Los Perros Perdidos Foundation, a U.S.-based, tax-exempt nonprofit organization, partners with Paws in Action Cancun in getting the dogs off the streets.
Karin, founder of Paws in Action Cancun, gathers the lucky ones (we wish we could save them all!) and brings them to her shelter. She chooses dogs in several ways:
- By responding to calls from the public for help with dogs who are abused
- By responding to calls from the public regarding puppies born in their neighborhoods or by their businesses
- By trolling the streets, looking for dogs who are approachable
- By coordinating with the municipal shelter for dogs they have captured
- By capturing females in heat being hounded by restless males
First the dogs are given a bath. Many of the dogs are covered in fleas and ticks so they are immediately deloused and dewormed.
If the dog needs medical attention, it is taken to the vet for testing, medications, spay/neuter or other necessary procedures for broken legs or open wounds.
The dog is fed plentiful food and in extreme cases of malnourishment, liver or poultry is added to its diet along with supplements.
The dog begins to regain its strength and eventually begins to explore its surroundings–getting to know the other dogs, sniffing about the gardens, learning to greet the various people who come by and so on.
Once a dog attains full health, socialization and obedience training begins. It may takes months or even years before a dog is deemed “ready for adoption.”
Karin attends regular adoption events, posts on social media groups in Cancun and surrounding areas and places as many dogs as she can where she lives.
A few lucky dogs are chosen to come to Lake Tahoe in the U.S. This is a process:
- Volunteers are found to fly with the dogs (each person can only bring two dogs)
- Flights are booked direct from Cancun to San Francisco
- A hotel room is booked in San Francisco for the volunteers, the dogs and Toree, who drives from Lake Tahoe to pick everybody up
- They all stay the night in San Francisco. In the morning, the volunteers help Toree to walk and load the the dogs into the car. They then drive the four hours to Lake Tahoe where the dogs begin their new lives
Once in Tahoe, Toree begins teaching the dogs basic manners of living in a house (in Cancun, they typically live outside in the gardens). They sleep in crates. They are exposed to cats and new people. They go on walks in the forest both on leash and off.
During this time, Toree is busily taking photos and videos of the dogs, creating social media posts, uploading the dogs to the adoption platforms and putting together promo videos to show the world how incredible these dogs are.
People begin to call in response to the posts.
Los Perros Perdidos Foundation has a rigorous adoption process:
- The adoption application
- The phone interview
- Adoption fee (typically $600 to help cover our costs)
- We require videos of the family’s home and yard
- Once suitability has been determined, the family is invited up to Tahoe to meet the dog
- If everything aligns–the dog goes home with its new family
- We also require updates: testimonials, photos and videos so we can see that the dog is adapting
We have had a couple of failed adoptions, for one reason or another, and we always take the dog back and begin again to find the perfect forever home.
It’s A LOT of work and of course, for us, it’s a labor of love. Nothing warms our hearts more than seeing these dogs, pulled from the streets in varying conditions, blossom with the love, security and joy they find in their new lives in Tahoe and the surrounding areas.
We LOVE what we do and we would love for you to join us. Please contact us if you can donate, adopt, foster, help us with social media–we will find something for you to do. You will be paid in spades…of love from the dogs. It’s totally worth it.
email: volunteer@losperrosperdidos.com
call: Toree in the US +1 775.772.9452, Karin in Cancun +52 998 845 2306
