At our home, around May 10th 2011

The story of rescuing 3 puppies dumped on the road to Domes - Spring 2011 - Not an 'animal lover'?  More reason to appreciate and donate to this true community effort which keeps our Rincon community free of street animals.

On about April 26th 2011, I saw 3 puppies in the bushes along the Ocean side of the Domes road - just South of El Faro.

One puppy, Rosa, was sitting on the border of the bushes barking at every thing. The other 2 puppies, Roja & Verde, were cowering in the bushes. I couldn't stop as I had my 3 dogs in the car. I came back later with Jim and we brought food and water. It took a few minutes but all 3 of the puppies eventually warmed up to us. Because Rincon has no shelter or sanctuary for found animals we had to leave the puppies in the bushes, on ants and bugs.

That same day, immediately after leaving the puppies, I posted on facebook that there were 3 puppies needing help. My plan was to come back later in the day and try to move the puppies to somewhere more protected from the elements with less potential for illness - but still on the street. Before I came back Jamie and Jenny (through word from Tiah) went to rescue the puppies. They took the puppies to a gated area behind Calypso Bar. The area was more a storage area where the septic tank resided and it was very gross and stinky. But we were very thankful to Cindie for the secured location and it would be home for these puppies for about 10 more days.

In the following days ARF was contacted and the 3 puppies made visits to Vets in the area for deworming and vaccinations - an appointment for the puppies to be spayed was made by ARF. ARF paid for all these Vet services.

Between April 30th and May 5th, I went to Calypso and walked the puppies 3 times a day (and for feeding). Rina helped in the walking. Sonya & Cindie helped in the feedings. Lillian, Cindie and Rhianna donated food. Rosa and Ellen donated money for food.

On May 5th I brought the puppies from Calypso to our home downstairs so they could be ready for spayed surgery on May 6th in Isabella. Jim and I took them for their surgery in Isabella and then they rested downstairs for a few days.

Between May 6th and June 6th there was lots of activity and energy put towards finding these puppies homes. Jim and I took many videos and put a lot of time towards socializing the puppies. This included living non-aggressively with our dogs and kitty, walking on leash, walking off leash, using a doggie door, eating and snacks without any food aggressions, staying off furniture, potty training, etc.

One puppy found a home with Rina as during our Calypso beach walks she bounded with Verde. Verde now lives with an active Rina and kitties in Rincon

One puppy found a home on the morning of May 15th at the Rincon Plaza's farmer's market - my purpose at the market was to find Rosa & Roja homes. Vanessa from Sano Productos was looking for a new dog and it was a perfect match for Rosa. Rosa now lives with other dogs & kids. She has a home and a farm to enjoy.

The last puppy, Roja, was taken to an island Petsmart adoption event by ARF on May 28th, but Roja was a bit too mellow for the crowd. After meeting Roja at my home on May 31st, Amanda contacted her friend Laurie in New Hampshire. After speaking on the phone with me and viewing several videos of Roja, Laurie decided on about June 4th that Roja would be a good fit for their family. Thanks to Continental airlines PetSafe program Roja could fly unaccompanied. But finding PetSafe was just the beginning to this happy ending. Between June 4th and June 6th we had to get the kennel airline ready, get Roja's health, rabies & spayed certificates and arrange a way to the airport for a 2am flight from BQN to Boston. Thanks to Tiah, ARF, Christine and Jason we were able to make it all happen.

We all found Continental Airlines PetSafe program to be great. Laurie said they were very quick in getting Roja off the plane and to a convenient, with grass, pickup location. All flights were on time and there is an excellent online tracking system so you know where your animal is located during the trip. The cost is not cheap at $250 for a 32lb dog. The kennel was donated by Jim & I but might cost another $50-$80. Not having to pay for an accompanying person ticket is a big saving. $250 is do-able for many of us to save an animal from a life of misery. True misery as was documented by 100000movie.com at the Rincon 2011 Film Festival.

Saving these animals while they are young, small and prior to getting aggressive with bad habits is key! And i will say it again, people who aren't 'animal lovers' should appreciate and donate to this true community effort as it keeps their community free of (or with less) animals roaming on the streets.

2 puppies at the beach need help

There are 2 puppies that were abandoned on the beach road below our house. I've got my limit of dogs already. They've been there a few days. I bring them a little water and food each morning when I walk w/ my wife.   Anyone help?  Please contact us@413geek.com if you want to donate money for us to help them or contact jimcrottypr@gmail.com if you can help them yourself.

one of the two

Thanks to Angela, Rina & Justin the 2 little kitties have a foster home and are doing well.   Thanks to ARF and Dawn i was able to get them to the vet on 10/12.  With the ARF vouchers used to help in just these type rescue situations, the whole visit for 2 kitties, checkup, 1st vaccine, fecal test and oral dewormer meds only cost me $25.00!!!   It has been hard time wise and a bit stressful ... but truly thanks to these people/org I feel it was all worth it.