The Changing Face of Animal Advocacy in Puerto Rico

Just returning a dog to the street doesn't sit right; does it?

Why?

It beats not letting the animal have any chance at life, or puppies littering the road.

Because rescuers don’t want animals out on the streets suffering; right?

There is a wonderful man in San Juan, who everyday rain or shine, walks his round, feeding street cats. This guy has the cats neutered with an ear notched so you can tell. He’s really much more than a feeder; he’s a freakin saint, as well as, an excellent example of a Colony Keeper.

Are there other Colony Keepers on the island? These are people who not only feed, but neuter, vaccinate, and maintain a healthy group of dogs. I’d like to watch a colony keeper in action.                                                             

Who in Puerto Rico is actively doing Trap, Neuter, and Return? Please, let me know when and where, so I can help.

T-N-R works best when the people in the community assist the project by being on site caretakers.

Animal Activists are a large, vocal part of the Puerto Rican population. We have good people doing wonderful things; maybe, this will work out for the animals. 

Enter Psycho Bitch

Our first foster experience with Cassie was sweet, so I petitioned Patty to foster another Recycled Rott. She had a girl named Milkshake with some problems; mostly she had never been required to follow rules. Okay, behavior problems, that’s what I do for a living. I embraced the challenge.


Francine, one of the dedicated Recycled Rott volunteers, dropped Milkshake off at the kennel. A migraine prevented me from meeting Milkshake until the next morning.


The pudgy rottie did the front end bounce while barking like a maniac. Every dog passing her door caused the barking to intensify. She looked at the door to her kennel. She looked at the door to the yard. She ran into me without looking at me. Hmm.


My husband, Kirt, walks with Canadian crutches, canes that wrap around the wrist for stability. They were introduced in the yard, so she had the option to be farther away from him. Woo-woo-woo with a low crouch was her first response. The old pro (my husband) had her butt wagging in no time. She liked us, but never looked directly at us.


Introduction to the blonde boy came next. We took her to the three acre dog park where she began exploring. With this kind of space two dogs came go to neutral corners until they are ready to deal with each other. Milkshake sounded like the hound from hell. Her body slams sent him sailing. He gave her a demonstration of golden speed. Milkshake went into prey drive, but couldn’t catch him. Both dogs stopped near us, so we redirected her attention.


Milkshake wanted to play, but the line was thin between friendly contact and I’ll kick your ass mode. Shaker would race away looking over his shoulder to see if she’d follow. The four year old fat bitch did until exhausted, perfect.


We sat in front of the house petting the dogs. Milkshake fell in love with us quite easily, but still did not look directly at us. I am NOT talking about eye contact. Her low body posture around us quickly changed to jumping up. Milkshake came with two gears: hypercontrolled submissive and out of control happy.


Patty was right; no one had worked with her. When she crossed the annoyance line, corrections were harsh. If you’ve worked with dogs, you’ve seen this behavior.


At this point I had no idea what fun this was going to change. I’ve worked with people, who go home to do the work. I’ve taken in dogs for specific training, but never lived with a bad dog, a four year old crazy bitch to boot.


I want to thank Patty from Recylced Rotts for seeing the good in this girl. Your judgment with her was right on target.


Shaker and Milkshake, what are the chances of that?

Foster Rott Finds a Forever Home

Cassie, the sassy, glanced over her shoulder to see if Shaker was watching as she lapped the three acre dog park. The blonde boy picked up the gauntlet and took the lead. He slowed to let her catch him, then shifted into a faster gear. They were a joy to watch. She liked him. She let him pin her on her back. She let him win at mouth dueling. Talk about building the boy’s confidence.



Her moments of pushy behavior came at feeding time. Every opportunity her head went in his dish. Because of this I felt his assault of her dish more outstanding. Subtle signals completely reversed their usual roles.


Shaker taught Cassie to love a good car ride. The girl who refused to get in the car wanted to go everywhere. Her leash walking became polite. Cassie stayed with us for two weeks before Patty from Recycled Rotts sent her to her forever home.


Shaker experienced quality give and take with Cassie. She was sweet and not bossy. His confidence with a stronger animal has increased.


This went so well, I’ve asked Patty to let me foster another female. Shaker is ready for his next rehab experience.

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner

What is the first thing I wanted Shaker to learn from another dog?



In her book Animals In Translation Dr. Temple Grandin impressed upon us how strong an emotion fear is.


Shaker is comfortable enough in his dysfunction that he could identify the weak to terrorize. It stands to reason that the bigger stronger dogs still scare him even if he hasn’t been attacked again.


1st Rehab step was to teach Shaker he can be safe with a big tough dog.


We needed: a female (transgender is always the better starting point) a good solid girl who likes to play hard, one who can always win but won’t.


Our last Rottweiler died of old age in 1999. I am a big fan of rotts, so I called my friend Patty at Recycled Rotts. After toying with the idea of fostering rotts for ages, this seemed like the perfect time.


A lovely girl named Cassie, who hated car rides, needed a foster home. We introduced them in the dog park. They ran and played. We all came into our yard where they played some more.


Everything went great until we walked into the house. No other dog had been in his house since his return in spring. Shaker’s signals were clear; he didn’t like her in the house.


Cassie didn’t care what Shaker thought, she was in the house. Shaker circled her on stiff legs as she investigated her new home. Suddenly she turned to face Shaker. Her hackles went up. This meant enough of your shit buddy.


I put both dogs outside to work it out. Let the whizzing begin. Cassie urinated, Shaker covered it. This went on for a bit and then they were playing again.


Time to feed the doggies, now, you know that had to be fun. Both dogs held their sits while I scooped out the food. I knew I could get Shaker to wait, so I fed Cassie first introducing her to her spot to be fed.


What the hell did she care; Cassie ran over to Shaker’s dish. Shaker’s reaction was shock and growl. Quickly I had the girl back where she belonged. The remainder of our first night went without incident.