Cabo Paws
Donation protected
In October of 2018, my daughter and I started fostering puppies from an organization that rescues street dogs from Puerto Rico. Our partner, Michele Fitzsimmons, has been fostering animals for 15 years. She now shares this passion with her two daughters.
On our spring break trip to San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico (only 8 days ago) we learned of an impoverished area (called La Bellena) where there are hundreds of street animals living in unthinkable conditions. Driving through the dirt roads, we saw at least 20 stray dogs. They were matted, hot, and starving. We stopped the car to walk around and within a matter of minutes found a mother with 6 newborn puppies, who had yet to open their eyes, living in a desert junkyard. The mom had no food or water and was emaciated. (we have yet to rescue her or her puppies).
Soon after these unthinkable findings, we tried to locate a vet who would help us. An Uber driver drove us to a groomer who we thought was a vet. At the groomer, we discovered an additional 9 puppies, 2 dogs and 5 newborn kittens living in deplorable conditions. All of the animals were in dire need of medical attention. The puppies and kittens were living in small cages in the dirt, directly in the sun, with no access to food or clean water. The older dogs (one with three legs) were tied with chains in the back of the small property. All of the dogs and kittens were extremely malnourished. They were covered in fleas and ticks. The kittens had bad eye infections. We went back the next day (on the final day of our vacation) to discover that one kitten had died overnight.
From the time we found these animals until the time our flight left, we reached out to every local rescue we could. We were turned down by 5 rescues, including the Los Cabos Humane Society, because they were too overpopulated. After returning to New Jersey, we finally found two Cabo rescues willing to help us. The rescuers agreed to care for the animals under the conditions that we would pay for all expenses including vet care, food, crates, and flights to the US. There are currently 7 dogs (the groomer refused to surrender 3 and had already given one away before the rescue happened) and 4 kittens to fund. The estimated cost for vet care is approxiamtley $100 per dog, but three of the dogs will require additional funding due to medical issues. The cost to fly each dog to the US will be about $200-$300 per dog, depending on the air carrier. The price to fly the kittens will be a little less per kitten.
These puppies and kittens NEED your help! Please consider donating so we can get these babies healthy and fly them to New Jersey to get adopted into the loving homes they deserve. We have already invested $600 of our personal money, however this process will be expensive, so we are reaching out to fellow animal lovers for assistance. To anyone who donates and requests updates, we will be happy to provide them. You can also follow the journey of the animals on our instagram @cabopaws. We are currently planning another trip to go back to San Jose Del Cabo for the sole purpose of making contacts and trying to rescue some of the thousands of animals in need. The more money we raise, the more animals we will be able to help that we have yet to meet.
Thank you for taking the time to read about our cause. We sincerely appreciate any help you can provide.
-Lauren and Elle Cantor, Michele Fitzsimmons, Shea and Rileigh Baggett
On our spring break trip to San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico (only 8 days ago) we learned of an impoverished area (called La Bellena) where there are hundreds of street animals living in unthinkable conditions. Driving through the dirt roads, we saw at least 20 stray dogs. They were matted, hot, and starving. We stopped the car to walk around and within a matter of minutes found a mother with 6 newborn puppies, who had yet to open their eyes, living in a desert junkyard. The mom had no food or water and was emaciated. (we have yet to rescue her or her puppies).
Soon after these unthinkable findings, we tried to locate a vet who would help us. An Uber driver drove us to a groomer who we thought was a vet. At the groomer, we discovered an additional 9 puppies, 2 dogs and 5 newborn kittens living in deplorable conditions. All of the animals were in dire need of medical attention. The puppies and kittens were living in small cages in the dirt, directly in the sun, with no access to food or clean water. The older dogs (one with three legs) were tied with chains in the back of the small property. All of the dogs and kittens were extremely malnourished. They were covered in fleas and ticks. The kittens had bad eye infections. We went back the next day (on the final day of our vacation) to discover that one kitten had died overnight.
From the time we found these animals until the time our flight left, we reached out to every local rescue we could. We were turned down by 5 rescues, including the Los Cabos Humane Society, because they were too overpopulated. After returning to New Jersey, we finally found two Cabo rescues willing to help us. The rescuers agreed to care for the animals under the conditions that we would pay for all expenses including vet care, food, crates, and flights to the US. There are currently 7 dogs (the groomer refused to surrender 3 and had already given one away before the rescue happened) and 4 kittens to fund. The estimated cost for vet care is approxiamtley $100 per dog, but three of the dogs will require additional funding due to medical issues. The cost to fly each dog to the US will be about $200-$300 per dog, depending on the air carrier. The price to fly the kittens will be a little less per kitten.
These puppies and kittens NEED your help! Please consider donating so we can get these babies healthy and fly them to New Jersey to get adopted into the loving homes they deserve. We have already invested $600 of our personal money, however this process will be expensive, so we are reaching out to fellow animal lovers for assistance. To anyone who donates and requests updates, we will be happy to provide them. You can also follow the journey of the animals on our instagram @cabopaws. We are currently planning another trip to go back to San Jose Del Cabo for the sole purpose of making contacts and trying to rescue some of the thousands of animals in need. The more money we raise, the more animals we will be able to help that we have yet to meet.
Thank you for taking the time to read about our cause. We sincerely appreciate any help you can provide.
-Lauren and Elle Cantor, Michele Fitzsimmons, Shea and Rileigh Baggett
Organizer and beneficiary
Lauren Cantor
Organizer
Madison, NJ
Elle Cantor
Beneficiary
