Belizean Dog Rescue Project

Can a dog have an American Dream too? For street dogs from Cayo, a region of Belize without an animal shelter, the only hope of finding a good home is to be flown to the US. Here the government's method of handling strays is to periodically poison them, causing a slow and painful death. Street dogs also live under the constant stress of being attacked by other dogs, being unable to find regular food and water, and falling ill.

Copper's Dream Rescue (a CA-based non-profit) is teaming up with local volunteers to identify strays that would do well in homes, screen and treat them for medical issues, and then fly them to the US where the unthinkable will finally be possible - they will be united with a family that gives them a safe and loving place to call home. 


Xuno
Xuno is a 5 to 7 year old shepherd-pointer mix rescued on one of the busiest roads in San Ignacio, Joseph Andrews Dr. He was bleeding, starving, emaciated, and sick. He was so disoriented that he would wander in front of trucks, constantly stopping traffic. A volunteer in Belize took him in, brought him to the vet, and nursed him back to health over the past two months. Now he's like a new dog, grown a thick shiny coat of fur, and ready to meet his family.  But please help him get to California, where he has a chance at adoption. He has so much love and devotion to give to his new family.

Una
Not many dogs have suffered the way Una has. Her owners let her run in the streets until she was hit by a car and lost her right eye. Miraculously Una survived but still in the streets she was subjected to having litter after litter of puppies every time she went into heat. She was not fed regularly and forced to forage at night for enough nutrition to nurse her puppies. But despite her best efforts, there would always be some puppies that didn't make it. By the time our volunteer noticed her, she had become a doomed dog, having caught TVT, a sexually transmitted tumor that grows until it becomes a visible mass on the genitals. TVT is typically fatal without treatment and once the tumors begin to erode, they are like having open wounds on the body. Most dogs diagnosed with TVT in Belize are immediately put down, even though it is easily curable because there are no funds to treat them. But when Una's last puppy had been weaned, Copper's Dream stepped in to stop her scheduled euthanasia. Something about the extent of this poor girl's suffering touched our hearts, and we weren't ready to let her go. Teaming up with Saga Humane Society, Copper's Dream was able to coordinate Una's transport hundreds of miles away by land and boat to San Pedro, Ambergris Caye. Here Una was able to begin her medical treatment and to discover what it is like to live in the loving home of her foster family.

Can you please help Xuno and Una (and several dogs rescued from Cayo streets) get to safety in California over the next two months (when we have volunteers willing to help with the transfer process)? These dogs will have so much love to give to their new families once they're adopted out in CA.  The raised money from this campaign will be used to defray the costs of veterinary visits, crates, custom fees, and plane tickets, and transportation from the airport to a foster home. Your financial help would mean the world to these dogs; thank you!

(You can find more photos and videos of these dogs on our rescue's website: http://www.coppersdream.org/belize-dogs.html)