Family Pets Struggle to Survive On the Streets of Venezuela
Having a family pet in Venezuela is outrageously expensive. Not only has dog food become an expensive expense but the additional costs of pet care are simply out of reach for most.
Vaccinations, tick & flea-treatments, spay and neutering surgeries, pet grooming, and disease prevention now cost more than middle-class families can afford. The result is a record number of family pets are being dropped off at shelters or simply abandoned in the streets where they have little hope of ever finding their way back home.
3 Million Stray Dogs Roaming the Streets of Venezuela
According to a nonprofit animal rights group called Protectionist Volunteers, there are currently more than 3 million stray dogs roaming the streets of Venezuela. It would cost about $2 million dollars a day just to feed that many dogs twice a day. But that wouldn’t solve the problem. The only way even a small number of these innocent animals are going to get the food and care they need is through humanitarian aid from donors like you.
Providing Food & Medicine to SAI Animal Sanctuary & 8-Animal Shelters
With your help, South American Initiative is able to provide food and medical care to abandoned pets, mostly dogs and cats, at eight animal shelters in Venezuela, plus the pets in our own animal sanctuary.
We Find Families for These Shelter Dogs
Dogs that are starving and need medical care are nursed back to health at these shelters so they become adoptable by responsible families who can afford to take care of them. Healthy abandoned pets are put up for adoption immediately, but sometimes it takes time to find the right pet for the right family.
SAI Plans To Double the Number of Dogs it Cares for In 2020
Thanks to our generous donors, SAI is now taking care of 204 dogs, and 15 cats (as of this writing) with a plan to more than double that number by year-end. To do this SAI is constructing a new animal shelter.
This means that we are supplying over 400 meals per day for shelter dogs. Of the 204 dogs, 25 are classified as “sick” by our Veterinarian. We are also giving them the shots and medications they need to stay healthy so there is no danger of transmitting diseases to humans.
We anticipate taking in an additional 25-30 abandoned dogs and cats per month when our new facility is completed. This means that by the end of the year we will be near capacity caring for an additional 200-300 dogs and cats. This will more than double the number of abandoned pets we currently support. We have the veterinarian staff and volunteers that make it possible to care for these animals.
What kind of Care Do These Dogs & Cats Receive?
When a dog or cat is brought in to an SAI supported shelter, we provide the following:
· Flea Collars
· Deworming treatments
· Antibiotics
· Grooming
· Core vaccinations to include distemper, parvovirus, and rabies.
· Neutering/spaying surgical procedures
On top of that, we give each pet two nutritious meals a day and enough love and attention to keep them emotionally healthy, and ready to be adopted by a loving family.
Dogs Want to Love — and Be Loved
The essential thing about dogs is that they need and want to be with people. They want us to show them the way, and in return, they will naturally give us undying loyalty and love. The relationship between dogs and humans started over 14,000 years ago. Perhaps that is why dogs are known as our best friends.
Dogs want warm, personal relationships — to love and be loved. We give the dogs we care for at our SAI the love and attention they need in supported shelters. Your donations and support make this possible. Thank you!
References
https://www.thailandtatler.com/life/what-makes-dogs-so-special-science-says-love
Loving Shelter Dog Says, "Please Adopt Me!"
