Pepe and Karin

The month of March was moving into the second half and I still had not figured out a situation for the “Dream” dogs. One night, I had walked up to the corner store and came back through the gate to find Pepe. Pepe is a legend. He has been working the neighborhood for years: rounding up stray dogs, seeing that they are fixed, allowing them to recuperate at his home, finally releasing them where he found them. He can’t keep them all, although he would if he could–he’s that kind of guy!–but he does have 11 rescues at his house. I just happened to return from the store and he was there, on his motorcycle, feeding the “Dream” dogs. He had taught himself English (simply from talking to people!) so we were able to converse. He had sterilized the “Dream” dogs years ago. It took him two years to catch Solovina as she was very elusive.

I wasn’t clever enough to snap a photo of Pepe but I did manage to get his phone number, as I realized he would be an invaluable resource, and he was.

I began a dialogue with Pepe, via WhatsApp and he ended up putting me in touch with Karin. Karin also speaks perfect English so we were quickly able to make a plan.

The next day, she picked me up for a tour of the streets of Cancun. It was eye-opening. She took me to the poorer areas of Cancun where one can find easily 15-20 homeless dogs on every block.

I could post dozens of sad photos: scrawny dogs digging through trash, puppies slinking away into the jungle foliage, emaciated dogs with teats hanging down … dogs everywhere! This just reinforced my belief that I need to do something, anything I can to help.

In the next installment, I will talk about the plan Karin and I made which involved me bringing back two of her pups. She is currently caring for 30 dogs at her house and if I take two, that will open up space for more. And there is a never-ending supply of dogs who need help. Stay tuned.