These are some of the dogs I am feeding. This is Rambo.
Yeah, I know, stupid name right?? And this is from his stupid OWNER, who couldn't give Rambo the time of day, let alone food or water. (BTW, this is where BETA came from, my street dog who almost died.) Rambo is a very nice dog who gets along with both people and other dogs, but was also in bad shape a few months ago. He has been medicated for parasites and "frontlined" now, which means he's no longer tormented by fleas that live in the dirt (which is where HE lives). He also has food and water on a regular basis now and I walk him, as his owner STILL will not walk him even with the free food and medications I'm providing. (If you're wondering why this is happening and there is no animal control; well, there is no animal control.) And, unfortunately, there are no shelters here, aside from private organizations or individuals like myself trying to help. Here, if you pick up a distressed animal, they're yours. It's hard.
Since this picture was taken, I have PURCHASED Rambo from his owner (it was only a matter of money, as it is to most greedy idiots) and he has been adopted (and neutered) by a responsible man!! No more chains, other dogs to play with, and good care. A happy ending to a tragic situation - CAVEAT - it's only a matter of time before these people get another dog to suffer where Rambo lived.
UPDATE - in less than a week these people have another puppy chained up, and NOW have added a pit bull!! I am working on placing these animals and have told the people "no more food"....but as it's hard to watch animals go hungry, I'm still feeding them. Pictures are below of the puppy (now re-homed) and the pit bull. He's lovely.
Since this picture was taken, I have PURCHASED Rambo from his owner (it was only a matter of money, as it is to most greedy idiots) and he has been adopted (and neutered) by a responsible man!! No more chains, other dogs to play with, and good care. A happy ending to a tragic situation - CAVEAT - it's only a matter of time before these people get another dog to suffer where Rambo lived.
UPDATE - in less than a week these people have another puppy chained up, and NOW have added a pit bull!! I am working on placing these animals and have told the people "no more food"....but as it's hard to watch animals go hungry, I'm still feeding them. Pictures are below of the puppy (now re-homed) and the pit bull. He's lovely.
HAPPY ENDING!! This is the puppy that was chained up in her new home. I was fortunate to find a nice family who was willing to take the pup with two children who love dogs. They don't have much space, and are very poor, but responsible. I promised them "care for life" for this dog to encourage them to adopt her, and they came through! She'll be on a cable as they live on a busy secondary road, but will get lots of attention and love, and will be walked also. This little dog is lovely, and I'm happy she's with a good family. The downside to this story is that the pit bull is stuck - the bad people refuse to give him up.
Here is the pit bull that has taken Rambo's place. He's incredibly friendly to both humans and dogs, and of course I'm feeding him as I already feel close to him. After adding some more "roof" to his rather pathetic doghouse, I think he's relatively dry even in downpours. However, he's still neglected. He's not depressed yet, but in time, he will be.
What is REALLY sad is that the family has now acquired a small dog "for the house". His picture is below. AND, when I visited today and DISCOVERED the small dog, I found that he apparently has not been eating or drinking water for like three days. Probably this means a vet visit tomorrow or he might die. Also, if this dog DOES start to eat and lives, I imagine that he will be in the house for as long as it take for the woman to clean up a mess, and then he'll be relegated to the great outdoors. Since this picture was taken, he has died. Families like this are truly "dog killers" - they get a dog, neglect it, and it dies. Then they get another one. There are many situations like this here.
What is REALLY sad is that the family has now acquired a small dog "for the house". His picture is below. AND, when I visited today and DISCOVERED the small dog, I found that he apparently has not been eating or drinking water for like three days. Probably this means a vet visit tomorrow or he might die. Also, if this dog DOES start to eat and lives, I imagine that he will be in the house for as long as it take for the woman to clean up a mess, and then he'll be relegated to the great outdoors. Since this picture was taken, he has died. Families like this are truly "dog killers" - they get a dog, neglect it, and it dies. Then they get another one. There are many situations like this here.
This is Taki. She has a son (Mancha) but is spayed now.
Funny how these dogs are tied up and live in the dirt. Pretty horrible even if you HAVE food and water, but if you don't, you're REALLY screwed, as you can't even find some on your own. Now Taki and Mancha (her son, which you can see in the below photo) are fed and watered, and since this photo Taki is not always tethered to her cable (which is good, as originally she was tethered to a stationary spot; not even a cable). Both she and her son have been wormed and frontlined, so they're pretty happy now. As they are small dogs, it doesn't cost much to feed them. (! - that was for the people who are thinking of helping...you could feed both of them for $10 a month.)
They're playing, not fighting. Mancha, her son, will need to be neutered at the next spay and neuter clinic, which will cost 10.000 colones or $20 US - not bad at all. The cost of their worm pills and frontline is also an additional $10 a month. I have found that we can wait on the frontline and sometimes the worm medications for a couple months at a time. I check for fleas when I visit them with food distribution, and also check their poop (TMI?). The cost of spaying Taki was also 10.000 colones, or $20 US. More than worth it.
Pulgosa and Pulgoso ("Fleabags" in English!)
I have helped this Nicaraguan family with street dogs before...they have bad luck with keeping them alive. Is is any wonder, when there are SEVEN children and a few adults living in this one room house? These are the latest dogs, and as they are small, they are easy to feed. They have been frontlined and wormed, so their names don't really fit them anymore. When they arrived at the house they were emaciated and riddled with parasites and worms. Now, as you can see from Pulgosa's picture below, they look alot better.
Pulgosa knows my car now, and comes out to see me - I usually take my dogs with me on food deliveries, so it can get a bit noisy. I don't think my dogs understand why I'm giving away all the good smelling food from the back of the car!
Hey, did I mention that most of these families also have at least one CAT?? As these cats are pretty cautious and shy I don't have many pictures yet, but we're leaving food for them too.
Hey, did I mention that most of these families also have at least one CAT?? As these cats are pretty cautious and shy I don't have many pictures yet, but we're leaving food for them too.