28 Jul Why I started helping dogs…
It was my mother’s birthday and a little dog showed up to the party…!
It was my mother’s birthday and a little dog showed up to the party! We asked around the neighborhood but no one knew who this dog belonged to. It looked like she had been lost for a while because her fur was really dirty. My sister took her with her to clean and wash her. The next day, she took the dog to the vet to check for a chip but she didn’t have one. She decided to foster for 30 days but since no owner was found, she decided to adopt her and named her Melo!
A few weeks later, my sister decided to adopt another dog…a rescue dog from Loving All Animals who she named Perry.
You can follow them on Instagram as @meloandperry
Perry was abused and mistreated. He was overweight and his teeth were really bad. 🙁 I really felt for these rescued animals and wanted to so something to help. I started to follow people who rescued dogs on social media. Then I stumbled upon this incredible guy from Ecuador who rescued dogs. I have seen a lot of people on social media that have inspired me but none has been as inspiring as Jefferson. Reading about him and watching the videos of his rescues really amazed me!
I remember I saw a video of him rescuing a dog from a trash can. The dog had worms in his head. 🙁 but the dog still moved his tail. It amazed me that even though the dog was in such bad conditions, he was happy and thankful to be rescued. Jefferson tried to help the dog but unfortunately, it was a bit too late. He passed away soon after.
After watching this, I decided to join local animal rescue groups in my community. I also joined a private group called the Emergency foster group via messenger. I told them I was not able to foster but I offered to help with transportation. I offered to pick up dogs and bring them to foster, recues or shelters. I always try not to take dogs to shelters because I am afraid they will be euthanized. Shelters can get overcrowded and when that happens, the dogs that have been there the longest end up being euthanized.
A few months ago, I rescued a little white dog who had ticks. I didn’t know this until the foster called me and told me to just wash all my clothes. The lady didn’t freak out and neither did I. I was wearing a very thick long sleeve jacket and pants.
When I rescue dogs, sometimes I get really dirty, scratched, (I have the tetanus shot) wet, even my car gets really dirty! but I don’t care. (I get it cleaned afterwards)
I remember one time I went to rescue two dogs. I had to sit on the grass waiting to gain their trust. When I had them close to me, the sprinkles system turned on! I was able to hold one but the other dog ran away. I got all wet from head to toe! and I was wearing one of my nicest jumpers that I usually take to the dry cleaners lol. But, oh well! (I went to a meeting that day and a wasn’t planning on rescuing dogs but a lady called me to see I could go…so I went right after my meeting)
I was able to catch the other dog with the help of one lady who lived in that area. I took both dogs to the Palm Springs Animal Shelter and they were later adopted. Yay! <3 These are the two dogs:
RESCUING
KOHALA AND KANGAROO
A few weeks later Thomas Aguilar saw two dogs wandeing on the streets of Coachella and he asked for help on Social Media. A lady comment on the post saying she would help pay for them to get groomed if someone was able to go get them. I was going to look for them regardless but I think it is nice to receive the support of the community with these kind of comments. So, off I went to look for them. I contacted the finder and when I told him I was on my way to pick them up, he said he was going to help me get them. When I arrived at the place, he was sitting on the grass feeding them. I was so excited! I knew it wasn’t going to be hard to catch them since he was with them. I parked my car and approached them. I sat next to them and pet the dogs. Then, I grabbed the white dog and put him in the car. When we tried to put the black dog inside the car, the white dog jumped out of the car! lol And this is when the chase started! I know it is not good to run after them but we had no choice. We knew he wasn’t going too far since he had a broken leg. Thomas chased him and I went to get my car and try to follow them. Thomas ran three blocks. When I realized the dog was running far away from Thomas, I then drove ahead of the dog. I stopped my car a few feet ahead of him and got out of my car right way to try to stop him. He was already tired. I put myself in front of him and grab him. It was a huge PHEW! I was relieved we finally caught him!
Since the white dog had a broken leg, I took him to the Palm Springs Animal Shelter right away while I left the black dog with Brenda Macotas, the groomer. My sister did me the favor to foster the black dog for one night because by the time the dog got out of the grooomer, the shelter was already closed. I could sense a sense of sadness in the black dog but we tried to comfort him as much as we could.
Palm Springs Animal Shelter accepted the white dog and asked me to also bring the black dog to them so they can be together again. It was so beautiful! They named the white dog Kangaroo and the black Koala. 😀 Kangaroo had to had his leg amputated because it was an old fracture but both of them were healthy and were adopted a few weeks after. <3
These are the two dogs:
WHY I AM NOT LONGER WITH THE LOST AND FOUND PETS IN THE COACHELLA VALLEY AND THE EMERGENCY FOSTER GROUP
The more I was getting involved in rescuing dogs, the more I felt some sort of opposition from people in the group. Some of them complained saying “I was giving away dogs to random people ” Some didn’t agree that I did not want to bring the dogs to shelters but rather to fosters. Some others complained I “wasn’t posting” the dog’s on Pawboost or the shelters…
There is a saying, “If something doesn’t make you happy, change it. If it makes you happy, keep going! And that is exactly what I do and what I did in this case.
I moved on from this group :D. My best interest and my main focus since I started rescuing dogs is and will always be the well being of dogs. The drama, the disagrements, the oppositions…I can’t invest my time on that. It takes me away from my main focus, which is helping dogs.
More happy dog’s stories coming soon. In the meantime, here is Boujee Story: