A TOUGH YEAR FOR CARTAGENA PAWS:

2020 started off as an amazing year for Cartagena Paws and our rescue animals. We were featured in the Puppy Bowl and received some long-awaited attention for our organization. Flight volunteers were lining up to help get our animals out of Colombia, and CTG Paws began to save for a dream of buying land for our Educational-Based Rescue Center. Unfortunately, all of our lives were turned upside down when the worldwide COVID 19 pandemic broke out. The 6 animals that we had lined up to fly with flight volunteers in March and April soon learned that their trips were cancelled. The anxious adopters were heartbroken when we called to say there was no way to get them home.

Shortly thereafter, our funds began to run dry as we continued to pay for vet care and kennel time. It broke our hearts to know that these animals had loving homes waiting for them, but nothing we could do would change the situation.  With so many people out of work due to COVID, or worried about the future, we began to feel the huge drop in donations. This has led CTG Paws to overdue bills for the care of our animals. As you can imagine, with Colombia on lockdown, we do not know when commercial flights will be up and running. What we do know is that we have to do something for these animals and get them out!

After a lot of work, planning and coordination, Transcargo Animal Company and Cartagena Paws came up with a genius plan to get all of the animals to safety by the end of August on one of the only cargo flights allowed out of Colombia monthly. Cartagena Paws has worked with the Transcargo Animal Company in Bogota, Colombia for the past 5 years. They have helped us on many missions to get animals home safely to the USA and Canada. There are only a few cargo flights allowed out of Colombia, (i.e. cargo flights without passengers) and Transcargo has thought of a way to get rescues from Cartagena and Medellin to Bogota for the flight. They will be able to transport them across the country and then across the Caribbean Sea for their final destination of Miami.  These animals have waited for months to fly to their forever homes and it is our job to make that possible. While we are living in unprecedented and unpredictable times, we are doing our best to continue to carry out our mission and our promise to those in need. And when it looked as if there was no hope, Transcargo stepped in and helped us follow through on that promise.  

Our 6 animals have survived a great deal and are ready for their forever homes and families. Their adopters have already committed to come to Miami to meet their new addition. Families are coming from Buffalo, NY, Denver, CO and even Toronto, CA. They cannot wait to be united, but we need to raise $4,000 within the next 12 days in order to reserve a spot on the cargo flight leaving Colombia at the end of the month. 

We understand that this is a lot of money, however, it will cover all of their transport to Miami, and will also cover their transport by land and air from their current cities to the capital city; Bogota. The animals will be received in Bogota and taken to a vet for a final inspection. They will then spend a night at a highly recommended kennel before they are placed on the cargo flight the next morning. The cargo company will ensure their safety and care all the way from the beginning to the end of their travels. They will even confirm for us when the animals arrive to Miami, and when they have passed through customs. Myself, Maureen Cattieu and others will drive in to receive them and turn them over to their adopters. Remaining funds will help cover their outstanding vet bills. 

The pandemic has devastated many individuals, businesses and organizations. Cartagena Paws is one of those organizations. We operate through donations and as of today our funds are nearly depleted and we are unable to cover additional vet or kennel care. We also depend on volunteers to help us execute our mission. Unfortunately, we have lost over 24 flight volunteers since February. This means that 24 animals lost their chance at a forever home. We can not let this happen to them! Please read about our rescues below and SHARE, DONATE, SUPPORT, this worthy cause.

1. SAMMY THE CAT:

Sammy was a stray cat who spent his entire life fending for himself. One day, as he stepped out onto the street in search of food, he was sucked under a car driving by. The accident ripped the skin off his entire back leg, leaving him with a huge open wound. The wound soon became infected and filled with maggots. A wonderful woman named Jhanna came to his rescue and got him to a vet where they treated and cleaned his wound and started the healing process. Brave Sammy spent months at the vet because the wound was so severe and infected. The wound is finally fully healed, and Sammy was sent to Medellin for a second medical opinion on his leg, in addition to vaccines and parasite treatment. He has now  been in foster for 7+ months and has been waiting for a forever home for over a year now. 


Sammy has come out of his shell and his extremely loving and highly energetic personality has come shining through. One of the most surprising facts about him is that he is quite obsessed with dogs! He always wants to be around and be playing with them.


He is both feline FIV and FeLV negative and suffered no other wounds from his car accident. He is estimated to be around 15 months old (you can tell because he still has a lot of kitten energy!) and he is around 15 lbs. He loves people and other animals, though he much prefers dogs! He has been extremely brave and is deserving of a flight home. Sammy's adoption did fall through with the long wait and we are determined to find him a forever home before the flight day. Even if we don't we have fosters available Stateside to care for him until we find him the most perfect home.

2. OWDEN:

I, Maureen Cattieu, director and founder of Cartagena Paws Animal Rescue have never seen a case like Owden’s in my many years of rescuing animals. I have seen horrific sights, violence and pure evil taken out on animals, but I have never had a rescue like Owden. Owden has literally been through just about everything a street dog can suffer from: violence, abuse, neglect, abandonment, cancer, heartworm, and distemper. Yet, he remains one of the most loyal, loving, and playful dogs.


For those who don’t know Owden, here is a quick overview of his story: Owden is a young Beagle Mix born in Cartagena. He was quickly abandoned in the streets as a young puppy. Without an owner, vet care, or daily nutrients, Owden soon fell sick with a deadly virus (distemper). Owden is clearly a fighter and managed to survive distemper on his own, a very rare and unusual occurrence. Despite his amazing survival from distemper, Owden did suffer significant neurological damage to both his spine and brain as a result of the virus. The damage will permanently affect how Owden walks (sideways and a bit off balance).


Despite a weakened immune system from distemper, Owden managed to make it to his first birthday. Soon after reaching a year old, Owden, who was never neutered, began pursuing young female dogs in heat. Unfortunately, he contacted TVT, a vicious venereal disease commonly found in stray dog populations who are not neutered or spayed. Over time, Owden’s infection grew into large, painful, and cancerous tumors, which consistently dripped blood from his genitals. Being the fighter that he is, Owden continued to fight to survive in the unfriendly streets of Cartagena, where stray dogs are seen as filthy nuisances undeserving of even the most basic show of compassion.


Just when Owden thought the worst was behind him, he became infected with another deadly disease (heartworm). Most animals in Owden’s condition would not survive this without expensive injectable medication. Shortly after contracting heartworm, Owden was out one night looking for food scraps. He ran into the wrong person, and was viciously attacked with a machete across his face. The machete had severed through Owden’s eye and cheek. The pain was horrific, yet no one stopped to help poor Owden. Owden ran off and looked for coverage. We do not know how long Owden laid outside in a corner of the street, but we do know it was several days as his wounds were filled with maggots. The infection from this vicious attack spread; Owden was in desperate need of help. This time, he was not in a position to recover on his own. Just when all hope seemed lost, Owden was found one morning by a woman named Blanca in front of a clinic in town. She took him to the vet for his eye. The vet immediately performed surgery on his eye and cheek in an attempt to save the eye.


Unfortunately, Owden only has 10% vision in the injured eye. Shortly after his rescue by Blanca, Cartagena Paws learned of Owden’s story and knew it had to help give Owden a second chance at life. Cartagena Paws arranged a number of treatments to save his life, i.e. treat his eye, heartworm, TVT and parasite infection. There is no denying that Owden is a very special dog. He was transported to Medellin, Colombia to get the care and attention he needs during his recovery. He is currently in foster care where he displays an undying loyalty and love to everyone that he comes across, despite the horrific interactions he previously had with humans.


Owden has responded positively to all but one of these treatments, TVT. Unfortunately, the tumors caused by TVT showed no response to the chemotherapy, i.e. Vincristine. After 6 chemotherapy sessions, Owden’s tumors continue to grow rather than shrink. Owden needed surgery to remove the large and painful cancerous cells, and then a new form of chemotherapy was performed. After 8 sessions, and lab tests sent out to pathologists, Owden was no longer positive for TVT and his tumors were gone. He has been in recovery for over a year now and has a lovely family waiting for him in Buffalo, NY. Please help us get him to safety!

3. DIEGO:

Diego was rescued by 2 amazing women who were just traveling around Colombia. They were walking around the old historic city called Centro, when they came across a young male dog who was shaking and in fear. His fur was covered in mange and he had been attacked by other dogs because he had many wounds around his body, especially his face and ears. These women were proactive and got Diego to our vet. He was tested and found to be Heartworm positive. After a very intense treatment of injectables, and crate rest, Diego completed his recovery.


He has been waiting at the vet now for months. Since international flights to Colombia are still cancelled there has been no chance for anyone  to fly down and get him and/or fly him out. Diego will be adopted by his rescuers, and they are dying to reunite with him. They have sponsored all of his care since the day they rescued him and are coming to Miami to pick him up! He is a happy, healthy boy who is ready to join his new family!

4. PAQUITA:

There is nothing but JOY and BLISS when you look at Paquita's beautiful face! 

She is a 4 year old Pincher Mix who was abandoned by her family who decided to move. Apparently, leaving very alone in the streets to suffer was a lot easier than taking her with them.  She was found by a wonderful volunteer named Daniela in the streets alone. She was hiding and shaking in fear! Of course, the poor baby was terrified! 


Paquita is now doing wonderful and is in foster with Kate and Sam. Paquita is spayed, healthy, and vaccinated and ready to fly. Kate and Sam say she is doing great in foster! She enjoys sitting on laps, being caressed, and going for walks! Paquita is still looking for her forever home, but just in case she doesn't find a forever home by the time of the cargo flight, we have fosters set up Stateside who will take her and care for her until we find her the most perfect forever home. Paquita has been waiting over a year to be adopted and has missed several chances to fly home due to cancelled flights and lack of flight volunteers as the COVID scare began to spread in early March! Please help us get her to safety!!

5. CARTAGENA
Cartagena was  found searching for scraps on a beach called Los Morros right outside of Cartagena. The beach is literally right next door to one of the most dangerous, poverty stricken barrios in Cartagena, called La Boquilla. Over 50% of our rescues come from there. It is no place for any animal to live. Animals are found in horrible conditions there everyday and many animals with machete wounds or wounds from having hot oil or water thrown on them by the locals to scare them away from their homes or local businesses. 


Cartagena was found by a woman who was traveling and staying at a hotel close to the beach. She found Cartagena and snuck her up to her hotel room, where she got a warm bath, food, and a place to sleep in peace for once. Before am, they had both fallen in love with each other and were meant to be together. She got Cartagena to our vet where we began all initial testing and treatments. Cartagena was only planning on staying at our vet for 2 months, as she did not have any major illnesses or diseases, however when COVID struck it turned into 7 months. The woman who rescued Cartagena has been sponsoring her bills and waiting patiently for her, however we fear we can not wait any longer, as there is a chance of airports remaining closed for even longer in Colombia. Please help us get her home! The owner is driving all the way from Toronto to pick her up! Lets help reunite them!

6. KIRA
Kira is our first ever Scottish Terrier Mix rescue.  Kira was found in the Barrio Olaya Herrera in Cartagena. She was found trembling in fear protecting her two babies. We discovered that she originally was being used to litters and finally was able to sneak away. The volunteers Olga and Ana María took her in and helped her with her two puppies until they were able to be adopted out. Kira stayed with Olga for a few months at her house before we discovered that she had developed large masses in her nipples and cysts from being used by humans to produce "breeded" small dogs to sell. We had a Canadian Vet volunteering with us and she helped do surgery and tests on the areas and she was spayed. She took a long month to recover from the surgery and the change of living in a garbage pit, but now she is a trained, well behaved, and super smart girl who is dying to get home to her forever home.


A woman and her children knew that Kira was the one for them when they saw her post! They have been waiting for her ever since February! She has missed over 7 flights that she could have flown on to be united with her new family, but due to COVID every one of those flights were cancelled. Kira has spent over a year in recovery and is ready for her forever home! Lets help get her home asap!


These 6 animals have gone through it all and need our help. We have no idea what the future holds, but Cartagena Paws is committed to finishing our mission. We rescue, rehabilitate, and then ADOPT our animals into wonderful homes. This will probably be the biggest campaign of Cartagena Paws for 2020, and we need your support. Flying these animals out now, will allow us to get back on our feet economically and plan for the future. We have not given up on our mission to one day save enough money to buy land and build our own Educational-Based Rescue Center, but we need to first finish off our first mission and get these animals to safety. We are in this together and know the future holds many positive moments for Cartagena Paws and the animals of Cartagena in the near future.

We have not given up on our mission to one day save enough money to buy land and build our own Educational-Based Rescue Center, but we need to first finish off our first mission and get these animals to safety. We are in this together and know the future holds many positive moments for Cartagena Paws and the animals of Cartagena in the near future.



We invite you to check out our site and also read our Success Stories. We promise to get these animals to safety and in the arms of their new family members. 

www.cartagenapaws.com