Stray Dogs Need Shelter, Food & Veterinary Care.

My name is Farida and I am raising funds to feed, shelter, provide veterinary care, and eventually find homes for stray dogs in South America.

There are many dogs here that desperately need help. At this time I have 14 street and strays that I feed daily and one is a permanent resident inside my home. The other dogs roam the countryside and return for food every day.

As much as they all need shelter, only the one stays inside because they aren’t friendly to each other and fights will break out, causing injuries. The inside dog is terrified of thunder and I found him under the outside steps one night, he was trembling and terrified. So I allowed him to come inside. He is still afraid when he hears thunder and I make a tent for him with chairs and a blanket so that he can feel safer. If I don’t do that he will curl up in the corner of the shower and the tent is much better.

Since I began feeding the dogs, they have all maintained a healthy weight. Before that, they were very skinny and raiding piles of trash in the streets. At least 2 of them have injured jaws, probably broken. Maybe from trying to eat trash or some other misadventure. I make special food to feed them because crunching hard food is very difficult for them to do. And I feed them separately because they eat slowly and the other dogs will take their food.

Sadly, two puppies were killed by a car. One of them was my favorite, he was very dear to me. There have been 2 litters so far by one of the females. She badly needs to be spayed as her health is not good. All of the dogs need to be spayed and neutered. The big inside dog is the only one who is neutered. I was told that his owner left to live in Australia and he stayed here in the care of someone who has since either abandoned him or neglected him to the point that he showed up underneath my outside stairs. He is very well behaved. He does have some health problems, mainly some hard lumps on his chest, neck, and one of his legs. There is also a large wound that is very deep. It healed and now has come back. He needs medical attention as do quite a few others, but I don’t have the money to provide it for them. I want to make sure all of them are spayed and neutered and seen by a veterinarian for all the other things that are a concern.

There were 3 other dogs that came for food at least 5 days a week but have gone missing. I was told that one was poisoned by a farmer. There is no information about what happened to the other 2 and I hope they return.

But there is no place to shelter these dogs. I looked at a nearby property that is pretty rough but is wired for electricity and has plumbing. There are 2 broken down small buildings on about an acre of land. The price is about $8000 and it could be repaired with a few thousand more. I think it would be an ideal spot for a shelter. Right now my priority is keeping the dogs fed daily.

As far as shelters go in this area, there is only one that I could find. It is about 60 miles from here on the way to the mountains. It took about 2 and a half hours to get there by car and the property is big, but I didn’t see many animals. I’m not sure if it is a legitimate shelter because there is no phone number to contact the place. And there was a gate to enter which had a guard. They don’t allow cameras on the property. It was a little strange.

That’s the only shelter-type property that exists within at least 100 miles. The dogs in the cities seem to be treated very well and get plenty of love, but outside the city, in the hills and rural areas, many dogs roam the streets. There are many threats to their welfare. Cars, disease, injuries, malnutrition, being poisoned to name a few. And too many puppies are being born into a very difficult fight for survival. I am thankful that the climate is mild or they would be exposed to extreme temperatures as well. It’s a blessing that they don’t suffer that fate as well.

Here’s the names I have given to some of the stray dogs:

Little Girl (Pretty little white dog with a jaw injury, very sweet and timid)

Dingo (Orange dog that gets into fights and has too many scars, also has a bad limp)

Dante (that was his name before he was neglected so I kept it, might have tumors)

Bobo (Brown and black, missing some teeth, bossy, smart, steals biscuits from the others)

Nefertiti (the matriarch, black and white, always alert, was near death from malnutrition)

Boiboi (the only surviving puppy from last litter, his 2 brothers were hit by cars)

Mama (keeps getting pregnant and can barely breathe, needs spayed asap)

Cookieface (loves dog biscuits, silly name I know, loves to be petted)

Toby (older boy, moves slowly, won’t compete for food so I separate him for meals)

Lukas (stocky brown dog, disappeared for days and returned all beat up, quite feral)

Kazak and pup pup (deceased, hit by cars) Bennie (presumed deceased) and

Cocoa (allegedly poisoned, presumed deceased)

There are others that come for food, but not daily. Food is not always available for them..

Kazak and pup pup are buried nearby next to each other.

My funds are limited and these dogs have come to rely on me for regular feeding and affection. I have been keeping up with it for almost 2 years by myself. Unfortunately, I can’t provide any veterinary care for them without donations, and they need medical attention and surgery.

There are at least 3 dogs in another area I would like to shelter if I have a place to do that. One is missing an eye and the other two are in pretty bad shape. If they are still alive I can go find them and bring them here.

If I am able to establish a shelter I will make regular trips throughout the rural areas to find dogs that need help. I haven’t seen any cats, except for one kitten that I brought home and he soon had to be taken to an emergency clinic. He had a serious infection and did not survive but I used a big portion of my limited funds trying to save him. His name was Bingo Pajama Gatito, RIP.

Any and all donations will be used to feed and care for these animals. Any amount, no matter how small, is greatly appreciated. If you can’t donate, please share this with other animal lovers who might be able to donate.

The doggies thank you very much for helping to provide them with continued care, a better life and a future permanent home.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.

Please contact me with any questions or for additional information not provided here.