Open Letter from Toni about Canine Amigos
An open letter from Toni Bodon, co-founder and Executive Director of
Stray
from the Heart.
Stray from the Heart's mission of rescue, rehabilitation and adoption of homeless and abused dogs is based on a grass roots, yet universal animal welfare philosophy. As such, the organization's mission extends to any homeless or abused dog regardless of City, State or Country.
Ecuador is a third world country where dogs and cats, and other animals are not only ignored and neglected, they are the victims of some of the worst cases of animal cruelty. Dogs and cats are often hung from trees and used as "Pinatas" and beaten to death. This horrific act does not break any laws or moral ethics in Ecuador. In fact, the official animal control program in Ecuador, is to feed stray dogs and cats poison by inserting inside a piece of raw meat or hot-dog. Their death is slow and agonizingly painful — and it's legal.
Thanks to three courageous woman from Ecuador, Stray
from the Heart learned about the misery of stray dogs
in Ecuador. One of these woman is Linda DelPup, a veterinarian.
Another is Silvia Castillo, an artist;
and the other is a retired 65 year old teacher who
houses and cares for over 100 dogs. Their love for
animals and humble devotion to the rescue and care of
stray dogs, led them to create "Amigo Fiel" ("Loyal
Friend"), a three-member grass roots animal rescue
group based in Quito, the capital of Ecuador.
One of the goals of Amigo Fiel is to educate the public and bring awareness to local politicians about the need for a humane animal care and control program -- e.g., spay/neuter and vaccination clinics, and local animal shelters managed by caring and trained professionals. Unfortunately, after five years of letters, petitions and meetings with local politicians and church representatives, Amigo Fiel realized that the challenges were too enormous to overcome.
In the meantime, the number of strays continued to
grow. They have now rescued 135 dogs with little or no
hope for permanent homes in Ecuador, a country where
dogs are victims of cruelty and neglect. So, Amigo
Fiel decided to pursue an adoption strategy that has
worked well in other countries in the Caribbean,
including Puerto Rico and the Bahamas where the stray
dog population became a crisis in recent years. And
Stray from the Heart has been a major part of this new strategy, finding
homes for 60 "Satos" (strays) from Puerto Rico in the last two years
through "Save a Sato", a non-profit canine rescue group established
about 10 years ago by another three caring and courageous women.
In late 2003, Stray from the Heart began a pilot adoption program with Save a Sato. We agreed to list up to four dogs each month on our website, screen applicants and match each dog with the ideal home. Once approved, the family or individual would come with a SFTH representative to pick up the dog at the airport where the adoption is finalized. We then monitor the adoption for two weeks to make sure all is well, and to provide follow-up support as needed. This program has worked wonderfully — in fact, out of 60 adoptions only three did not work out, yet the family kept the dog until a new home was found.
The PR adoption project has worked well primarily
because the dogs we promote are mostly small (some
medium), young and have a wonderful disposition.
Because most of the dogs from Ecuador are young, small
to medium, and have no major behavioral issues, we
feel confident that the same strategy can be applied
to the Ecuador adoption project — we list the dog on
our website, carefully screen the home and then pick
up the dog at the airport. This avoids boarding
expenses, and the stress and confusion sometimes
caused by the transition from foster care to a
permanent home.
Please donate a plane ticket or a crate to help get dogs like Canelita to the US.
Here on the "Canine Amigos from Ecuador" site will list the dogs, request for donations and sponsors, as well as volunteers to help with the coordination and implementation of this two-year project. The immediate goal is to find homes for 50 dogs each year for the next two years. Once we have reduced the number of strays cared for by Amigo Fiel, we will continue the program at a much smaller scale — e.g., 12 dogs each year. More importantly, SFTH will continue to help reduce the overpopulation of homeless and abused dogs in Quito, Ecuador by raising funds to pay for the spaying/neutering and vaccination. But these goals cannot be achieved without the support and commitment of caring individuals — even if just a few.
Please join us in this humble, caring mission of hope on behalf of hundreds of innocent and silent voices in a nearby country. They have no one else, and really need our help.
Love,
Toni Bodon
Executive Director
Stray from the Heart
Find out more about Toni and Stray from the Heart.
