Hello. My name is Barbara Repetski and I volunteer as the adoption coordinator at The Luving Paws Foundation.

We are a dog rescue located in Puerto Rico where there are over 650,000 stray pups roaming the island. We rescue dogs from the street and unsafe homes and find them new forever families that they deserve.

Our dogs, once rescued, live in our land while completing our vetting protocols and waiting for their family to find them. We have extensive fencing to keep everybody safe, along with two dog parks including a doggy swimming pool for our dogs to cool off while playing.

Last night, Ernesto plowed thru our land tearing out trees. Because of the heat in Puerto Rico, those trees are so important to provide shade for the doggies and our staff who take such amazing care of them. Many of the trees landed on our fencing crushing it so it will need to be replaced. That fencing is what keeps our dogs safe and contained.

We also lost our gathering structure where the team meets to speak with adopters or just to get out of the sun and take a breather. Each item we lost is imperative to our mission and needs to be replaced.

Daphne and Steve, who run our rescue, are some of the most selfless and kind people I know. I would like to alleviate some of the stress that our devestated land is causing.