The Dreams Dogs had a great life for a long time at the gate of the Dreams Lagoon apartment complex. They existed (Tontin and Solovina were born there) since the beginning of the construction of the complex.
Unfortunately, as the buildings began to be completed and more and more people moved in, they became less welcome. People began to notice the street dogs who called this complex their home.
The dogs had a nightly ritual–at about 2 in the morning, they would gather, dance around in the street for a bit, then head off for an unknown adventure! Even now, at Karin’s house where Guera is in recovery from her surgery, she awakens at this time, barking and wishing to go out.
These dogs didn’t cause any trouble–in fact, they aided in keeping other street dogs out! Still, there were people who wanted them gone. The guards at the gate, who see everyone in and out, heard grumblings that some people were planning to kill them.
During this time, the newly formed Los Perros Perdidos Foundation was working as swiftly as possible to construct an enclosure within an existing shelter on the outskirts of town, for the Dreams Dogs.
We were not fast enough. In a previous post, I wrote about Tontin being captured and allowed to escape from where he was taken which was the extreme north of Cancun, in the jungle. It took three weeks, but thanks to many posts on Facebook and many concerned people watching for him, he was found, recaptured and is now recovering at our temporary shelter.
Some time after this, Guera, who had a habit of lying near the circular entrance to the complex, was run over. She is an older dog and was not able to get out of the way quickly enough to avoid this tragedy. The person in the car took aim for her and was able to run over her hind leg, breaking the bone in four places.
The guards, who are my eyes and ears at the complex, did not tell me for several days and Guera lay, in terrible pain, with a severely broken leg.
Finally, Pepe arrived and took her to the vet for X-rays, which confirmed that Guera did indeed have a broken leg, requiring surgery and it would cost 12,000 pesos (roughly $600USD). Pepe returned her to the complex where she lay again for a few more days until Karin was able to take her to HER vet and the surgery was performed.
As Karin was picking up Guera, she was approached by a concerned resident, Jessica, of the complex who wanted to help. Jessica spent the next couple of days raising money from other residents for Guera’s surgery!
Karin brought Guera back to her house (where she already has numerous dogs that she has rescued) for her recovery. It will take about two months for Guera to recover fully. She had to have a second surgery to remove some of the metal from her leg as it seemed to be impeding her being able to bend her knee and walk properly.
The jury is still out whether she will fully recover or if she will lose her leg completely, which will require yet another surgery!
The Dreams Dogs are no longer safe there. We are continuing to work on our enclosure. Tontin is recovering nicely from his ordeal and we will bring Guera to reunite with Tontin as soon as she is able.
The bottom line–street dogs are not safe. They face many perils: hunger, disease, danger from people and cars, females giving birth–many of whom die from complications which means their puppies die also from neglect. Once you see this, you cannot un-see it. For me, it has become a compulsion, a mission, a calling to help them.
You can help. There is a donation button on the home page.
