PAWS in Puerto Rico—Spring Break 2009

Last summer, purely by chance, I stumbled across the website for the Island Dog Company, a non-profit established to help the homeless animals of Puerto Rico. Among other things, it administers food and medicine to sick and hungry animals, finds "escorts" to fly animals to the continental US, where they have a better chance of being adopted, cleans up the beaches where strays linger, and raises awareness of animal welfare issues on the island. The animal welfare situation in PUerto Rico is much more severe than hat in the continental United States--of an estimated 200,000 dogs and cats roaming the islands, about 90% will due, due to a considerable dearth of animal shelters and effectively no governmental support. After glancing over the website, a germ of an idea began to fester and grow in my mind. The Island Dog Company sounded like it could use some help from some enthusiastic PAWS volunteers.

I brought up the idea at a PAWS meeting a couple months later, and it met with instant interest from other members. Before long we were planning our spring break trip. On March 13, ten eager PAWS volunteers (Lydia, Liberty, Heather, Toni, Becky, Craig, Emily, Emma, Angela, and I) will embark on the dog-and-cat-saving adventure of a lifetime. What better way to combine our dedication to helping animals with our love of sunny beaches and palm trees?

While I corresponded with Island Dog to coordinate a beach clean-up and the process of escorting dogs back to the States on our return flight, Lydia became our liaison with a Puerto Rican animal shelter called El Faro de los Animales. We plan to volunteer there daily, working with cats with feline leukemia, as well as completing other general tasks such as cleaning, dog walking and socialization. Both Island Dog and El Faro are eagerly looking forward to our arrival!

Of course, it's not going to be all work and no play. We're going to have plenty of time to soak up the sun and explore various attractions--perhaps El Yunque (the rainforest), the Camuy Caves, historic San Juan, and whatever else catches our eye.

It's too late to sign up for this year's trip, but if the trip is a success, we will definitely consider repeating it next year. In the meantime, we can use some help as we prepare for the trip. The Island Dog Company is desperate for donations of antibiotics and pet medications, as they treat more than 100 dogs each weak. It's OK for the medicines to be expired, so dig into your medicine cabinets and see what you can find. Other pet supplies as well as cash donations would also go a long way in helping the animals of Puerto Rico. If you'd like to help out, stop by a PAWS meeting or contact us at jhupaws@gmail.com.

For more information about the organizations we'll be working on our trip, check out their websites: Island Dog and El Faro.

Hasta luego!

Ashley

A Love Story

When I was younger, I was ruthless and incessant in asking my parents if we could please, please, please get a dog. They never agreed, and I eventually gave up, deciding that I'd just get, like, 20 dogs when I grew up and could get a dog on my own. Turns out I didn't have to wait that long, because during my senior year of high school, just days before I graduated, we brought home our super cute, super sweet chocolate lab puppy, and we called her Nestlé.

Nestlé grew and learned so fast, we were all amazed. My parents had never had dogs before either, so it was kind of a learning experience for all of us. I think it's fair to say that through Nestlé we were able to bond together in ways that we hadn't really been able to--or bothered to?--do for what seems like ages beforehand. We all think she's the bomb. And she totally knows it.
I love her a lot and all, but don't get me wrong--she's got her quirks (read: she's nuts-o). She can run around on the super slick ice outside in the winter, but getting her to walk across the kitchen tiles can be quite the production. For a while she wouldn't eat or drink out of metal bowls, because she could see her reflection in them and that freaked her out. Every time we take her to the dog park she's quite popular with the boys, if you know what I mean, and she's not so good at asserting herself, if you catch my drift. Getting her to go up the stairs at houses other than our own takes some planning. Oh, and did I mention that she usually refuses to get in a car? And she's a big dog, so getting her in there is no easy feat. I'm sure there's more, but you get the idea.
Despite her not making any sense at all, she's the love of my life. She'll put her head in my lap and look up at me with those big puppy eyes while I tell her what's been going on in my life (such a good listener), or we'll just sit in silence. She tosses toys to me when she wants to play, or put her paw up to my knee to get my attention, and if all else fails, she'll bark the cutest little bark. She has playdates with other dogs in the neighborhood, and she's such a sweetheart during intercanine interactions. She gives the best kisses. She loves everyone and has no qualms about letting them know.
I miss her so much when I'm at school. That's really the reason I joined PAWS in the first place: I missed my dog and thought that playing with the dogs at the animal shelter would make me happy while I was away from her. And it has!