While Puerto Rico continues to rebuild the island, a group of young women try to rebuild the lives of those left behind. We’re talking about the growing amount of dogs that are being abandoned after Hurricane Maria.
- BTB Rescue Puerto Rico saves bull dogs, Boston terriers
- Relies on donations to rehabilitate dogs, get them adopted
It’s all done on their free time, as the volunteers either go to school or have full time jobs.
The young women founded BTB Rescue Puerto Rico, an organization that rescues bull dogs and Boston terriers off the streets. Since Hurricane Maria, it’s been non-stop.
“The first couple of months we had to rescue more than 20 dogs,” said Noelia Rodriguez, one of the founders.
They get tips from people around the island through calls or Facebook messages, alerting them of dogs on the street.
“It’s a lot of work, we’re rescuing these pups, rehabilitating them and getting them in shape for adoption,” said Mirnel Muñoz-Rodriguez,a volunteer.
Each of the women we spoke to have three to five dogs living in their homes while they nurture them back to health, sometimes dealing with aggressive dogs who’ve been severely abused.
“These dogs just need love and care. Who knows what they’ve been through on the street and you learn that they’re the sweetest animals you could possible have,” said Muñoz as she snuggled one of her rescues.
The organization doesn’t let just anyone adopt, the families have to go through a vetting process to make sure they’re a good fit for these dogs.
“We follow up with the families and actually had to pull one of our dogs away. We learned that the dog was not being well taken care of due to the lack of resources after the hurricane,” said Muñoz. “Now he’s back with us and getting ready for a new home.”
The organization relies a lot on donations from the community. Many times the dogs have to go through serious medical procedures such as surgeries. They also spay and neuter the dogs prior to giving them up for adoption.
“Here in Puerto Rico, when a breed becomes popular, everyone wants to buy one and then the dogs end up on the street. Folks should really consider adopting,” said Muñoz.
But there are success stories, one out of Central Florida. The Olivieri family traveled from Port St. Lucie to the island to pick up Oreo, a boston terrier who was found in awful shape right after the hurricane.
“I didn’t think twice, we saw him and said we have to get him. He’s now the baby of the house,” said Yulian Olivieri over Skype.
BTB Rescue Puerto Rico has several dogs about to be ready for adoption. They do ask families from out of town fly down and pick them up.