We had a great trip to Puerto Rico! We were able to distribute supplies and money directly to some dog rescuers we met and to the sanctuary we visited.

 

On the first day of our trip, we drove to Sandra’s house. Her friend Erika who helps her a lot was also there to help translate. It is really hard to understand just how much they really do. On the top of Sanda's house, there is a small apartment that has about 20+ smaller dogs in it. When you go up some stairs there are more dogs on the roof. There are around 30+ dogs on the roof who are larger, and most likely will never be able to come here to get loving homes because they are either too big or old. All of them, and I mean all of them are adorable, loving, attention-seeking, beautiful creatures who deserve the most out of life. Sandra and Erika do their best to feed them, give them water, and get them their medicines, but even so, the conditions are not great. Compared to how we treat our dogs and the way they live, it seems very run down, but the truth is that these heroes wake up at 4 am every single day to provide for these dogs. They give their blood sweat and tears to this cause and they are just amazing inspirational people. We were able to give them a good amount of medicine including Nexgaurd and Heartguard, and a cash donation.

 

Later that day we visited Ivette. She has a gated in area with kennels and a yard area for the dogs to run around. There are around 30ish dogs who live there. These dogs are also older and bigger so most of them will not get adopted. While we were there we met two dogs who were being fostered in the area. One was a small fluffy puppy named Obie who was flown to the DMV area that Sunday to go to her forever home. The other was a sweet husky mix who has one brown and one blue eye named Mia. She was being fostered at the time and came over to say hello. She was so playful and very loving. We knew that she would be adored and snatched up quickly stateside, so we put in a good word with Moira head of Toby’s Rescue. We gave them a good amount of medicine including Nexgaurd and Heartguard, and a cash donation.  

 

Several days later we volunteered at Santuario de Animales San Francisco de Asís. They have over 300 dogs and cats who rely on them every day. We volunteered there for the morning shift of work which included feeding the dogs, letting them outside, cleaning, and resetting each of their spaces. The SASFAPR is a fairly big operation with few workers and they greatly appreciated our help.

 

At the end of our trip it was time to meet back up with the pups who were coming along for the ride with us. JP now known as Ziggy is a sweet 5 month old puppy with a big heart and was very loving on my dad for most of the flight. He was a bit shy at first but then warmed up to Bethesda very quickly. Emma and Emily now known as Ruby and Popcorn were two sisters who were very loving and adventurous. In the airport they were very excitced and wanted to explore but they were a bit more nervous on the plane. Once we got to Bethesda we dropped them off at Moira’s and watched them settle in. They were all adopted and are now being spoiled in their new loving homes!

 

Mia, and 2 other pups that we met on our journey named Giovanni and Nelly, and another puppy Nube were all sponsored to come here and start a new life. We were very excited and took the opportunity to volunteer to help out with them when they arrived stateside. Giovanni and Mia were super excited and adjusted instantly. Nube and Nelly took a little coaxing (and some hot dog) to get adjusted but then acclimated quickly. All of these lovely pups got adopted and are enjoying their forever homes. 

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Overall we had a very successful and rewarding trip made possible by many generous donations!