Dog Lovers, A Breed Apart

Dog lovers understand how special each of their companion animals is. Dog lovers working at veterinarian offices or boarding facilities like mine recognize the personality of each animal in their care. People get excited when you tell them what their dog likes or how it behaves because they know you see that dog as an individual.



It is the ability to see the individual dog and not just a dog that makes us true dog lovers. When we cry over the loss of a pet, there is always the person who tells us to just get another one. The non dog lover cannot see that there is no other one.


And yet the truth is having another one to care for causes us to go on when your heart is pumping puddles on the floor.


Owl’s wounds are mending. The peroxide soaks are bringing the infection down.


My concern is that flies have laid eggs in the wound. I’ve seen that once before; it’s not pretty. Any advice on what to do here is appreciated. One puncture has two “chambers” The top one is damn near squeaky clean, in the bottom there is a brown something. I think it’s a clot. There is infection behind it or worse fly larva. Previously, I saw a wound at the maggot stage, when they were coming out. It was easy to figure out how to speed that process.


Stormy’s ears are all chewed to shit. His muzzle and the back of his right front leg have wounds that need tending.


Blondie has taken to buddy bumping me. I pick her up with my arms around her chest. She loves it when I shake her. There is no sign of the mange I treated her for last year.


Another neighbor stopped up last night. He told us all the gory details of how Bonita died. We didn’t understand a word, but we knew what he said. I don’t know why people feel required to be sure that you are wallowing in all the pain with them. He left out nothing. Just when I thought he would leave, it started raining. He doesn’t speak a word of English to us. Neither one of us speaks that much Spanish, so I showed him pictures of the neighborhood dogs. Muerte or no muerte was the best I could do. I could tell by his body posture which ones were dead. After a few his head just hung low, we could see his sense of loss.


Just when the sadness was too painful to bear, he spotted a picture of Snow White; she’s alive!

Home Coming Nightmare

Free ranging feral dogs are like flies at a picnic. Bitches breeding every heat produce pathetic and adorable puppies. People toss out young pets once they have out grown the puppy charm. Back in Puerto Rico, I’m learning to accept what I cannot control.


Welcome home. There’s a new dog on my porch hobbling on three legs. Stormy shoots out of Mike’s garage, waiting when we pull into the carport. Stormy, the first sato or street dog that Kirt and I ever met is still a fixture in the neighborhood. Stormy’s ears and muzzle bear evidence to an altercation. Before long we see Blondie in our neighbor’s yard, escape is imminent. Blondie greetings are without reserve, we are now properly welcomed home.


As a parting gift this throw away dog received a complimentary flea collar. Perhaps the injuries to his rear legs are road rash. We’ve seen dogs ejected from moving vehicles before. His right hock joint is badly infected. Sweet boy with ears folded back, licking his lips and lowly tail beating comes to us seeking petting. Markings around his eyes look like glasses giving him the appearance of a wise little owl. Owl allows us to soak his infected joint in peroxide.


Lucky Owl landed on our road after the purge. Our neighbor, Mike told us that Owl fought Stormy to stay on the hill. The space Stormy gave up was our then vacant house. We came home a few days later. For a street dog this is like winning the lottery.


When the population of street dogs becomes too dense, there’s a concerned citizen who steps up to “solve” the problem. This barbaric remedy still used world over rid our neighborhood of some wonderful animals including the beautiful Bonita.


The packs of dogs hunting in the fields are gone. Absent are the canine sentries in front of the gates. Leftovers are in the garbage cans in this neighborhood. The valley is strangely silent.


No I take that back; there is a lot of weed whacking and trimming going on, more so than usual. Our neighbor is trimming an area we’ve not seen them cleanup before, so I ask what they are planning to do with the land. The answer is “Nothing, we’re having a rat epidemic. They’re in the tall grass.”


Go figure.

Psycho Bitch Begins The Road to Recovery

My wild Rottweiler girl came with baggage we figured out quickly. The out of control lack of direction was simple to diagnose. The submissive flattening she did if a voice was raised indicated that when she was corrected; it was overdone.



Her scars spoke of dog fights. Her eyes told me she didn’t trust or respect human authority. When a dog intends to follow your leadership, the dog looks at you. Mikki didn’t look directly at us. It was a big indicator of her level of dysfunction.


The first pictures we took of the dogs with a flash created pandemonium. You guessed it. Somebody played with her and a flash light or laser light. The bitch went out of her mind. She ran into things, jumped on furniture.


This explained her interest in the ceiling fans. It also shed light on her occasional “hand shyness”. She was reacting to the reflection from my watch.


Mikki would be in the yard alone flipping around acting like she lost her mind. After the photo incident I watched this behavior more closely. The sun reflected off the chrome ring on her collar. The minute ray of light went unnoticed until the flash picture.


It was her crazy behavior in the yard that earned her the psycho bitch moniker.


My training is simple. I want my dogs to know what I like. Everything she did that I liked; I praised. At first Mikki seemed to totally ignore my positive words.


Shaker, the golden was raised on positive strokes so he gobbled up the praise. That he liked the praise is what first got her notice. Mikki watched Shaker as he basked in praise.


Soon the words “Good dog” had meaning to her. That’s the first step.

Isla Encanto Not This Time

Visiting Puerto Rico should make memories not activists. Sounds like some lucky vet in Ponce is going to get a new best client, this letter is from a lady who visited over the holidays.



Is this how we want Puerto Rico to be perceived or can we say Spay is the Way Puerto Rico?

My name is ------- and I just signed up and joined the foundation on facebook. I recently came to Puerto Rico for Christmas 2010 and was devestated at the over population problem there on the Island. I spent my vacation feeding the animals in Ponce Puerto Rico as well as the beaches there. THey were everywhere. I cried so much I puked. I am still devestated and have nightmares. Im horrified and THANK GOD FOR PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS LIKE YOURS. I want to be part and help in any way possible. I live in Florida..right out of Tampa..about 20 mins. I will be spending ALOT of time in Puerto Rico because I want to help the animals. I want to make a difference. It takes a special person to stop her vacation and take her own money and buy dog food and feed the animals. Ponce is loaded just like San Juan. Dead Dog Beach...I fed dogs there also on my vacation. Parguerra...Ponce area..fed there. The dry forest..fed there too. I have receipts...I spent 700 dollars feeding animals. My boyfriend never said a word. He loves me and knows how I am. We have issues here in FLorida and the states but NOTHING compares to what I saw there in PR. Please let me know what I can do to help in addition to traveling the animals back to Florida. We fly American Airlines so it wont be a problem at all. We are flying into San Juan in June and staying till July 28th. I will be happy to assist if there is a need at that time and any other time I make it in between. We are going to also be in PR December 2011 for 3 weeks..i will keep you posted and will also travel with the pets then too. This summer I will be there, we are planning to buy a place in Ponce while there so we can spend 6 months there and 6 months here in Florida. While there in the summer if you need volunteers to feed the animals, I am more than willing to do so. I will buying some food myself and feed as I take my kids to PR for the first time. I hate for them to see this but awareness needs to be made to what the PR govt is allowing to happen on the Island. I want to help make a change on the Island for these animals. My mom runs a animal sanctuary in Florida, I have seen what happens. I will let my voice be heard. I have letters to the Gov. and anyone else i can get ahold of. I am going to make a fuss here in the states also.



Please let me know how I can be part of your organization and help out when Im in PR weather its feeding the animals, giving medicines to animals..i want to help. Please send me any information on the organization as I can make regualar donations but need to make sure its all legit. You can understand that cant you..lol. I have so many ideas. Oh yea...this is my goal...I want to get involved with organizations to help take care of the homeless animals and bring about spay and neuter programs. My boyfriend and I will be buying a place in the Ponce area..more torwards the beach he has family there. We want a little land because I am going to start my own PR animal Sanctuary. I will be flying my dad over to build cat houses and dog runs and houses. I want the experience of volunteering so I can learn alot and start my own animal rescue. This is what my vacation did to me and my boyfriend. Most people wouldnt dare come back after what I saw. that is why tourism is down. Its really sad. PR has the potential to be a PREMIER VACATION SPOT. People are afraid to go there while the PR govt sits back with fat wallets. My voice will not go unheard...the govt ruined my dream vacation and now I cant sit back and do nothing..i have to do something. We are fortunate in our lives and want to share. Please let me know how to help and how to be involved. You want me to write letters every week to the PR Govt, YOU GOT IT...lol

SPAY IS THE WAY PUERTO RICO

100,000 feral dogs roaming beaches, city streets, verdant country valley or palm tree orchard. Dogs fornicating; puppy corpses rotting in the road; is this the image of Puerto Rico?



How about rounding up the strays by the truck load and needling them; is this the image for Puerto Rico? Sad eyes rolling down the highway to death camp is not what dog loving tourists want to see; nor do we, very strongly we do not!


As if this problem were not bad enough; what would happen to the rat population if the dogs were gone? Would they bring in fox or coyote? Or would they poison?


When your poisoned pets die, people of Puerto Rico will you cry? Or will you demand of your leaders another way?


Will it take the death of a beloved family pet of a vacationing rich man? So if you can’t poison the rats, what are you going to do when rats ruin the food crops of the island?


Spay, trap & release anyone?