Puerto Rico Puppies

Over the summer, I was part of a group of students from Hartford High School, Sharon Academy, and Woodstock Union High School who had the opportunity to go to Rincon, Puerto Rico. We went to help save some of the dogs abandoned after last year’s hurricane and to rebuild an animal shelter with the organization SurfinSato.

When we arrived at the villa in Puerto Rico, there were some workers there starting construction on one of the kennels we planned to help build. It was mainly concrete work, so there wasn’t much we could do except dig and help mix the concrete. Still, we did as much as we could during the week. The original plan was to build two shelters, one for the villa we were staying at, and another for a woman who took in stray dogs.

The first full day we were there, we went to pick up the first two puppies. The dogs’ names were Annabeth and Leo. Only a few people went to get the dogs, but all of us were able to go back to the shelter to meet the other dogs that were being taken care of there. We also had the opportunity to hear the owner’s story about the hurricanes and what his mission is about.

Through the week, we got to hear some more stories of the tragedies and the damages done to homes and businesses of different people. It was awful hearing about the different ways the damages affected people and the animals on the island. They lost homes and businesses, and most street lights are still not working. There are dozens of stray horses wandering the streets; they are so thin you can see their ribs.

We were able to go to a sanctuary for stray dogs and cats. As we were inside looking at the dogs, a car came in. One of the workers went to see why, while we moved on. She came back a little while later, holding a puppy and crying. She told us that the dog had just been found in the middle of the road. She gave the dog to me, and I went to see Aimee Goodwin - the organizer of the trip - and told her what happened.

Seeing the lady crying really showed us how real this was. It showed us what these women were trying to do, and how bad the situation really was. This was a woman who saw this animals in distress all the time, and she was still upset seeing this dog. She was heartbroken because they didn’t have room for the animal, and because the dog was in such poor condition.

The dog was so thin he was scared and shaking. The women at the sanctuary told us to take him since they believed it to be fate. We wanted to, but we also had no idea what shots or diseases the dog had. In the end we took the dog, but we had to use the rest of our money to get the dog quarantined and make sure he had the proper shots, so we weren’t able to build the second kennel; however, we were able to clean up some of the damage.

Because we weren’t able to build the kennel, we weren’t as busy as we wanted to be. We had to replan over half of our week, and we spent a lot of time asking people about what their experiences were like with the hurricanes. We also were able to go to a couple beaches to relax and enjoy the week. Aimee told us that the organization is going to build the second kennel on their next trip to Puerto Rico, when they have more money and can have the time to build it.

To me, the week wasn’t just about having fun and playing with puppies. It was about creating new experiences, and going out of my comfort zone to put myself out there and not be tied down by my anxiety.

Overall, the week was an amazing success. Yes we were only able to build one kennel, but we rescued and brought back nine puppies. That is the most the organization has ever been able to bring back. The puppies are now in New England with either their foster homes, or their new forever homes.

Chloe McKaig (WUHS, grade 10) holds a rescued puppy.