Rescuing a Puppy from Puerto Rico

Sigh. I knew this would happen. I've been in Ponce, PR for a month or so accompanying my husband who is working on a windpark here. The dog situation in PR, and Ponce in particular, is heartbreaking. Thousands of dogs live on the streets and in parking lots. If you park your car you have to look underneath in case a dog is sleeping there, trying to escape the tropical sun.

An expat living where I'm staying has been feeding the local dogs for over a year now. She's been worried about a litter of pups born under an abandoned car in a local parking lot. She left for a visit home to France and was worried about the two pups especially since the car was towed and they were simply surviving in the weeds.

Long story short I said I'd take a puppy home with me and find it a home. I rescheduled my flight from this Monday to the 15th because the puppy is too young to fly. My guess is they are 5 and a half weeks old. So one puppy goes back with me on the 15th, and if the remaining pup doesn't get a home in PR the second puppy will fly home with my husband when he comes home for Thanksgiving (he doesn't know about his part in my plan).

They are both females which I'm glad, since female dogs really suffer here. We're keeping the two sisters together for now as they need to feel a part of the litter. They are healthy, playful and affectionate. Mom was there when the pups were taken. She knows the person and trusts her since this is the person who's been feeding her for a year. She seemed content to see them go.

Sooo...anyone want a puppy, or two?

Silver King said:

If I did, I sure wouldn't go to the expense and trouble to bring them in from Puerto Rico. There are plenty of neglected and abandoned dogs up for adoption without the need to import them from elsewhere.

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True! But in the US there are shelters where animals have a decent chance at adoption and if not, a humane end.

Not so in PR. No adoption shelters; just kill shelters- and you don't want to know how this is accomplished.

In the US, it is illegal for neglected dogs to live a subsistance life where they simply die by the hundreds from starvation or from illness like mange, or drag broken limbs while people pass them on the sidewalks with nary a glance.

In the US there is animal control which is funded by the local or state govenment, and who for free, go and collect injured and abandoned dogs.

In PR if you want animal control to pick up a dog you must pay 40.00 dollars a piece. Ten dollars for them to come out, 30.00 dollars for them to dispose of it. We live in a golf resort area at the Hilton Caribe, so they'll call, or trap the dogs themselves. But no one else is going to pay money to have a dog picked up, let alone a pack of ten or twenty.

In the US there are programs that offer low cost or free spay/nueter programs. Not so in PR which is why there are litterally thousands of dogs who have been street dogs for tens of generations.

These are not feral animals! They are domesticated. The puppies are exacty like any dog. They love people, crave attention, want that human-dog relationship and are extremely affectionate.

And you don't even want to know about the abandoned horses here who wander around the edges of highways where they can graze on the meager grass that grows there and get hit by cars.

Trouble, yeah. Expense? Yep. Pups have been vetted, first shots, wormed. I had the considerable cost of changing my flight, etc.

So that's why I'm "importing" a dog, not because I want to, but because I can't look away and do nothing.

I was/am a dog trainer. I trained dogs for the obedience ring, search and rescue as well as drug and bomb detection.

My plan to make this pup adoptable is to have her obedience trained by six months, as well as knowing some *stupid pet tricks*. People LOVE stupid pet tricks.

"Watch, as the amazing puppy adds and subtracts! What is four minus two?"

"ARF! ARF!"

<g>

heyjude said:

What a wonderful thing you're doing.

Wish we could have another dog. Hubs says one is all he's willing to do. Plus the cats...

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Believe me, I understand those who can't take another dog. I have two at home who sadly don't get the attention they deserve due to my incessant travelling.

I do have a few months to work with the pup. I'm hoping just by having her fully housebroken and moderately trained by four months, I can place her. If not, I'll keep adding to her repertoire of tricks until no one can resist her.<g>

Training a service dog is time comsuming and we have wonderful organizations in the MD tri-state area who have established training programs. I wouldn't take it upon myself to circumvent what they so awesomely do.

She'll be a small dog, maybe 25 to thirty pounds. She won't eat much.... just saying.

Silver King said:

Maybe I'm stubborn and simply can't fathom a dog from Puerto Rico as being any more deserving of adoption than one from your local area. The money you're spending on that dog could be put to greater use as donations to your local animal shelter to help ensure the well-being of several animals. And from what I gather, you don't plan on keeping the dog anyway and hope to find someone to adopt him.

I understand your concerns: but you remind me of someone who has traveled beyond her borders for the first time, then came home to complain about the injustices elsewhere while ignoring the obvious needs that surround her at every turn. Only she won't see it that way because dogs have such a leg up in certain countries that they should be treated with less deference than those from Puerto Rico...

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Actually, this is my third time in Puerto Rico and I travel far more than I care to. I hate to fly and yet if I ever want to see home I must, regularly.

Contributing to local shelters? I do. The Harford County Humane Society and the American ASPCA. I also donate to the Maryland Food Bank everytime I check out at my grocery store, not that you asked.

Twice when I've been to Puerto Rico I regretted looking the other way. Couldn't do it this time. So if you want to say I did it to make ME feel better, you're right.

I also think you're stubborn.

thothguard51 said:

1st question, doesn't the dog have to go through quarantine?

2nd question, you have had the pup vaccinated, but do you know its breeding or full medical history. Strays in the islands have a long line of in-breeding and genetic problems that will not show up until later in life and can be very expensive to maintain. I'd suggest getting the pup fixed so as not to pass on any possible genetic problems.

I applaud what you are trying to do, but I also feel you are opening a can of worms that may one day come back to break your heart, or whoever adopts them... Hopefully, I am wrong.

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No quarentine. Puerto Rico is a US territory. Pup has been to vet and will get another visit in before we leave. Of course it's pedigree/health history is unknown except that this particular pack of dogs looked and acted healthy thanks to recieveing regular meals and clean water to drink.

I have every expectation that this pup will thrive with food, water, shelter and human interaction. The things island dogs suffer from besides being malnourished is exposure (sun, heat and torrential rains) worms, mange, distemper and physical injury -- all of which are completely preventable. As far as temperment, these are bright, social, outgoing puppies.

Hereditary issues are always a possiblity. But purebreds suffer from them as well.

GingerGunlock said:

At risk of nerding out in too lengthy a fashion on this topic (and if you don't mind sharing), what training methods do you use?

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Do you mean like teaching a dog to count? Short version, start by getting the dog to bark on command. At first you reward at one bark. Then you withhold the treat so the dog barks multible times, always mixing it up. Using a hand signal when you treat makes the connection that when the dog sees the signal, she stops and waits for the treat. Wean the dog down from a full-out palm-up signal, to just a small sideways hand movement. Once the dog is rock solid on this aspect, I replace the verbal commnad to bark with a nod of my head. Really exaggerated at first, less so as the dog advances. I also say, "Rigby, what is one plus one?" or what ever. It becomes a verbal cue once the game is learned. You can refine the trick even more with more subtle cues but it takes more patience and time and I don't like to expect too much from a puppy. They have short attention spans. <g>

I don't use a clicker, although many people do. And I don't always reward for food. In detection dog training we use play, never food. Unless you're using a beagle, they're all about the food,

thothguard51 said:

Not that often.

Responsible breeders study an animals hereditary pedigree, going back several generations, and they breed the bad hereditary conditions out. This is what makes a breed stronger.

This is not to say non-purebreds all suffer from bad breeding or hereditary conditions, but I do take issue about purebreds suffer from hereditary conditions as often as non-purebreds...

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I never said purebreds suffer as often so I'm guessing you're quoting someone else here.

But let's be real. All purebred dogs were initially the product of inbreeding (or line-breeding if you prefer). It's how certain traits were selected for and then reproduced in subsequent generations.

As a long-time breeder of German shepherds I have an understanding of breeding and breeding practices. Not all genes are dominate or resessive, some are polygenic-resessesive which is why Hip Dysplasia and some other abnormalities are virtually impossible to eliminate completely.

Mutts can have hip dysplasia, as well as Vom Willibrands diesese, etc. I know of a Shetland sheepdog who had hip dysplasia despite only being 25 pounds, a hold over from it's larger collie anscestors. Polygenic-ressessive genes.

Look at any pedigree of a top AKC conformation dog and you'll find plently of line-breeding. Line-breeding itself isn't necessarily bad, but sometimes it is when things like temperment and health issues go ignored.

melindamusil said:

This reminds me of the time I spent in West Africa. I saw far more homeless dogs and cats than native "African" animals. Very few of them were feral - all just craving human attention - but most of the people there can barely afford to feed themselves, much less a pet. In just going to the market, I would see two or three dozen homeless critters. Heartbreaking.

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Yes. And apparently it's a common practice for people to "turn a dog (or cat or horse) loose" when they become unwanted; as if turning them loose is doing the poor animal a favor.

Update: Puppy handled the flight to MD like a champ. She loves playing in the leaves although she can't stay outside in the cold for long, even with wearing a coat. She's housebroken in that she'll use puppy pads in the house and is bright and easy to train.

My German shepherd male has finally succumbed to her puppy charms after several days of her dancing and whirling in front of him. Pup has even mastered a doggie form of moon walking, lol. My female GSD who is ten tolerates her pressance as long as pup keeps her distance.

An Update

Just wanted to post an update. Maggie the PR puppy went to her forever home a couple of weeks ago. She's settled in and doing really well. Her new family loves her and assures me that dispite my offer to take her back for any reason, Maggie has a home for life.

I just wanted to add that those who know me IRL know I'm a bit of a dog snob. I've only ever had purebreds, and was a breeder for many years of working German Shepherd dogs. I could trace their pedigrees back twenty generations or more. I pored over bloodlines with every breeding that I meticulously planned. My pups became police dogs, search and rescue dogs, and FBI k9s, as well as beloved pets. I can honestly say that I have never had a puppy as intelligent and personable as my little Puerto Rican street dog. She hit milestones at a younger age than any of my specially bred GSDs; like navigating stairs, problem solving and the ability to make and maintain eye contact (so important when looking for a pup to train).

I really, really miss her. And it drives home the point that the dogs who exist on the streets are every bit deserving of a home and a human in their lives.