Recently, Tay and I traveled to Peru to hike the Inca Trail and explore the beautiful country. One thing that stood out to us was the sheer number of stray dogs everywhere. While many of them were cared for by the local communities, many others were scared and abused. All of them, however, clearly just wanted to be loved. Tay and I decided to visit a dog shelter in the city of Cuzco run by real-life superhero Mila Romero. After Mila showed us around her shelter and introduced us to the wonderful dogs there, we decided to accompany Mila on a trip to a very not-touristy area of Cuzco to procure supplies for her shelter.

On our way there, our hearts collectively broke as we passed countless stray dogs scavenging for scraps of discarded food in piles of trash. Mila told us that she rescues as many of these dogs as she can, but it is very hard work. Each time we passed a dog, Mila would ask the locals if the dog had a place to sleep or humans nearby that treat them with respect. If the answer was ever no, Mila would do everything in her power to bring the dog to her shelter.

On this cold and rainy night, we eventually entered a shop in a small building with a cash machine we used to withdraw the Soles needed to buy the pet supplies we were after. Near the entrance of the store were two chairs, and underneath those two chairs was a dog huddled and shivering, trying to stay warm and safe as countless humans passed her without a glance. Mila asked the shop worker about the dog, and it turned out that the dog had nobody caring for her. The dog was in obvious need of immediate medical help, so I grabbed a leash and a harness from my backpack (I had these items on my person for this very reason) and we put the harness on her. The poor girl was too tired and weak to do anything but go along with what was happening. Mila picked up the dog and handed her to me to hold in my arms while Mila quickly called her go-to veterinarian. I was shocked at how light the dog was in my arms. She was clearly malnourished and very underweight. Mila then flagged down a taxi and spoke to the locals in the shop until we found a selfless and kind woman who agreed to take the dog to the vet for us while we continued to get supplies for the shelter.

Tay and I told Mila that no matter what, we will help make sure that this dog gets the care she needs to fight to stay alive and get healthy, and that if the dog pulls through, we would adopt her into our family here in Colorado. We were initially worried that the dog would have distemper, a very life-threatening condition. Thankfully, she tested negative for distemper—but she did test positive for pneumonia, which would have taken her life if we hadn’t rushed her to the vet that night. The dog is now at Mila’s shelter and is on a medication plan to recover. She still has a ways to go, but we are optimistic about her future. Mila asked me what we should name the dog, and we all decided that the dog’s name should honor the woman who saved her life, along with the lives of countless other dogs. And so, the dog’s name is Mila.

Unfortunately, Mila has very little chance of adoption in Peru due to cultural preferences regarding her size, color, and background. She desperately needs a family willing to give her a loving home. Therefore, Tay and I are now working with Mila (the human) to adopt Mila (the dog) through a service called Petwings. However, the costs of adopting a dog from Peru into the United States is quite high, and thus we have started this fundraiser in the hopes that our friends and family will help us bring Mila home to us. Any help you can give will be tremendously appreciated!