BLONDIE was rescued from the streets of San Juan, Puerto Rico by Amigos de los Animales after having been seen in the same area for a couple weeks. She was diagnosed with TVT--transmissible venereal tumors--which is a type of venereal cancer found in dogs.
Her TVT was treated through surgery and chemotherapy. When treated with surgery, the recurrence rate of the cancer is between 22% and 30%, or thereabouts, which means the dog may develop another tumor. But with chemotherapy, complete remission is often seen. BLONDIE is doing just fine now. We believe she has made a full recovery.
BLONDIE is a beautiful and sweet yellow lab mix, who is energetic and loving. She is active and funny and will make someone a wonderful companion, especially if being active is your strong suit, or your kids' strong suit. She deserves a second chance, and has been through months of treatment. Please find it in your heart to consider her the perfect fit for your family.
Jane Velez-Mitchell, CNN/ET commentator and investigative journalist, will soon visit Puerto Rico with the intention of pushing the spay/neuter agenda to combat Puerto Rico's animal over-population crisis. Velez-Mitchell is a longtime animal advocate and champion of spay/neuter intiatives, and Amigos de los Animales Director Elizabeth Kracht will have the distinct pleasure and opportunity of setting Ms. Velez-Mitchell's agenda and showing her various places of interest with regard to animal welfare. Ms. Velez-Mitchell will meet with local gov't officials while on the island, and will see notorious animal dumping grounds such as Dead Dog Beach and Los Machos Beach, as well as see the feeding of the Hemingway-like Old San Juan cats, which are cared for and maintained by local TNR group Save-A-Gato.
Recently, health department officials threatened to exterminate the Old San Juan cats, but thanks to the efforts of Sylvine Sherwood, president of Save-A-Gato, and the hundreds of supporters of the cats, the cats are no longer in danger. San Juan mayor, Jorge Santini, staunchly supports the cats, and the TNR group has a longstanding contract with the National Park Service to maintain the colony. Health Department officials were unsuccessful in their attempt to remove and exterminate the cats.
When Amigos heard that the soon-to-open municipal shelter in Arecibo didn't have money to feed the 80 dogs under its roof and had no vet in attendance of the dogs, we raised money for vaccinations, medication and supplies, and organized a vaccination day to vaccinate the dogs and catalog the dogs under the shelter's care. We also rescued 20 dogs from the shelter, some of which had serious health conditions. We also rescued two kittens from the shelter, the only two they had, who have since gone to St. Hubert's animal welfare for adoption. All of the dogs rescued from the shelter are in various stages of rehab, with one already adopted to Amigos diehard supporter Golden Glove champ Chrissy Beckles.
The Arecibo Shelter is in dire need of supplies, and welcomes gift cards so they can buy dog food, laundry soap, garbage bags, and the like. If you would like to contribute to the vet care of the IRIS or any of the Arecibo dogs we've rescued, please hit the PayPal button on this site. If you can donate a gift card or two to the Arecibo Shelter, please mail it to:
Albergue de los Animales de Arecibo c/o Nelly Ramos Sector Green, Bo. Dominguito Carretera 635, Km 1.8 interior Arecibo, PR 00612Things are cooking in Ceiba at Los Machos Beach. Star Amigos member Shanti Santulli has been going full force at Los Machos. In her short time with Amigos, she's rescued a number of dogs at the beach, which was not possible previously. Her dedication and capacity for organization has made her a true asset to the Amigos team.
Shanti has created this YouTube video with some of our rescues, and some of those needing a rescue, and is also keeping a weblog of the Los Machos Beach project:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21KaIGyf3oc
http:www.amigosdelosanimalespr.orghttp://losmachossatos.blogspot.com
In addition to her being director of the farm animal division, Adri Galler Lastra is keeping a weblog of her good work in Pinones, a notorious animal dumping ground just outside of metro San Juan. Please visit her weblog and support her good work:
http://pinonesbeachproject.blogspot.com
Although not always animal related--but mostly--take a peek at Elizabeth's blog for rescue photos and to read what's happening in animal welfare in Puerto Rico.
http://classandcircumstance.blogspot.com
Amigos de los Animales (ADLA) is actively involved in the rescue of abused and abandoned horses in Puerto Rico. ADLA's very own Adrienne Galler Lastra was responsible for winning the first-ever horse abuse case in Puerto Rican history, and her name is the first off the tip of the tongue when a horse in Puerto Rico is found in need of helping hands. Adrienne has joined with Cindy Sijan and Julie Saunders to form a horse sanctuary where our rescued horses are able to rehabilitate in a stress and cruelty-free environment. Once our rescued horses are rehabilitated, they are put up for adoption. ADLA currently has 6 horses up for adoption. Some of the horses are not able to ridden, but would make wonderful pasture mates. Our horse sanctuary is in desperate need of financial support. Some of our rescued horses need immediate medical procedures. If you would like to make a donation to our horses, please see the donation button at the top or bottom of our Petfinder home page. Please also see our pet page for a list of our adoptable horses, and contact us if you would like us to send you an adoption application. For more information about our horse adoptions or if you would like to receive an adoption application, you may email amigosdelosanimalespr@gmail.com .
If you are a tourist visiting Puerto Rico (or have been), and would like to write to the local government where you witnessed abandoned or abused animals, click on this link and use the drop down menu for that municipality, and write directly to the Mayor governing there.
Alternatively, please write to one of the following agencies and ask them to shift some focus toward bringing about a humane Puerto Rico by working together with the many talented and creative rescue organizations and municipal shelters working toward that goal on the island:Amigos de los Animales is "shocked, but not surprised" by the tragic events that took place in the municipality of Barceloneta. This incident was not an isolated incident, contrary to what government and tourism officials would like us to believe. As an animal rescue organization with its hands in many pots, we have firsthand knowledge of how Puerto Rico operates in respect to animal welfare issues. Puerto Rico does not yet have a foundation with respect to animal welfare, sadly. And we hope the spotlight will continue to shine on this tragic event long enough for people to see that animals are being butchered and killed all over the island in much the same fashion as those tossed off the bridge in Barceloneta.
What really sets this tragic event apart from other horrible situations - like that of Dead Dog Beach in Yabucoa or Los Machos Beach in Ceiba - is that people's civil rights were violated. The Mayor of the municipality himself was knocking on doors and taking animals with one hand as he threatened eviction with the other. Children, whose parents weren't home, were told to hand over all animals or they and their parents would be tossed out on the street. While folks were sleeping "animal control officers" came into their yards and took their animals, some being injected on the spot. These are just a few of the things the people in Barceloneta experienced, not to mention the horror the dogs experienced (a few of which survived the fall and literally wear their sadness in their face).
Amigos de los Animales is committed to acting as a voice for the tragedy in Barceloneta, and for all animal welfare issues on the island in general. We are working closely with attorneys acting on behalf of the people and animals that have suffered, and are at the disposal of larger organizations looking to assist in the tragedy. For those looking to get involved in some way, we can accept PayPal donations and will distribute your contribution as you wish. You can also scroll down to the bottom of the page and write our Governor and the Tourism Company. Urge them to finally create a roundtable allowing rescue organizations to help them address animal welfare issues once and for all, so that Puerto Rico can have the image that they so desire, but won't ever have if they don't realize there is a problem. And please, specifically, make sure to mention that you won't visit Puerto Rico unless you see they are making an effort. We think these agencies don't understand that making an effort is a redeeming quality in the eyes of most people, and even the smallest effort on their part, would go a long way in the eyes of those whose vacations have been ruined because of animals they've come across, and those whose hearts have been broken because of what they've read or seen on TV.
Thank you so much for any support you can offer. We truly appreciate all help in any way it comes.
Hon. Anibal Acevedo Vila, GovernorAmigos de los Animales, Inc., is a licensed, nonprofit 501(c)3 corporation acting as a voice for the abandoned and abused animals on the island of Puerto Rico. Amigos de los Animales is dedicated to bringing about a humane Puerto Rico and we are not limited in our activities to further this cause. Amigos de los Animales rescues, rehabilitates and rehomes both companion and farm animals, and works with government and community alike to educate Puerto Rico on animal welfare issues. Amigos de los Animales is run 100% by volunteers, and we rely on the generous donations of people like you in order to be able to carry out our activities and continue our work.
Amigos is in desperate need of funding in order to be able to continue in our numerous activities, from animal rescue and rehabilitation to administrative and creative projects we are involved in, as well as our support of shelters and other rescue individuals and organizations on the island. Any donation made to Amigos is tax-deductible, as Amigos is recognized by the IRS as a nonprofit group. Please, won't you donate today through our PayPal link?
Amigos de los Animales always has an array of dogs, cats and horses for adoption. If you are interested in adopting an animal from Amigos de los Animales, please visit our pet page and see if there is a special companion there that might be just right for you or your family. If you do see your forever friend on our pet page, please contact us for an adoption application.
Click here for a list of pets at this shelter
