Shelter Stories January 2011
On January 3rd our friends were walking their two little dogs on the Paseo del Mar in front of their condo and spotted a cardboard box just off the sidewalk in the grass near the base of a palm tree. When they looked here is what they saw
Five 6 week old puppies - seemingly healthy but abandoned. The called us and we drove over and picked them up. We had to wait for the vet to open so we kept them in their utility room. They were infested with ticks, so engorged that some were the size of one of my fingernails. It was heartbreaking. How could someone leave these loveable creatures abandoned. When the vet opened we took them to get the ticks removed, have them checked over and given their shots for parvovirus and distemper. The next job was to find them a home. I checked with Mari and the shelter but she said she was overwhelmed and could not help. More on that later. Everyone in our office immediately started calling friends and acquaintances. Within an hour or so we had 4 homes for the 5 pups. My only stipulation was they needed to be spayed or neutered immediately by SpayPanama. I knew some of the people and I knew the $25 would not be easy for them so we agreed to pay the fees for them. That night all the pups went to their new homes to people who would love and care for them.
Here they are as they left our office ready for their new home.
Monday I asked how they handled the SpayPanama. Imagine my horror to hear none had followed through and taken them to be fixed.
When I asked why virtually all of them said they had changed their minds and felt fixing them was cruel.
I was angry, upset, disillusioned - I confronted each with the fact they had taken them on the condition they would have them fixed. After much discussion all agreed and we made arrangements for one of our staff to physically take them to SpayPanama.
So far I know 4 of them have been to the clinic and are healthy.
To me this was a major lesson on the attitude of many Panamanians toward spaying and neutering. It's one of the reasons the shelter exists. Too many people not wanting to help lessen the number of strays. Or some people who think they can make extra money breeding their dog and when no one wants them simply taking them to the street and abandoning them.
If this makes you as upset as us, can you help with the shelter. Mari desperately needs help financially. $10-20 per month from a few hundred people woudl eliminate this need and make hundreds of dogs and cats happy and healthy for their lives. Remember, they are the victims here.