Satos' Stories

Model project for Puerto Rico

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:05:00 +0000

I took this article from the Spay-Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) based in Houston, Texas. THIS is the model that can be used in Puerto Rico. Read the article below and I'm calling SNAP right now!

Turks & Caicos Islands - Street Dog Project

In 2001, SNAP was asked by the Pegasus Foundation to assist the Turks and Caicos Islands with finding solutions to its stray dog overpopulation. The Turks and Caicos Islands, also known as TCI, are a British Overseas Territory located 575 miles southeast of Miami. TCI is the most populated island of Providenciales. It was estimated that there were as many as 1,000 stray dogs in TCI at the time. Many of these strays were essentially wild animals who had never been socialized with humans.

The Problem

There are no vaccination or licensing requirements for dogs or cats living in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The TCI island of Providenciales, also known as Provo, had only been commercially developed during the previous 30 years, so the problem of stray dogs was relatively new. Dogs roamed the island in search of food, destroying fragile ecosystems in the process. They ravaged endangered shore birds and their nests, iguanas, and turtles and turtle nests. Island residents reported dog bites and dog damage to personal property. Islanders and visitors alike expressed fear of being chased by dogs or contracting diseases from them. Many tourists reported the wild dogs as a negative feature of vacationing in the Turks and Caicos. The problem was brought to the national and international forefront when a television correspondent was attacked by a dog at a resort. This attack focused the attention of the TCI hotel owners association, local government, and concerned residents on the issue of stray and feral dogs.

While feral dogs attack or threaten resort visitors and threaten the tourism industry, it is not often publicized how these dogs also compromise the lives of the local people. It is hard for most to imagine living in a neighborhood where one is afraid to walk at night for fear of being attacked and afraid during the day of having one’s children bitten. It is hard to comprehend what it is like to have dozens of dogs barking and fighting outside one’s window all night, every night. Tourism is an essential part of the TCI economy, but local residents were just as eager to quickly deal with the problems created by the dogs.

In previous years, the government employed a dog catcher who would trap or dart stray dogs and destroy them. This system failed when fishermen stole traps and the stray dogs became "trap wise." Beginning in 2000, a veterinarian was hired by the government for $100 a day to shoot stray dogs. The veterinarian hunted for stray dogs on the island three days a week, shooting an average of six to eight dogs each trip. Animals running at-large on the airport grounds or the sanitary landfill were fair game and were shot at-will. The operators of many of the resorts on the island also asked the vet to shoot stray populations on their properties. Animals who were not killed instantly by gunfire suffered long and agonizing deaths. Besides the danger posed to humans by accidental shooting, dead dogs were left where they are shot to decompose, creating additional environmental and health concerns.

When a hotel was threatened with a serious lawsuit from a tourist who was bitten by a wild dog, and one airline refused to land there until the dogs were eliminated from the airstrip, the government turned to the only program that looked like an immediate solution to the problem: introduction of Canine Distemper to eradicate the dogs. Canine Distemper is an indiscriminate virus that can affect companion animals as well as stray or feral animals. Dogs infected with distemper display red, runny eyes and nasal discharge. In later stages of the disease, they often collapse in the streets as vomiting, fever, and diarrhea develop, followed by various disorders of the nervous system. This disease takes time to carry out its cycle in infected dogs and the virus, once introduced to an island, can never be eradicated or managed.

While the introduction of Canine Distemper would have eliminated stray dogs, the immense animal suffering endured and the possibility of cross-contamination into other species caused international outrage. With funding from the Pegasus Foundation and a collaboration with Global Wildlife Resources, SNAP assembled a team to assess the stray dog problem and propose to the government alternative, humane solutions that centered around education and prevention.

The Project Solution

SNAP and Global Wildlife Resources (GWR) traveled to Provo during the summer of 2001 to assess the situation and develop a proposed solution to present to the Turks and Caicos government. The resulting proposal recommended a multi-faceted approach to humanely ending dog overpopulation. The SNAP/GWR proposal combined community outreach and education activities; humane trapping and euthanasia of wild, aggressive dogs; a trap/neuter/release program for community dogs; and a free sterilization program for owned animals. The plan incorporated the efforts of the Turks and Caicos Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which operates various programs that include spay/neuter, humane education, and foster and adoption of dogs.

SNAP’s primary responsibility under the proposal was a month-long spay/neuter clinic, which would involve bringing to Provo veterinary teams skilled in high volume, high quality spay-neuter surgery. The teams would consist of one veterinarian and two animal health technicians, each brought to the island for a week at a time during a four-week period. Each team would perform approximately 150 surgeries each week, resulting in a total of 600 spay/neuter surgeries being completed during the month. Volunteers on the island would support the medical team. Two existing private veterinary clinics on the island would serve as facilities for spay-neuter clinic surgeries. All surgery suites would be sterile and veterinarians would have the right to refuse to perform any surgery for any health reason.

The Program

To encourage dog guardianship, free dog collars were distributed to identify dogs connected with people.

Many of SNAP’s recommendations were included in the government-funded program that resulted from the initial consultation project. In mid- November 2001, a team of animal handling experts traveled to Providenciales for one month to kick off the stray dog control program. Participating organizations included the Turks and Caicos SPCA, Global Wildlife Resources, the Humane Society International/Humane Society of the United States, and the Pegasus Foundation. The resulting program improved the lives of both people and animals.

The team conducted public education every day through media interviews, school visits, community presentations, and informal interactions with people they encountered in the community. Team members handed out free dog collars so that island residents could identify their own dogs. As collared animals were shuttled to and from the veterinarians for sterilization, it was the first time the people witnessed their government acknowledging and caring for their dogs.

An entirely new capture method was designed: the colony capture pen. Animal handling and euthanasia of strays was conducted with calmness, respect, and care. Both children and adults embraced the methods and actions. Feral dogs responded remarkably well to the capture pens, casually walking in and out as the pens lay idle, and often responding to their capture by eating the table scraps which had baited them in.

In less than three weeks, a total of 362 free-ranging dogs were captured. Sixty of these dogs were collared and transported to and from the veterinarian for

sterilization. Children applauded as animals were returned. During this period, the Turks and Caicos SPCA publicized their free spay-neuter program, leading to an additional 112 dogs being sterilized. Three hundred of the captured free-ranging dogs were uncollared and presumed feral, thus they were euthanized. Dogs transmit skin diseases to the children, cause property damage, and kill family dogs. While regretable, euthanasia was an important tool on Providenciales for providing immediate relief to pain and suffering.

The Outcome

The cultural change in animal stewardship and improvement in people’s lives continued beyond the first month kickoff phase of the program. The Turks and Caicos SPCA trained animal control officers to continue the capture of free-ranging dogs. The TCSPCA also provides the following services to the community:

Distribution of free dog collars: More than 1200 free dog collars have been distributed in Provo so that any dog with a connection to people will have a collar.

Any dogs caught in the capture program with collars are spayed or neutered and returned to the location where they were caught.

Free Spay/Neuter: When dogs with guardians are collared, the TCSPCA goes into neighborhoods to collect them for spay/neuter, takes them to the vet for surgery, and return them with information on caring for dogs. During the first 14 months of the program, the TCSPCA spayed or neutered nearly 500 dogs belonging to island residents.

Educational Outreach: The TCSPCA has developed an educational curriculum for both primary and secondary schools focusing on responsible animal care. All public and private schools on Provo have been visited by TCSPCA volunteer educators.

Fostering/Adoption: The TCSPCA has fostered and found homes for more than 100 animals since late 2001. The TCSPCA has 10 foster homes who take in animals of all kinds sometimes for a month or more until adoption homes can be found. The SPCA has also arranged for animals to be transported to adoption homes internationally.

See online article here

Talk about a lucky Penny!

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:53:00 +0000

This little beauty is named Penny and she just might be the luckiest sato EVER! You can read her whole story below but she is yet another sato who broke the hearts of tourists who were on the island to relax and take in the tropical beauty but were confronted with the rampant horror of the condition of animals on the island.

This is the second couple in as many weeks that have appealed to me for help in rescuing an animal in need and, luckily, they have succeeded in getting their chosen one to safety. That is a wonderful feeling for all involved, most notably the little sato.

But does ANYONE see the insanity here??? These are just ordinary people, not of exceptional financial means or famous celebrities or brilliant scholars (at least not as far as I'm aware). They are just regular people with regular hearts - regular hearts that all people should have - regular hearts with compassion - not those irregular hearts devoid of such that can see these animals in such pain and torture every day and ignore them as if they were some kind of vermin.

HOW MANY TIMES AND IN HOW MANY WAYS DOES THE GOVERNMENT OF THAT POTENTIALLY IDYLLIC ISLAND NEED PROOF THAT THERE IS A REAL AND SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM THERE???!!! What more do they need than people coming for a working vacation that have to spend the last days of their vacation and the last dollars to be spent on silly t-shirts and fruity cocktails driving frantically around the island searching for the right dog kennel and sitting in veterinary waiting rooms and hoping they don't get mange from the dog they are rescuing?

And what do these people tell their friends and colleagues once they return home? They tell them "Don't go to Puerto Rico unless you need a new dog and want to have your heart ripped out of your chest everywhere you turn your head!". Word gets around, my friends. And there are some very riled up and angry people who will make certain word gets around. For a Caribbean island whose main source of income is tourism, negatively affecting tourists doesn't seem to be an affective marketing strategy to me.

The downfall is going to come out of ignorance and hubris and it will not be my fault, or the dogs' faults or the people who have NORMAL hearts faults. It will be the fault of the Puerto Rican government who refuses to act in any honorable and conscientious manner. The non-action of the government will be THEIR fault and whatever negative results befall them, I feel no sorrow for them.

Now you may read the letter from Clint and Jennifer who rescued the adorable Penny. They are in the Boston area and are looking for a home for her because they are not allowed to have dogs in their building.

I traveled to Puerto Rico last week for a work conference, and my girlfriend Jen came with me. I was scheduled to have meetings in San Juan from Tuesday through Thursday. After that we planned to take a road trip to the south side of El Yunque to stay at a b&b in the rainforest for the weekend.

As we left San Juan, we kept seeing more and more dogs, and they kept looking more and more decrepit. It quickly became clear that the dogs we were seeing were strays and not scraggly pets. I was shocked at how many there were. In every parking lot there were several. On every street or highway shoulder there were more.

The first night in El Yunque, we saw the saddest dog yet. She was skinny and weak, skinnier than any dog I'd ever seen. She was limping heavily, and she had dangling, swollen teats [forgive me if that's not the correct term; my father is a dairy farmer, and that's the term for cows' milk-producing nipples] so I knew she had puppies.

She got out of the road, and we drove by, but it was an awful sight. We went down the mountain that night, and didn't see her. When we came back, at around the spot where we'd last seen her, there was what appeared to be some debris in the middle of the road. It surprised us when it moved, and the skeletal mom led one of her puppies to the side of the road where her other pup waited behind a junked car.

The image of the mom and the weak little puppies still haunts me. We didn't have any food to give them, but resolved to return with some the next day. Unfortunately, we only ever got a quick glimpse of them again, and I fear the worst.

That haunting sight got me fired up. It felt ineffectual, but I started looking around the internet for information on stray dogs in Puerto Rico. I found Hands For Paws among others. I took down all the numbers for shelters and animal welfare organizations that I could, at the time thinking we would try to find a place for the skinny mom and pups near the b&b.

The next day, we took what food we could from breakfast - just some hard-boiled eggs and pastries - and left El Yunque for a day trip. We didn't see the skinny mom, so we kept our food scraps. Later we stopped for gas in Naguabo. The rental car sounded funny, so I checked the oil while Jen tried to feed the 3 or 4 satos roaming the parking lot. They were all pretty sad; skinny, with wounds and lame legs. They cringed and ran away when Jen got close.

I turned back to the car, and lost track of Jen. When she returned, she was carrying a filthy, adorable little puppy, not quite newborn, but tiny. Her mom - who would be named Penny - trotted behind. The puppy collapsed against Jen's chest. The mom never took her eyes off the puppy, but she wasn't aggressive at all. She also seemed reasonably intact, by sato standards; all her legs and both her eyes worked okay. She was very friendly and wiggly.

We sat with them for a bit on the curb, and got them some dog food from a store nearby. The mom ate a bit, but the pup looked too young for solid food. The mom especially was extremely sweet and affectionate. She never stopped wagging and wiggling, and gave us plenty of kisses. She even left us alone with the pup while she ran away to retrieve a pastry we'd tried to give her earlier. We felt terrible leaving them, but we couldn't take them with us to the b&b. We called all the animal welfare numbers in my phone, mostly to no avail (it was a weekend) and decided to check back up with the dogs later.

When we returned that night, we found the mom and pup curled up more or less where we left them. The mom seemed to recognize us, and was as friendly as ever. We had been debating the ethics and morality of taking the dogs with us to America all day, but that night we resolved to do something, even just taking them to a shelter in Puerto Rico. A slim chance is better than no chance, we figured. The next day, Sunday, was our last in Puerto Rico. We would do something then.

When we returned to the gas station on Sunday, we saw about the saddest sight either of us hope to ever see. The puppy was dead, on its side in the middle of the parking lot. People and other dogs milled about, seemingly oblivious. The puppy's mom stayed by the dead pup, futilely sniffing, licking, and nosing it.

It was too much. We had previously regarded the idea of taking a dog home as too crazy, despite making some preparations ('just in case', we told ourselves). But this was it. Jen moved the puppy out of the way, to a grassy area nearby. I covered up the back seat of the rental car with some towels, and we lured the mom in with some pieces of a hot dog. In a few minutes, we were speeding down the highway toward San Juan.

The afternoon was a whirlwind. Our flights left in the early evening, and there wasn't much time. We saw a great vet, Dr Osmar Rivera at the Condado Veterinary Hospital in Santurce. He and his staff were all excellent and extremely compassionate. On very short notice, Dr. Rivera checked out the dog, then gave her some vaccinations and a health certificate.

After that, we sped around, gathering supplies: a kennel, water bowls and bottles, newspaper, etc, etc. We made it to the airport in the nick of time, and Penny - once she was on the plane, we relaxed our guards enough to give her a name - came home with us.

She is beyond sweet. She doesn't bark, and mostly likes to wiggle and be petted. She doesn't mind sleeping in her kennel, and handles a leash well. She's cautious around other dogs and people, but doesn't growl or show any aggressive body language. She's had a bath, and a nice walk in the park, and is off to the vet shortly.

For the record, rescuing Penny feels great. I have no regrets, but I'm not sure I would recommend my experience to just anyone. The last couple of days were extremely stressful and sad. I hope lots of other people rescue satos, but it's not a job one should undertake lightly.

I should also add that none of this would be possible without the help and encouragement of Ginny and Hands For Paws (you've been so helpful), Donna and Save A Sato, Dr Rivera, a sympathetic customer service rep at Delta airlines, and many others. Thank you all.

Finally, Penny is in need of a home. We got in so late that we couldn't take her to a foster home, so we smuggled her into our place. We can't keep her here, as our lease does not allow dogs. Any leads on foster or permanent homes would be very much appreciated - email us at adopt.penny.from.pr@gmail.com.

Pups posted on Pets Alive blog

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:13:00 +0000

Take a look at the recent posting on the Pets Alive blog. It's called "Old Souls" and is about our little angels who arrived at their shelter on March 2. We are all so thankful to everyone at Pets Alive and Sidewalk Angels Foundation for what they did for our 7 babies and for what they do every day for all the other innocents in need. (Photo from the Pets Alive blog page)

Puerto Rican dog in the snow?????

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:48:00 +0000

I got this awesome email from Chrissy with these pictures of our darling little Hero (aka Megan) on her first romp in the snow! Chrissy said she took right to it - must've thought it was just cold beach sand or something! Read below Chrissy's email on the experience. (As a note, Boom Boom is a little sato Chrissy rescued from Puerto Rico about a year or so ago.)

I went to Pets Alive yesterday to check up on our girl. She was very excited to see me (that made me sooo happy!).

I took her for a nice long walk in the woods with my two kids, Basher and Boom Boom. Hero and Boom Boom bonded immediately - must be a Puerto Rican thing. Basher is his own little spirit. He said "hi" then wasn't really interested (that's a Jack Russell thing!)

Roy is safe!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:26:00 +0000

Sandra was finally able to get the handsome Roy from the beach on Thursday! We are all so relieved that he is finally safe! Sandra's been trying to get him for almost 2 weeks but whenever she is there with help (her husband, Angel), Roy apparently has decided that would be a good day to go for a long walk and was nowhere to be found! But on this day, he finally decided he'd like to take little ride and be rescued!

Take a look at him in those pictures! The second one is of him with Megan (newly named "Hero" because she lured us all into rescuing not just her but her sister, Macy and her mom, Madison) - looks like Roy is being that silly uncle who tickles you until you laugh so hard you nearly piddle in your britches! The third one is of Roy with Sugar (her original name was Tracy but we renamed her the name of a fighter - Sugar Ray Leonard - because she had that horrible hernia that needed emergency surgery and she needed a fighter name to get her through it. BTW, she's doing AWESOME!). Sandra said Sugar LOVED Roy and used to follow him all over the beach. Here she is giving silly uncle Roy a big smacker on the lips for being such a lovable guy - and I'm certain he deserved it!

Roy went to Dr. Brito's office where it was found he had hookworms and sarcoptic mange (yuck - that's the contagious one). But the most awesome news is that he is HEARTWORM NEGATIVE!!! That is absolutely unbelievable since he's about 3-4 years old and has obviously had no recent veterinary care! Both Sandra and I had said we'd stake our paychecks on him having heartworm but we are soooooo glad to be proven wrong on that! (And for me, no big deal since I am STILL unemployed right now! not sure whether Sandra cares to hold up her end of the bet!). So I'll take hookworms and mange over heartworm ANY DAY!!! Oh, and the people at the vet's office say he's an excellent patient! He's got a great temperment (well, he IS a lab, after all!) and is just super sweet and easy to handle - all 76 pounds of him!

Roy does have some kind of potentially serious problem with his hip or back leg. He's limping terribly on it. Dr. Brito will take an x-ray on Monday morning and give me his opinion on that. We may be looking at orthopedic surgery for Roy but hopefully it will be something that can be fixed and there is an excellent orthopedic veterinary surgeon on the island who gives us decent discounts and we'll just get our Roy to Dr. Rivera if need be.

I'll post on Roy's condition once I hear from the vet on Monday. And Sandra is going to take a ride up to visit him next week and get some good pictures of him since he's all cleaned up and looking spiffy now - not all icky and dirty from the beach. But for now, we know that dear Roy is finally safe and will sleep each night on warm and dry blankets with a belly full of nummies and in his little doggie heart will know he is loved and is being taken care of. That feels good to us all.

All the puppies made it to New York safe and sound!

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:01:00 +0000

I don't have pictures yet but I have this great on-the-spot report from Chrissy who was in the midst of all the madness in getting all the wee ones sent and received in New York yesterday. She sent out the email below so I just pasted her text below for you all to have an update. Once I get pictures and more info on how the babies are doing, I'll post that as well.

I also want to add my thanks to Barbara, Mary, Carlos, Luis, and Nilsa - these are the people who do all the "grunt" work like transporting puppies and arranging escort flights and bringing kennels and fostering puppies - and they are ones without whom none of this would be possible. You guys are amazing and are my heroes as well.

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted you all to know that our darling babies all made it to NY safely and everyone is doing well.

It was a very emotional day for me - we sent Macy, Jenny, Jack, Jillian, Casey and Stacey this morning with American Airlines. The fabulous Kerry and Matt from Pets Alive swooped in and picked them up this afternoon and they are now settling in and getting acquainted with the snow at the sanctuary in Upstate New York.

I was crying like a baby when I was helping the American Airlines personnel check the crates of each pup. Even the passengers who were standing on line waiting to check in were asking me if I was OK. I was just SO HAPPY that we all came together and now each of these beautiful babies will never live in fear again, will always have warm food in their belly and a safe place to lay their head.

Hero (previously known as Megan) flew with me on Continental this afternoon and then came home with me to Brooklyn for the night. What a trouper! Hero is recovering from being spayed a few days ago and has a leg injury. But her tail never stops wagging. Her first NY meal was filet mignon hand fed to her by my husband, Bobby. Now she is curled up in a king size down quilt at our feet and looks as snug as a bug in a rug.

So a huge thank you to:

- Sandra for being an angel for these wonderful little dogs and taking care of them every single day. These are 7 that you will no longer have to worry about.

- Lila and David for making a wrong turn at Dead Dog Beach and becoming instant advocates (and very generous supporters) of these dogs.

- Mari, Ellen, Juan and the "100,000" crew for telling us 'Hero's story' - and donating so now she and her sister, Macy and very soon her Mum will have forever homes.

- Kerry, Kerri and everyone at Pets Alive for taking in our precious cargo, never saying no and always being so happy to help.

- Maria, Rob and Marisol and the Sidewalk Angels Foundation for stepping in to help little Sugar (who is still in PR recovering from very serious surgery) Hero and all the Dead Dog Beach dogs.

And last but by no means least, Ginny. I know that sometimes you must wonder if all the heartache and stress is worth it. All I can say is all the good karma that you have thrown out into the universe over the last five years of your rescue efforts is coming back to you. Be prepared to be hit by the good karma freight train because it is heading in your direction and it's picking up steam........: )

It has been very inspirational working so closely with you all on these particular rescues and I hope will can all continue to make a difference for the dogs of Puerto Rico.

Now I'm going to have a very large cocktail and snuggle down with Hero because she looks so cozy. Sorry Bobby ; )

My love to you all, Chrissy

Simone gets a job!

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:02:00 +0000

I don't do this very often but a beautiful mother and her baby were, quite literally, dumped on my doorstep about 6 weeks ago so I of course had to take them in. The baby was a stunning, healthy beauty to I took her to a local shelter I work with where she was adopted quickly. The momma, well, she was a little on the nutty side. She was 95% sweet and loving but there was a 5% psycho cat that made her definitely not shelter cat material and even iffy on the home adoption side. So I found her an awesome job as a barn cat!

Simone started her job last Monday (8 days ago) at Hidden Acres Equestrian Center in Port St. John, Florida (which is where Walk On Water Ministries operates as well). For the first week or so she will stay contained in the feed room until she knows that the stable is her home. Once she's gotten all settled in, she'll be able to roam the stables and property and do her job which is the A+ #1 Varmit Catcher, a job at which I am sure she'll be a star!

I've had communication with Patty, her new mommy, and everyone in the stable is just in love with Simone! It appears Simone must have exorcised her demons at my house because she's been an absolute angel at her new home from day one! Everyone takes time to go visit with her every day and the kids take special care in spending time playing with her. They all say she's just a sweet little doll baby. I'm so proud of her! It's as though she actually listened to my little speech I gave her on the ride up there!

I just want to thank again and again the wonderful Patty and everyone at Hidden Acres for taking in our sweet (she really IS sweet!) Simone and giving her such a great life and for all the wonderful work they do with their other rescues - both human and horse!

Here's the driveway approaching the Hidden Acres center and property.

They have an 18-stall barn and it's fabulous!

This is Patty holding the darling little Simone! I had Simone at my home for about 6 weeks so it was bittersweet to let her go. I still miss her sometimes.

Simone is all set with her kitty bed I brought from home and her nummies up on the washer/dryer. There are lots of things to explore in the feed room.

Patty's giving her a little "chat" about how good kitties DON'T climb on the top shelf of the feed room and climb out the open portion of the interior roof! And guess what? Simone listened! She hasn't escaped from her room at all - she really likes it and feels secure in there even though she could easily hop out! That makes me feel so good about having her there.

Here's a beautiful view down the stable hall. It really is a nice place.

Here you can see out one of the stalls onto the 2,000 acre preserve that the center backs onto. It's beautiful central Florida habitat with pine and palmetto scrub.

Last but not least, here's Patty with a new foal they got in. This little baby came from a drug house that was busted and the baby was taken away because of neglect and abuse. He's safe now with Patty and her great people.

Another view of Dead Dog Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:03:00 +0000

Take a look at this short video of Dead Dog Beach filmed by the 100,000 documentary crew. I know little Megan is in the video and the little black and white puppy, aptly named "Cookies", was snapped up by one of the film crew and has a happy home with her on the island. You can get yet another angle on what the beach "vibe" is here.

Sugar fights back!

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:52:00 +0000

She started out as Tracy, the little black puppy at the beach who was brought in with Jenny, the little shepherd mix. But once we found out what serious medical condition she was in, we had to give her the name of a fighter to help her pull through what was to come. Chrissy, a boxer herself, suggested "Sugar" for Sugar Ray Leonard so Sugar it is!

Sugar was diagnosed with a significant hernia on her lower left side (you can see it in the second photo where that bulge is from her mid-belly to her leg - that's basically her organs that have come out of a hole in her abdominal wall and are now just sloshing around being kept contained within her skin! This could have happened by being hit by a car or even being kicked or otherwise beaten. We don't know how the injury happened but when she arrived at the beach she appeared to be fine - the injury apparently occurred at the beach.) The vet said it was very serious and needed surgery ASAP.

Dr. Aguirre said based on the x-ray that Sugar's bowels were definitely involved and at least her bladder. Since Sugar had not produced any urine since she'd arrived about 36 hours prior, the vet recommended immediate surgery because any urine build-up would cause poisoning in her little body aside from the other damage going on in there. I gave her the go-ahead with the realistic understanding that if she opened Sugar up and there was too much damage that could not be repaired within reason, the vet would euthanize her there. Once again the horrible reality that we as rescuers are faced with all to often - we have to play Dr. Death because all those other people out there refuse to take responsibility and do the right thing for animals they were involved in creating.

The good news is that Sugar made it through the surgery (the 4th photo was taken at the clinic the day following her surgery. Dr. Aguirre says that the damage was extensive and she did the best she could do with sewing up all the organs back into place and stitching the abdominal wall closed to hold things where they belong. She said it would be "touch and go" for the next 72 hours or so.

Here's the great part of all of this. After I hung up with Dr. Aguirre at around 3 p.m. (which is 4 p.m. Puerto Rico time), I received a call from Dr. Aguirre at about 6:30 p.m. with an update on Sugar. She told me that she didn't want to leave Sugar at the clinic after major surgery being conducted so late in the day so she brought her home with her for the night!?!?! How many of your vets have done such a thing before?!?! She told me Sugar was doing as well as could be expected and was still coming out of the anesthesia. She said it would still be touchy for the next few days. There would be the potential for infection and other problems to arise so we shouldn't count her "well" by any means but I think that Sugar is getting better care than I could have ever hoped for with Dr. Aguirre and Dr. Brito's clinic. Dr. Aguirre also said she would probably take Sugar home with her over the weekend if she felt she would need more care rather than leaving her there unattended for most of the time.

I will know more tomorrow morning when I check in with Dr. Aguirre at the clinic. Obviously Sugar's surgery is an added expense to our bill so again, I'm begging for donations. You KNOW how much I hate this but just because they are safe from the beach doesn't mean the rescue is over. Now is when all the cash money is needed. That's what we need - money. If you want to help but don't have money to donate, let me know and I'll try to help you find ways to raise some funds wherever you are.

Happy Giovanna

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:35:00 +0000

This is the beautiful Giovanna who was rescued with her sister, Gabriella (who was equally gorgeous) in February of 2008. Giovanna found a wonderful home in Florida and, as you can see, is a totally pampered little doll!

And look at those puppy dog eyes in the last picture!!!! You know good and well that this little girl knew exactly what she was doing when she flashed those big brown eyes at Sandra - she knew there was no way Sandra could turn her away if she put on that face! Now look at her in the first picture --- still using "the look"! I bet that little girl gets away with anything and everything in that house!!!!! That's a smart little cookie!!!

Today's haul

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:19:00 +0000

Unfortunately Roy, the handsome yellow lab, was nowhere to be found at the beach today but Sandra did manage to get Jenny and Stacy, the two sweethearts that arrived at the beach over the weekend. And the little precious girl on her back in the sand is the darling Coqui who was rescued by Lila and David, the wonderful couple who are covering all of Megan's expenses! All three are at Dr. Brito's offices in Candelero and will stay until tomorrow afternoon and then go to Carolina for fostering until ready to fly. The girls appear to be in good health except that Stacy apparently has a hernia on her belly that could involve major surgery. I will be speaking with the doctor in the morning as they were closing the clinic but he was not finished examining her. But they are safe and fed and on their way to new lives! Sandra will try to get Roy tomorrow and then we'll have a full plate for a while for sure!

Let me tell you the story behind little Coqui. As I said, Lila and David rescued her even after they had found Megan and they offered to pay all of her veterinary, foster, and travel expenses to get her back to New York. They found little Coqui (which means "shell" in Spanish) at the beach near Palmas del Mar and there was no way they could leave her there - she is only about 2 1/2 months old and was all alone in the bushes with no mother or other dogs with her.

Lila and David agonized over little Coqui all last night and barely slept a wink. I had spoken to them the night before and knew all about this puppy and they were so distressed that they hadn't taken her in as well yesterday. And I knew before I hung up the phone that they were going to to exactly what they did which is to get up this morning and drive back out to that beach and find that little puppy and get her in to the vet to save her! They called me this morning to inform me of their plans as they were driving there. But Lila and David have been profoundly affected and changed by what they have witnessed on the island during this visit. They will be adopting Coqui who will be a new member of their family and they have already started the phone calls and emails to friends and family back in the states to tell them of the horrible things they have seen on their visit. These two people will tell their story to many more people and little Coqui's life will have an effect on the lives of many more dogs on the island, I can see that will happen.

I know how these things work because that's how it started for me and how it started for everyone else who has seen a helpless animal on that island - or anywhere, for that matter. So now because of two people with beautiful hearts and the humanity to let their vacation be turned into a rescue mission, two beautiful little girls who may not have been saved will now have the chance to live long, happy lives in soft, comfortable beds with plenty of food and belly rubs.

Oh by the way, David also told me he wasn't taking Lila to any more beaches before they left Puerto Rico!

Going for broke!

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:25:00 +0000

Well the last few days have been INSANE!!!!

The first crazy thing was that a couple from the states happened to take a wrong turn while on their trip in Puerto Rico and ended at Dead Dog Beach. They saw all the dogs there and luckily saw Sandra as well while she was feeding the dogs. The couple had fallen in love with Megan, the little darling in the fourth photo. It had already been decided that we would be rescuing Megan along with her mom, Madison and her sister, Macy (shown in the last photo) but along came this wonderful couple who offered to help with Megan's veterinary care and transport back to their home in New York and to make her their own little sata!

Sandra took the three angels up to Dr. Brito's office for their general health check, fecal, and heartworm test and there was good news and bad news. The good news was only one was pregnant and only one has heartworm. The bad news is that one is pregnant and one has heartworm. Megan, the little one Lila and David are adopting, is pregnant and Madison, the mommy, is heartworm positive. I have to talk to Dr. Brito in the morning to find out specifics about Madison's heartworm but I suspect it isn't a severe case and we can treat her with heartworm preventative which will neither be costly nor consume extra time in foster or vet care. As for little Megan, the sad reality is that she will have to be spayed in the morning. I'm not sure how far along she is but it is just not justifiable to bring a litter full of puppies into this world when we are leaving so many behind that are already here. Decisions like this haunt me - I've grown pretty jaded in most ways but this is one that never gets any easier. But all the girls seem pretty healthy other than that and will all stay at the vet through Friday afternoon when they will then be taken into foster care and will stay until they can travel to the states.

All three will remain in Puerto Rico as planned and will travel to New York once all of their vaccinations are finished and they are deemed healthy to travel. When they arrive, Megan will go into the arms of her new loving family and Madison and Macy will be whisked away to the wonderful Pets Alive Sanctuary in Middletown, NY. They just dropped out of the sky recently - oh, well actually they were brought to us on a silver platter by boxer Chrissy Beckles who sought them out because of their amazing reputation. Pets Alive will be taking the 4 puppies we've had in foster care for a few weeks - Chrissy will be taking them back to NYC with her when she flies back next Tuesday.

And then, between two wonderful women in New Mexico - Sara and Diane (two of our supporters who didn't even know each other until I realized, duh, they live near each other and hooked them up with each other) and another NYC angel, Meryl, who just called out of nowhere - the handsome yellow lab at the beach is due to be rescued tomorrow! The girls in NM are working on fundraising for his foster care/boarding and transport to the states. I have been concerned because I just have this sinking feeling that he is heartworm positive and I know how expensive it is for treatment for full-blown heartworm (I can just see it in his face and Sandra confirmed my suspicions as well - we'll know tomorrow when he goes to the vet - let's hope we are both WRONG!). But Meryl, who is also a volunteer for Island Dog, called out of the blue to say she wanted to help with this boy and when I mentioned the heartworm possibility and the potential cost she said "Done! I'll pay for it!"!

We already had the "go ahead" from Pets Alive to send them that beautiful boy as well as the two precious pups in the first two pictures and Sandra will be taking all three to Dr. Brito tomorrow. Sandra has already vaccinated all three so the vet costs will be minimal for the puppies as long as they stay healthy. The puppies will need to stay in Puerto Rico through three DHLPP shots since they are so young and that will take about 6 weeks then they will be ready to fly to New York. The lab's time on the island is up in the air until we get the result of his heartworm test. If it's negative and he's healthy, he'll be ready within a couple of weeks. If he's positive and it's the heavy load we suspect, that means 4 weeks of serious treatment including at least 2 weeks at the vet and another 2 weeks in foster care where he must remain very calm and not be active at all since the medication (arsenic) is actually going through the bloodstream and into the heart to kill the adult worms in the heart.

Soooooo, we have gotten a good start on getting funds in for these guys which is great but we are nowhere near what we will need to finish off these rescues. We're talking about 7 dogs and we usually estimate $250 per dog from beach to mainland U.S.A. We'll count out the lab's potential heartworm treatment thanks to Meryl but since all these guys are going to NYC, if we have to ship them cargo via Continental, it costs $250 per kennel and we are only allowed to put 2 dogs in a single kennel no matter how large the kennel. Madison will have to have her own kennel as will the lab. So we're looking at $1,000 in shipping costs alone. Donations of any amount will be fussed and fawned over like you won't believe!

Three new ones coming off the beach!

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:13:00 +0000

It started with just one and we decided we couldn't separate the family!

Chrissy Beckles, boxer and animal advocate extraordinaire, will be in Puerto Rico in a few weeks for her own event has made two amazing contacts. One with an animal sanctuary in New York who has graciously offered to help us with placing some of our dogs. They will be taking in the 4 puppies that were taken off the beach a couple of weeks ago (Jack, Jillian, Casey, and Stacey) and Chrissy will be transporting them back to NYC with her when she returns. The sanctuary is Pets Alive Animal Sanctuary in Middletown, NY and Chrissy visited there and had the most gushing things to say about them and I'm so excited they are so willing to take in some of our little angels. They are even willing to take in adults and older dogs which is so amazing because those are the hardest to place so we haven't even been able to take them in at all lately.

The other great contact Chrissy made is with a group that is filming a documentary in Puerto Rico about the plight of stray animals on the island. The film is called "100,000" and will be released in July 2010. They have filmed all over the island and quite a lot at Dead Dog Beach. In fact, one of the filmmakers fell so in love with one of the dogs there, Megan, that she talked to Chrissy about arranging to have Megan rescued! But Megan is there with her sister Macy and her mom, Madison and we couldn't break up the family so Chrissy and I decided to take all three of them off the beach. We're working on the details now but hopefully by tomorrow afternoon, another three angels will be safe and happy. Those three probably won't be able to travel back with Chrissy but be shipped at a later date (which means more $$$) but we'll deal with that later. In the meantime, check out the website for "100,000" - hopefully the film is going to have a great impact on the island and a positive one for the animals there.

The "100,000" people are also sponsoring an "Adopt-A-Thon" on February 28 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Pet Park de Varona in Guaynabo. Chrissy will be there and you can find out more information on the event at their site HERE.

We're going to need as many donations as we can get to pay for the fostering and transportation costs for the 7 dogs we now have in foster care. We're really still not ready to be taking in new rescues since all our debt isn't paid down but sometimes ones cross our paths that we just can't say no to!

The destruction continues

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:51:00 +0000

First off I apologize for the gruesome picture but sometimes you guys need to see what really goes on down there at the beach. Sandra found this dog inside what's left of the puppy room over the weekend. When Sandra told me about it at first I thought maybe she was alive when they dumped her and they were hoping we'd take care of her. But no, they dumped her dead - and Sandra said she was pregnant as well.

As for the construction at the beach, I had no idea how far back the fencing at the beach had been placed. You can see here it's basically almost out to the road. All that area where the dogs had all their territories set up and all the shaded areas are all blocked off now. I have no idea what's going to happen there other than Animal Control being a regular visitor and dogs being dumped elsewhere. I'm going to try to contact some people to find out if there's anything they can do to help but seeing those pictures just floored me - this is real.

Rescue 9-1-1

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:44:00 +0000

These are the 4 puppies we put into foster care last week. It was an emergency because they were in the puppy room and the municipality is moving very quickly on tearing down the boathouse structure at the beach. The photo at the bottom is the puppy room as of last Friday - that's the room these 4 babies were in just a few days prior and that's why we had to get them out of there. Of course I'm sure the men wouldn't have just crashed the walls in with the puppies in there but they would have called Animal Control to pick them up and we all know what happens there. But as of now, the 4 pups - Jillian, Jack, Casey and Stacey - are safe and sound and will hopefully be coming to the States for adoption at the end of the month.

Flagler Park Adopt-A-Thon

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:45:00 +0000

Yesterday we participated in an Adopt-A-Thon sponsored by Caring Fields Animal Sanctuary. We took sweet Mika there and she did really well once she got all the silliness out of her system. She's been in foster care for almost 6 months and she really needs to find her forever home. There were about 8 or 9 different rescues at the event and quite a lot of people showed up to take a look at the merchanside! No good hits on Mika but her day will come! (Make sure to check out the video at the end of the pics!)

Puerto Rican Chicken Dog!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:29:00 +0000

Have you ever seen anything so hilarious in your life???!! This is Oly. His original name was Pinto but Oly seems to fit him just fine. He was adopted almost 2 years ago by a great family that keeps me posted every six months or so and it's such a joy to get a picture like this in my inbox!

Destruction at Dead Dog Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:15:00 +0000

As if it isn't a nightmare every day under normal circumstances, now, things are about to change in a very serious way. I don't know for a fact what the plan is at the beach but it appears the municipality is going to tear down the dilapidated marina building in their "beach beautification" process.

Sandra had noticed construction at the beach in the form of a new sidewalk being laid around the perimeter of the parking lot area and other "beautifications" occurring. But yesterday she called me frantic that they had started putting a fence up around the building and there was even parts of the building that were being torn down already. She said there were 4 puppies in the "puppy room" and that probably by the end of the day, the fence would have them trapped in. That meant we had to get those puppies out IMMEDIATELY and THAT meant we had to scramble to find a foster home for them ASAP.

So we called Nilsa in the metro area and she graciously agreed to take the 4 puppies in for a couple of weeks until they are ready to fly to the States for adoption. Sandra and Nilsa weren't able to meet yesterday for the transfer so Sandra took the puppies to Dr. Reyes office just to keep them overnight and the girls will be meeting at 4 p.m. today so Nilsa can take them home with her.

And the best thing is that thanks to our beach angel, Debbie, who has sent an amazing supply of medications, vaccinations, shampoos, etc... to Sandra, the puppies already have their first vaccination and have been wormed and will be ready for their second vaccinations and their bordetella vaccinations in a few days. Sandra is sending all the vaccinations they need (except for the rabies which needs to be administered by a vet) with the puppies so that Nilsa won't have to take the puppies to the vet at all (unless something unforeseen occurs) until they need their rabies shot and health certificate to fly! Think about the money that is being saved by that! By Debbie purchasing the vaccinations online, the cost is so much cheaper than at the vet and we don't have to pay for the office visit either. This is the best way to go.

Sooooo, now we have 4 little angels in foster care and our cost will just be for their fostering ($5/dog/day for their food and space with Nilsa) plus final vet visit and shipping to the States for their forever homes! That means the cost is greatly reduced by of course not free so please send whatever you can to help. I hadn't planned on taking any rescues because we're still in "debt payment" mode but there was no way to leave these babies there for Animal Control to take them away.

So THOSE puppies are safe but there are 2 others that Sandra is trying to catch - they are a little skittish but they are staying up near the bend in the road which is very dangerous. Plus there are 30-40 dogs scattered around the beach. With this new beach beautification plan going on, there is only one "plan" the municipality has for the dogs and that's straight to Animal Control. They are supposed to keep them for a certain period of time to see if their owner shows up but I doubt they really do. Sandra always notices when Animal Control has been there because she knows who's missing and all the remaining dogs are hiding.

In the past we've just had Sandra go up to the Animal Control building and reclaim "our" dogs. They charge us $50/dog and they have their vaccinations and are sterilized. But in our financial state, we won't be able to do this. Just the fees for reclaiming them alone, for all the dogs that will be taken in, won't be possible - but then the 2-4 weeks of fostering/boarding plus any vetting and then shipping will all make it out of our reach to do much if anything.

But that is the way it is going to go down there and we have no way to stop it. The beach and the marina building are the property of the Municipality of Yabucoa and the Port Authority of Puerto Rico. Sandra and I were talking about it and of course people are not going to stop dumping dogs just because the beach is all pretty now. They will either continue to dump them there and the Municipality will just step up the beach sweeps to keep the beach clear of dogs. Or people will just change where they dump the dogs. They may dump them farther south near the balnerio which is bad because that's closer to the hotels and the hotels solve the problem by poisoning the dogs. Or they may just find a new spot alltogether to dump them which means we (Sandra) won't know where they are going and can't help them.

I don't know what's going to happen but I DO know that the Municipality doesn't care AT ALL about the dogs. The dogs are a nuisance to them and all they care about is getting rid of them in whatever way is easiest and cheapest.

In memory of Roxy

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:59:00 +0000

I received very sad news yesterday. The beautiful Roxy (originally Rosalie) died last week of natural causes though she was only about 1 1/2 years old. Roxy and her sister, Natalie, were rescued from Dead Dog Beach and though undeniably adorable, neither were very healthy puppies.

Roxy's family sent me a letter with the above photo included to let me know of the sad news. They said she just went through sort of a system shut-down and died in their arms at home. They all miss her terribly as does their other dog, Jake, and they said Roxy is absolutely "irreplaceable" and you can see why just looking at those huge ears and that silly smile.

Both girls came to my home for foster care and Roxy was adopted quickly but little Natalie was what's called a "failure to thrive" puppy from the very beginning. She seemed to get sicker and less energetic and the vets couldn't find what the problem was. In the end, she just lost her will to live and I had to make that horrible choice to let her go. She has a special spot in my backyard where I think about her whenever I see her little home-made marker and remember her snuggling with me on the couch.

Natalie and Roxy were apparently not made to be on Earth for long but those who were lucky enough to spend some time with them got lots of wiggles and licks and I can only hope they got all the snuggles and head scratches they desired while they were here. It's a tough part of rescue, losing one of your angels - but it's better to have them go in the arms of love with a full belly and a good life behind them rather than cold, hungry and alone at that horrible beach. And that's why we do what we do. Goodbye, Roxy. You were very loved.

Roxy (Rosalie) at the beach before she was rescued.

Natalie in the back of Yolanda's truck shortly after she and her sister was rescued. Yolanda fostered the girls for a few weeks before they came to the states for adoption.
Natalie's grave and marker in my backyard. I've since planted some Anthurium and society garlic around it so it doesn't look so bleak.

Article on Satos in "Pet News and Views"

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:20:00 +0000

Happy Beginnings for Strays in Puerto Rico

By Twig Mowatt, guest blogger with All Sato Rescue

Valiente, a 28-pound Chihuahua/border collie mix, was found tied to a trash can on a busy street in San Juan. His owner had dumped the dog there after he failed as a watch dog. (Valiente is a bit of a softy, who almost never barks.) It’s the sort of sad scene that happens every day in Puerto Rico, where companion animal abandonment, neglect, and abuse is widespread and largely tolerated.

Estimates place the number of stray dogs (called “Satos” in Puerto Rican slang) at above 150,000. Injured, diseased, and emaciated dogs can be found roaming most streets, beaches, mountainsides, and commercial centers. In fact, some areas, such as Dead Dog Beach, have become notorious dumping grounds for unwanted pups.

While most of these Satos end up dying horrible deaths, Valiente was lucky. He now lives like a king outside Boston, in a home where he is lavished with attention, has a bed in every room, and wears sweaters in the winter. He is one of about 2,000 Satos that are rescued off the streets, nursed back to health, and then rehomed in the mainland every year by a handful of dedicated individuals and a few small animal welfare groups.

While some of these groups focus on the root issues behind the problems of animal overpopulation, abuse, and neglect on the island, others dedicate themselves entirely to rescue and rehoming through a network of no-kill shelters in the Northeast.

Founded in 1996, the Save a Sato organization was probably the first group to send their rescued and rehabilitated dogs on commercial flights to Boston. Since then, other groups have joined the effort, including Amigos de los Animales, Island Dog, All Sato Rescue, and Manos por Patas. The arrangement works beautifully on both ends: Satos that would otherwise die on the streets get great homes, and shelters that would otherwise not have enough adoptable dogs to meet demand get a steady stream of cutie-pies.

The reason it works so well is that the spay/neuter message has been so successfully incorporated in MA, NH, VT, ME, and other Northeast states that there are very few litters of puppies being surrendered to shelters here. Faced with empty kennels and lines of hopeful adopters, most shelters have opted to reach out to rescue organizations in other parts of the country where overpopulation is still a problem. (People often don’t realize that Puerto Rico is part of the United States.)

That means that every week, beagle and hound mixes are being driven to MA from VA, GA, and TN, just as Satos are being flown in from Puerto Rico. After nearly 15 years of Sato importation, New England is surely home to the highest concentration of these former strays of anywhere off the island. And they have a devoted following. Satos tend to be on the small side (under 30 pounds) and they come in many unusual combinations, just like Valiente. Chihuahua genes are pretty common, as are enormous ear spans, stubby legs, and a penchant for sun bathing. Their gratitude at being given a second chance is often palpable.

Each Sato is scrupulously vetted for both health and behavioral issues before it is deemed adoptable, and each one arrives with its medical record, as well as a letter from the rescuer that explains where the dog was found and asks for photos and news from its new family. Rescuers, like the lovely woman who plucked Valiente off the busy street, say it’s these notes and photos that keep her motivated to work so hard.

[PHOTO: Edilia Vazquez, President and Co-founder of All Sato Rescue, with one of her rescues who is now in a great home. (Photo Credit: All Sato Rescue.)]

[See original online article at Pet News and Views]

Recent arrivals

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:43:00 +0000

These guys are all recent arrivals in Florida. Twenty-three of the dogs and the four kittens all went to the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast in Palm City Florida for adoption. The first little guy up there, Diego, was too shy to leave at the shelter and was adopted out individually. The first seven dogs arrived in early December and all have been adopted out. The remaining 16 and the kittens arrived two days ago and are all in holding but should go up for adoption soon. Only one of the total 28 was a Dead Dog Beach rescue, the remaining were rescued by other island rescuers Dellymar, Gina, Mary, and Nilsa. Little Sacha (in the second picture) was rescued from the beach by Will (Inky Blue Sea Animal Rescue) and fostered by Dorene.

Oh, and I forgot to send a big-time "shout out" to my friend Pati from Miami Dalmatian Rescue. She was kind enough to meet me at the airport in Miami to help me with getting the puppies ready for the trip up to Palm City. That entails bringing an extra kennel to take a kennel full of puppies out and giving them food and water while we clean out the old kennel they traveled in - um, can you say "barf and poop"? - we put new newspaper and fresh water in that one then pop the pups back in and on to the next kennel. It takes a lot of time and does some serious damage to me with my herniated disks so having Pati there was a godsend! Pati has also taken in about 10 Puerto Rican dalmatians in the past so she is an angel in many many ways!

Have you ever been to Dead Dog Beach?

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 19:34:00 +0000

Probably not. So I wanted to give you guys a little better visual of what the beach area looks like when we talk about it. Basically there's a long stretch of sandy unpaved road that leads from the main road down to the beach. As you get closer to the water you see a gigantic abandoned marina building on the left. The building is owned by the Port Authority but all the land around is owned by the Municipality of Yabucoa. The building is in such bad shape that we are all amazed it hasn't collapsed on itself.

People come to the beach area to fish or picnic. During the weekends the beach area is packed and those are the most dangerous times for the dogs, mostly because alcohol is usually involved. Sandra knows that Monday mornings means the beach will be littered with beer cans and trash and that there will be urine feces - yes, human urine and feces - all around the area and even in the puppy room. And there are usually dogs missing, especially puppies - people think "oh what a cute puppy!" and take them home with them - those puppies grow up and get the same poor treatment most of the other dogs on the island receive and are more than likely dumped back at the beach skinny and sick and pregnant, if they are female.

And if the dogs don't disappear because they are taken, they may have wandered off to die after being shot, poisoned, struck by a car or beaten with a bat. I wish I were making it up but I'm not. Sandra chooses not to put many gory pictures on her blog - she just wants people to see the faces that need homes - but sometimes she will post a photo of a poisoned or beaten dog. When that happens, you know it's gotten really bad - when Sandra just can't contain herself anymore that she just has to vent on her blog. I personally don't know how she is able to keep herself in control enough to go to the beach every day and not be in the loony bin. She is a saint and a hero for everything she does.

So, here are some photos from the beach and I'll give you some descriptions along the way.

This is an aerial view of the beach area. The town of Yabucoa is about 4-5 miles west (to the left). The large building is the abandoned marina. The point/spit of land at the top right is the rocky tip of the beach and to the left of that, the big whitish flat part is the large sand parking lot. People fish along the top part of the parking lot - that's a seawall that drops a few feet into the bay.

This is a front view of the marina building. You can see the dirt road in the forefront of the photo - that leads all the way around to the parking lot and tip of the beach.

This is the western side of the marina. Different groups/packs of dogs take different areas/territories of the beach up for themselves. There is a driveway sort of to the left of this picture and farther left is wild tall grass that becomes wetland during the rainy season. Some females birth and raise their puppies in the tall grass to keep them safe.

These two pictures are of the rusty skeleton of the marina. On the interior is the area where boats used to come in and could be loaded and unloaded and/or put in/removed from the water. Kids play in there and I've seen them climbing up in the tall rafters and jumping into the water - it's an accident waiting to happen and I have no idea why the municipality hasn't sealed the whole place up.

Also there are people who bring their horses there for exercise. Even the way this is done is cruel. The guys basically run their horses off the edge of the concrete into the water about 10-15 feet below! They have ropes around their harnesses and the guys have the horses swim back and forth around the basin. I'm not sure how they get them out. There is sand that gets washed up into the basin area and it rises up to a higher level but I don't think it's tall enough for the horses to climb out there. Regardless, I know water exercise is great for horses but the way it's done at the beach is not humane.

This shows the concrete rooms in the front of the marina building. There are 3 or 4 rooms that are just concrete with a window and door facing out and a door going into the marina area. There is nothing else in the rooms, everything has been ripped out, either removed by the Port Authority or stolen and kids come there and spray paint on the walls and other vandalism. The dogs use the building area for shade and shelter from the rain.

We used a couple of the rooms when we did our on-site spay/neuter event in August 2006. It was a "down and dirty" M.A.S.H.-style "clinic" where we rounded up dogs and rescued a bunch and a vet performed chemical sterilizations on 11 males. This photo is of the "recovery room" (the same room pictured above at a different time). It looks gruesome but the dogs are all under anesthesia after the procedure. We blocked off both the doors and window and stayed there until about 8 p.m. until they had each recovered enough to release back to the beach.

Here we have the famous "puppy room". In the first picture, you see it all the way on the right. In the second picture you can see how Sandra puts corrugated metal sheets up against the doorway to keep the puppies inside. She keeps the room as clean as possible and not only feeds and waters the puppies but vaccinates, deworms, and treats them for whatever ailments she can. The problem with keeping them at the beach is obviously that they are not safe. The metal sheets keep the puppies in but not the people out.

Here are some other shots from the beach area.

And here's Sandra at the beach - the dog is Kerr who was a long-time beach resident (he was there for almost a year) that was rescued and placed over a year ago.

Go Diego, Go!

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 23:10:00 +0000

Look at this sweet little man! This is Diego. He came in a shipment of 7 other puppies rescued by Mary. All 8 were to go to the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast in Palm City but Diego was just too timid so I put him in foster care to give him some time to get acclimated. Then Diana, one of our previous adopters who had adopted Roxanne a couple of years ago, saw his profile on our petfinder page and just had to meet him. Lucky little devil got a fantastic home and has a sweet sato sister. Diana has kept me posted on Diego's progress and so far so good. Two little satos in one household - must be heaven!

Dead Dog Beach is on the map!

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:12:00 +0000

Imagine my surprise when I got a Google alert that Dead Dog Beach is listed on a Puerto Rico tourism website as a "Place of Interest" in Yabucoa for tourists on the Puerto Rico Spots: The Unofficial Guide To Puerto Rico website!!! I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. I guess it's good that the word is out that Dead Dog Beach exists so hopefully people who tour the area - either from inside the island or tourists from other countries - will be able to see the sad status of strays there. But it could be a bad thing that the government will start up their lovely "beach sweeps" again to get rid of the dogs so the tourists don't see the shame of the government's continuing and overt neglect.

Actually, I have a good feeling that once I hit the "publish post" button it will only be a few days before the Dead Dog Beach reference is removed from the Puerto Rico Spots website (I'm sure we will all know at whose "request" that will be made). It's a Catch-22 in speaking out about the situation on the island because the eyes and ears are out there - I just always hope more of the compassionate and kind ones are paying the closest attention.

Good Search rocks!

noreply@blogger.com (Ginny) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:02:00 +0000

I'm not sure if you have heard about Good Search but it's a great tool to help non-profit charities. It's just a search engine like Google or Yahoo but every time you do a search via Good Search, a penny goes to the charity you designate for your searches. Doesn't seem like a big deal but at the end of December I received a check for $241 from Good Search for all the people who had done searches! It's really easy to do. Just go to www.goodsearch.com. You'll see the search bar just like with other search engines.

The first time you search you need to designate us as your charity - click underneath the search bar on the button that says "WHO DO YOU GOODSEARCH FOR?". Type in either Hands For Paws or Manos Por Patas and that will set us as your Good Search charity. Then just remember to set all your search enginges for Good Search rather than Google and search away!

The site plainly states "Please use this site honestly. Fraudulent searches will result in your charity being delisted." - so please use the search engine appropriately, not just to search over and over to get the 0.1 in our pocket, especially when it could result in us getting the boot!

Again, doesn't seem like much but it definitely adds up so Good Search away!!!