Sunday, on the way home from the clinic to feed our horde, we stopped by to check on/feed a group of dumped dogs that Sean came across a few weeks ago.
They have found some degree of shelter in a disused camp/homestead in the woods but have grown worryingly thin.
This sweet girl is skeletal, nervous and nursing.
While putting out food I heard the unmistakable squeals of puppies.
We know the person who lives at this camp and that he hadn't been using it lately so I went in to investigate.
The mosquitoes are terrible.
We gave them water and made sure their mom ate.
8 puppies in all. I don't know what we can do for them.
This is a poignant discovery for us because it has been almost exactly 7 years since we brought in Gracie and her 8 puppies. All of those dogs are still our family and I can't bear the thought of them growing up hungry and homeless.
A bit depressing but fitting that we discovered them on the day of the clinic. Small victories are important but the problems are enormous, they won't be solved easily or overnight. Helpful suggestions and homes for these pups needed!
The clinic went well! 38 animals sterilized!
Nine males and 28 females. Mostly dogs and a few cats.
Thanks to the team assembled by Dra. Sandra at Pets & Company and everyone who donated!
Thanks to Pronatura Celestun for the use of their building.
The weather was beautiful and the line formed early.
Dogs and cats are closely monitored in the recovery room.
Jackeline (in white) was there ALL day keeping things running smoothly. She is also responsible for securing the donation of medication from the Centro de Salud. We couldn't have done it without her!
Sean, Hueso and his very nice dog that he saved from the garbage dump! He was rightly proud of her and her being up to date on her rabies shots. She was spayed and we'll be giving her a distemper vaccination when we remove her stitches.
When we were picking up lunch for the surgical team (paid for by the municipio!) we stopped by to visit one of our favorite beach dogs, neutered at the 1st clinic. Handsome Brian aka Caramelo is a great guy and it seems like he's been staying out of trouble.
If the C.S Celestun SSY (Health Center) is willing to continue to provide the Zelazol we can hold more regular clinics. We're going to take a moment to be happy about this one, but the next clinic is tentatively planned for January.
Tomorrow is the next clinic! Vets and veterinary students will be arriving in the morning! We'll be
doing this and future clinics under the name CADA (Celestuneos Associados en Defensa de Animales).
Celestunea Jackeline has been a great help and managed to secure government funds to cover the most expensive medication needed for the surgeries. That means that in addition to sterilizations we'll be offering mange treatment and rabies and distemper vaccinations! Thank you everyone who contributed! I'll update with photos from the event as soon as I can.
Isn't Zoila getting big? At 4 months old she's 1/2 as tall as Xmul!
At the slow rate fund raising is going we'll be able to have her spayed at the clinic.
With the arrival of rain I built a dog house for her mom and sister (the strays) which was promptly stolen. Since then both dogs have gone missing.
We
hope for the best but they were probably poisoned like the dogs of
friends in town. To compound that loss most of theirs were sterilized, some at the last clinic. Senseless.
I'm trying to focus on the little victories to get through this accursed season.
The heart marking on Zoila's nose suits her -she's a sweetheart!
With so many dogs September is ...pungent, with a fair amount of energy spent on keeping the outside outside. Thunder, no matter how distant, is cause for dog reactions varying from amplified to petrified.
It is nice to see the flora enjoying the weather.
The pitaya in the sea grape has finally flowered -as did a coconut palm!
After dinner is play time! There are at least 4 distinct playgroups in this shot. Knowing them as individuals is the key to maintaining harmony. Some dogs (for example Twiggy, black dog w/ orange collar) are like the kids that always take advantage of substitute teachers.
Upside down Cookie is the center of attention.
Puppy wrestling at dusk.
Heading out on a morning walk with Lily on a leash to slow the pace.
Two pairs of sisters on my heel.
Eve and Blue set a great example for June and Zoila.
Zoila and Junebug out and about in their new big girl collars.
Here comes Junebug!
Zoila!
A review of my Aug/Sept posts reveal that it is traditionally a trying time.
For example it has been 4 years since the appearance of the Tribe.
In retrospect I don't know how we managed!
Zoot and friends at a salt pond.
It's been hard to find a rhythm again without Tori.
I remind myself we've been lucky to have known so many of our friends for many years.
April may be adorable but she's a warrior.
Matriarch Zasu is the epitome of aging gracefully.
Henry has been with us since the beginning.
He and Xmul at sunset.
Xmul and Mo have been friends since they were puppies.
We planted a pineapple top back then and it finally bore fruit! 4 years for one little pineapple! It was really good though!
Our sweet nervous Bosha has gone back to be with her original person. She had been unable to care for her 4 years ago, but things have changed and she wanted her back. Bosha loves her and we knew she'd be happier in a calmer home. We'll keep an eye on her and make sure she stays up to date on her heart worm preventative.
Bosha heading to her new home.
Making the next clinic happen has been weighing heavily on me but I
seem to have been rendered inert by grief. Maintaining the dogs and
mustering enough enthusiasm to pacify them is all I've been able to
manage. We had hoped to have Cookie spayed then, but we couldn't wait
any longer. Many people with dogs here don't have the option of going to
a vet in the city. Another clinic is long overdue!
I can't set
the date until we've raised enough to cover costs; we aren't in a
position to cover a deficit at the moment. This time the vets will
be doing mostly females, increasing the amount of anesthesia needed -so
we need to raise at least 1200US to cover costs.
We are securing
a larger space this time around and Dra. Sandra will be bringing more
vets. The incoming mayor has voiced an interest in allocating funds for
future clinics. We hope that will happen and think that a good 'buzz'
surrounding this clinic will improve the chances that it will.
Cookie's surgery and recovery went perfectly.
If you've seen my Twitter feed (or you know us at all) you know we brought in the 2 puppies that were in a burrow down the lane.
Junebug the pup and Eddie the rooster regard each other.
Zoila spends some quality time with Monkey.
Zoila and Junebug like the beach!
They weren't so sure about the water.
We've finally started getting rain so everything is nice and green, and the mosquitoes haven't been too bad (yet). Some things don't change; hot days and early mornings are a constant, as is Stella's willfulness. She can't be trusted off the leash. Every time I forget, she reminds me!
Clever, lovely Stella.
We've been gloomy but the weather has been beautiful.
Sean, Rufus, Cookie and Linda.
Our little Cookie is nearly grown and needs to be spayed soon.
She and Amber are just about the same size.
She's got an inch or 2 on our old friend Henry.
He had a few more teeth removed recently and is feeling fine.
Cookie and Linda remain great pals and sparing partners.
Cookie has reach but Linda has a better ground game.
Elewah is surprisingly tolerant of the pup.
Maybe she notices a resemblance?
Elewah, Daisy, Cookie and Mega.
Pretty Xmul keeps an eye on the cats' evening shenanigans.
So many sweet faces at the gate!
They all want to know where I'm going.
This is a view from the other side of our gate.
I'm headed to that farthest tree, on the left side of the road.
One of the local strays had puppies and they're in a burrow there, under some tree roots.
Sean once saw four but I've only seen two. This striped angel...
and this little cutie.
The smaller brown girl is the Mom and is obviously still nursing. I think the other dog is her offspring from a previous litter. They both hang out under vehicles parked at the neighbor's place. They are too skittish for us to get near (we've been trying).
We're concerned that the burrow will flood when we get a hard rain so we built a little storm shelter next to/above it. It's a big plastic garbage can that I split in half lengthwise, weighted down with an old rubber kitchen mat and some limbs. Their burrow is to the left in this picture and the camouflaged shelter is in the center.
We aren't sure how much we can do for these girls. We can't raise every dog we find but we dread having even more fertile dogs living nearby -for their sake and ours*. The adult females will be pregnant again in no time and if these 2 survive 6 months, that will be 4 fertile females nearby! That will mean unending noise, an influx of males and an avalanche of puppies. Shit. We had the stray that lives around the army base just north of us sterilized a couple of years ago, and that has worked out great! We would do the same for these girls if we could lay hands on them.
There is a small window of time while we have access to the young ones. I think they are around 3 weeks old, maybe a little younger. Soon they will be too skittish. It rained last night and today they were still crammed in the damp burrow that they've practically outgrown. We'd be happy to foster them if there were homes for them to go to once they've been socialized and inoculated. If anyone is interested, get in touch!
This is the only time I've spotted one out of the burrow.
* We are both well aware that a likely scenario involves us on our knees, at night, in the middle of a downpour, pulling puppies out of a flooded burrow and bringing them home in our pockets.
