Hello, my name is Stefania. I’m a Colombian woman married to my husband, who is from Turkey. We met in Europe in 2019, fell in love at first sight, and got married just six months later.
Since then, life has taken us on a beautiful but challenging journey. We moved from Europe to the U.S. about a year and a half ago, bringing our sweet dog Canela with us. She’s been part of our family since our daughter arrived. We named her Canela for her beautiful brown fur and because my daughter and I both love cinnamon.
Canela and our oldest daughter are almost the same age they’ll both be turning three this summer and they’ve grown up together side by side. Canela has been there for every milestone, every laugh, and every hard day. She’s not just our pet; she’s truly part of our family.
Unfortunately, our situation has changed drastically. After our business went bankrupt, we’ve been struggling financially. We now live in the mountains, doing our best to get by, but money is tight and our legal situation in the U.S. has become very uncertain. We have a court date with immigration in August, and we’ve made the difficult decision to return to Colombia to start over.
The hardest part? We can’t afford the costs to bring Canela with us this time and leaving her behind is simply not an option. We know she wouldn’t be cared for the way we would want, and the thought of separating her from our children is heartbreaking.
We need help covering the following costs to take Canela safely with us:
• Veterinary exam & USDA international health certificate
• Vaccinations and parasite treatments required for Colombia
• USDA APHIS endorsement fees
• Airline transport fees & IATA-approved travel crate
• Import inspection fee upon arrival in Colombia
Estimated total: $ 4400
We are asking for your help any amount will make a difference in helping us keep our family together. Even $5 or $10 brings us closer to making this possible.
If you can’t donate, please consider sharing our story. Your kindness and support mean the world to us during this difficult time.
From the bottom of our hearts thank you for helping Canela come home with us.
With love,
Stefania, Namik, our two little kids, and Canela