What's Happening!!

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Amigos de los Animales

What's Happening at ADLA!!!

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Meet Some of our

Animal Rescue Heroes....

Dra. Katia Esteves...

Carolina (L) Dra. Esteves (R)

Edith at the reception desk

Our Dr. Katia Esteves and her wonderful staff have provided us rescuers with her loving care for our rescued pets at a rescuers discount with low cost sterilizations. She is a humane person and rescuer who believes in helping the terrible stray situation in Puerto Rico.

Please help us pay down our more than $2000 vet bill with Dr. Esteves. She can't accept credit cards over the phone but you can PayPal at:

hospitaliturregui@hotmail.com

Whether you prefer to send a check directly to her office at: Hospital Veterinaria Iturregui, Calle Kurices # 846, San Juan, PR 00924 or you donate to our vet bill through paypal, please write in the memo section that you are donating to help pay down Amigos de los Animales' vet bill. Dr. Esteve's phone number is 787-768-1212 and she is a truly wonderful vet. Thanks for helping Amigos de los Animales save lives!!

Dr. Carlos Mongil

Dr. Mongil is not only one of the sweetest people around but he IS the master animal surgeon on the island. His hospital is considered the state of the art animal hospital in Puerto Rico and he is attracting an arsenal of excellent specialists to work in his growing practice. This man operated Cindy 3 times to help her walk again. I was so desperate not to euthanize this gorgeous loving girl and he made it possible to keep her alive. Dr. Mongil gave us a HUGE discount and gave us time to pay the balance. He was moved by Cindy's sweet attitude even through her incredible pain, and the prognosis was very good since Cinderella was only 9 or 10 months old.......

In August, when Barbara and I found her on the beach in Piñones, Cinderella was stuck in the sand and soaking wet from all the rain. She had been left to die of starvation and pain as just 10 feet away, a picnicing family turned a deaf ear so as not to "get involved". When Barbara and I saw her, she had a sweet smile on her face and seemed to be pleading for help. The picnicers said that she was perfectly fine on Friday but that a car hit her on the weekend. This was already Monday afternoon and who knows how long Cinderella had been stuck in the sand in terrible thunderstorms. Her shaking body and smiling face were pitiful as we picked her up and took her to the car.

Dr. Esteves took xrays and told us that Dr. Mongil was the person to see and she immediately called him and got us an appointment. Thanks to all the wonderful people who saw Cindy's plight in FaceBook, donations large and small came in and Cindy was given the choice of life! Tony Boudon, president of the NY based rescue org

'Stray From The Heart' donated a large chunk of the $3327 and friends, family and animal lovers from all over the US donated to save Cinderella. My sister rescuer and partner in crime, Susy Palou who is on the board of directors of 'El Faro de los Animales', lent us the first $2000 so Cindy could be operated immediately. Wonderful folks donated $5, $10 and more to make sure that Cinderella got her operations. You can see the video of Cinderella taking her first steps if you do a FaceBook search using the words: "Cindy is walking!!"

Cinderella is SUCH a joy!! She sleeps in my bedroom at night with my other 7. Thank you all for your love of animals and for saving my Cindy's life. I have decided to keep Cinderella as my own and hopefully she will become a therapy dog soon.

I would also like to thank our dear friend Dr. Tony DeCarlo CEO of the RedBank Animal Hospital in NJ for his offer to help pay for Cindy's treatments. Dr. DeCarlo is very involved in our efforts to help the stray animals in PR and we love you Dr. DeCarlo!! And thanks to beautiful Maryann Small for always being such a catalist for the good!!

And I truly love and appreciate our very own Susan Soltero who is the UniVision meteorologist and reporter who has her own show "Susan y Su Ambiente" (Susan and Her Environment). Susan is a certified Animal Control officer/Cruelty Investigator and instructor for our course. She told Cinderella's story on her show and donations came! Susan comes in a small package but this media dynamite always uses her voice to help the voiceless and serves as a powerful messenger for change! She is a serious force to be dealt with!!

If you would like to donate to the "Cindy Fund" we are dedicating an account to be able to help other animals with severe physical challenges. You can make a PayPal donation by clicking on the "Donate" button at our website:

www. amigosdelosanimalespr.org

Volunteers Needed!!

If you would like to volunteer at our shelter, we need your help! We have many daily and weekly pet responsibilities that will help socialize our babies. It certainly isn't glamorous work but it's very needed and will help on many levels. If your children's school has community service requirements please contact us if you would like information on how your kids can participate!

Kids from St. Johns Schoolvolunteering on Saturdays

What used to be my carport, is now where the doglets sleep at night. The "kids" are crate trained, and they feel safe, dry and clean. Often each one just goes right into his/her crate when I open each door and say "It's time to go to bed". They are great loving pets!

Dear Amigos de los Animales:

Some really good things are happening in the rescue movement here in Puerto Rico. I've seen new organizations step up to the plate with educational and mass sterilization campaines. I personally receive at least 20 calls per day from people who have picked up strays and can not keep them but don't want them to be euthanized. Many of these same folks have been willing to take their rescues to the vets office and have taken responsability in fostering them after they have been vetted and sterilized. Imagine that with more than 200,000 stray dogs alone on the streets, beaches and garbage dumps of our beautiful island, this place is hell for them. But now some people are getting informed and that is a step in the right direction to aleviating their suffering.

This past August, we gave our 4th Animal Control Officer / Cruelty Investigator certification course since January 2010. It was hectic but very successful. Career Development Institute president John Saccent flew instructors Tim Vazquez and Michael Melchione in to give their sections and this course, we had students who from Cuba and Santo Domingo. Everyone was certified by that Saturday graduation. As of this last course in August, there are 204 certified ACO/CIs working cases here on the island. This course has been very successful in opening the eyes of the public and the government to the animal cruelty and neglect occurring on our island on a regular basis. God willing, we intend to continue this course for many years to come.

We are now accomodating 58 dogs at our shelter (my home) in Piñones. As has been the case before, we have a huge debt with our vet, Dr. Esteves and we are low on food and provisions for the dogs. We are in desperate need of medications and we are very low on funds. Won't you please rescue along with us through your donations? Every penny big and small will go to the animals to provide them with whatever they need to get better. We are also searching for folks in Puerto Rico who wish to help us foster animals while they are in the rehabilitation process. If you, can foster or volunteer in some way, please feel free to call me at 787-313-5653 or drop me a line: amigosdelosanimalespr@mail.com .

In this newsletter I'll tell you about a few of our rescued "kids" and share their stories. Most of them here are ready and waiting for their forever families to adopt them so whether you are on island or off, if you would like to adopt one of these special treasures, please write or call me and I'll show you how. You can see many more at: http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/PR17.html

Please read on....and thanks for reading!!

Adri

Adrienne Galler Lastra

President / Executive Director

Amigos de los Animales

Voice for Abused and Abandonded Animales

HC 1, Box 7622

Loiza, PR 00772-9654

787-313-5653

amigosdelosanimalespr@mail.com

www.amigosdelosanimalespr.org

Salvador is one of the reasons I joined Amigos de los Animales. I found him as a 2 week old pup stuffed inside a plastic bag gasping for air. The bag was intended to be his grave. I bottle fed him and named him Salvador because it means Savior in Spanish; he saved me and put me on the track to what was to be my life's mission of rescueing those without a voice. Salva has been with me for 7 yrs now and I adore him.

Adoptable Tale Waggers:

All animals in our No-Kill shelter are fully rehabilitated, vaccinated and sterilized before putting them up for adoption. So every pet who comes to you is healthy, happy and sociable. If you would like to foster or adopt one of our "kids" drop us a line and let us know that you saw our newsletter.

Lucero is the little girl rescued off the beach in Dorado by a concerned famiy. We took in this tiny girl and got her healthy. She weighs 12 lbs. and is a precious loving 1 yr. old waiting for her forever home. She is great with kids!

3 yr. old Lola was in the bushes of a housing complex. She had 7 newborn pups which I scooped up and took right to Dr. Esteves office. She kept them till we could vaccinate the pups and sterilize momma. Lolita weighs 20 lbs. and she's a wonderful loving pet.

Tiny fun loving sisters Maya (9 lbs.) and Mia (10 lbs.) are the two 7 month old pups we rescued from the parking lot of Walmart. These little pups are safe now and have become hilarious, adorable, playful girls. We hope you will adopt them home together:)

If you'd like to see our many adoptable pets, please click on our PetFinders site at: http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/PR17.html

Please friends, We are in dire need of your help to buy food, pay for medical bills and buy medications. We are not employees but volunteers. We have lots of rescued pets in different stages of rehab but most are ready for adoption. Many have been here for months and even years waiting for adoption since we are a "No-Kill" shelter - costs are high. Will you help support Amigos de los Animales so we can continue to make a difference in the lives of countless stray animals? Send your donation no matter how big or small, because it will always be a huge help for our rescued "kids".

Amigos de los Animales

HC 1, Box 7622

Loiza, Puerto Rico 00772.

amigosdelosanimalespr@mail.com.

You may also donate through the PayPal "Donate" buttons on our website at www.amigosdelosanimalespr.org

GOOD NEWS:

seve

Einstein was found severly underweight with a broken leg resting in a neighbor's yard. It seems to us that his owner just opened the door and said, "Go-you are too expensive for me to care for". This is typical here on our tropical island "paradise". But it is truly hell for so many strays dumped for lack of caring. This lovely giant Great Dane is at our shelter and being monitored by Dr. Mongil. Within 2 months we should know how to proceed with his break. The neighbors who found him are being diligent in paying for his treatment and also donating money for his food. I thought I might keep him since he has a break but after a few weeks here, I believe he needs a good home where he can have all the attention he needs. Although Danes are giants, they are generally fregile, loving creatures who need lots of love and attention. He should not be a yard dog although he is very sociable. He needs to be in a home with 2 or 3 other dogs and get lots of belly rubs and treats. He is a love!

We need:

!!!!! A VAN OR SUV IN WORKING ORDER !!!!!

If you have a van in good working condition that you would like to donate, we can give you a receipt for it's present value. Since we are a 501c(3) non-profit organization, your vehicle donation to ADLA will allow you the deduction on your income tax.

We are desperate for dependable transportation to get the animals to and from vets and airports etc., since my 2000 Ford Windstar has nearly two hundred thousands miles on it and is dying a very costly death. Last month it was the fuel pump for $400 and now the air conditioning is costing $600! The windows don't open because the motors are burned out and they will cost between $400 - $500 to fix!! Many of you know that my only income is from playing music some nights since I work with the animals 24/7 as a volunteer. I can not afford to purchase an auto in good working condition in my wildest dreams so I am imploring anyone who reads this and has a working VAN or SUV that you no longer use, to PLEASE donate it to help us PLEASE!! My Windstar is our only source of transportation to move our animals to and from the vet and we have no other options. This is our mission and I hope you will help me continue to dedicate the time and energy required to continue running it!

Amigos NEEDS List:

If you or anyone you know would like to donate something other than money to help the animals, here is a list of things we truly need and use at our shelter on a daily basis...

** Bleach - 30 - 50 gallons per month.

** Scented cleansers and Odorban

** Newspaper - We use large quantities

** Old Towels & Bedclothes

** Canned & Dry Food

** Frontline Ampules any size

** Taktic - Amitraz

** Promeris any size

** Paramite Dip

** Mitaban Dip

** Lime Sulfur Dip

** Flea & Tick Shampoos