the money. The plan is that the puppies (Shane, Darwin, and The Mob) need to get out of there ASAP (like Saturday by noon). Liz from Amigos de los Animales is going to take Daly and Niko. Sabine will foster Ziggy and Susy will take 2 or 3 from The Mob (they are siblings that need socialization b/c they are very afraid of people). So, we need help with transporting the dogs from the shelter to various foster homes on Saturday and Tuesday. We also need foster homes/boarding for Miles, Frances, Tanya, Mika and Daisy plus the remaining puppies (including Shane and Darwin). Please get in touch with me or Sandra if you can help.
Is this not precious?!?! This is the famous Scooter who was rescued by Liz with Amigos de los Animales. He has an injury that makes him unable to use his back legs so there are obvious "potty" issues. Looks like premie diapers solved the problem! You can read more at Liz' blog.
This is the beautious Pinky. She was rescued by Gina after she had been hit by a car. Gina got her the necessary surgery and Pinky later came to Florida for adoption. For some unknown reason it took a long time - like six months - for Pinky to find her perfect forever home but she finally did it just before Christmas! This little girl totally stole my heart and I cannot be happier with her story. These pictures will prove how lucky and happy she is!
Sandra was at the beach today and found that the puppies in the puppy room were gone and she didn't see some of the other adults there. I called Animal Control in Humacao and Daly (the dalmatian mom), all the puppies, and some other of our beach dogs are there at the animal control shelter! That is REALLY BAD because they will be euthanized tomorrow (they do the euthanizations on Thursdays) if we don't claim them! They close at noon and Sandra is going to sneak out from work to go identify which ones are ours. I talked to Dr. Serrano who is the director there and he will let us "adopt" them from the shelter and take them out. Last time it was $50 per dog so it'll probably be close to that. We need people who can go to the shelter either later tomorrow morning (but before noon) or on Friday to pick them up and get them to boarding or foster care. ANYONE WHO CAN HELP WITH EITHER DRIVING, FOSTERING, OR CONTRIBUTING MONEY FOR THESE DOGS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW ASAP! They will all need to be taken to the vet for a check-up and vaccinations and then taken to somewhere to stay until I can get them here. Sabine has offered to take the two that have skin problems (I'm not sure whether they were picked up but will know tomorrow morning) and Barbara can take 3 or 4 to foster. Susy, perhaps you can take a couple of the babies? Right now, we just need to claim them from animal control IMMEDIATELY and get them to even temporary care.
Attached are pics of Daly and two of the puppies. I already have a potential adopter here for Daly and the puppies will be super easy to place.
These four (Stephanie, Riker, Meredith and Kass) are now safe. I'm waiting to hear back from the doctor about whether any have heartworm, mange, etc.. - keep your fingers crossed on that. We are going to need donations for these guys. I'm already waaaaaay in debt and need to get bills paid and taking these guys on is going to be another approximately $500 at least.
