06/07/2020
Panama
Started May 8 they were looking for her puppies, she had given birth but nobody knew where or exactly how old they were. I responded asking if anyone had found her puppies yet and if she still needed a home. Marcela responded that she would get back to me the next day (this conversation will be in the pictures).
I sent a picture of Panama to a friend of mine in town who said he would look for her and that he would call me if he found her. On May 11/20 he calls and said he found her and would bring her out to us. A local man walking by overheard the conversation. He then approached our friend and said that he was the owner of the dog (this is common practice here to make money). I asked our friend to call right away and I spoke to the “owner” who knew absolutely nothing about this dog when asked questions. Regardless the dog had been sleeping every night on the streets. He said he would sell her to us, we offered him $20 USD (really just to avoid problems). He said he wanted more so we told him to “f**k off”.
That evening I explained the situation to Marcela who originally placed the add, I was furious. Another gentleman that works at the grocery store helps by trying to feed the street dogs. I had also been in contact with him about trying to help. I received a message back from Marcela saying she spoke to the man at the grocery store and the two dogs mom and baby (who we will talk about shortly) are always hanging around the grocery store he works at. I was told that if I came into town the next day to get the dogs and the jackass who was claiming them as his own tried to start anything, that the people who worked at the grocery store would have my back. Keep in mind mind I would have to do this alone at this point because of certain quarantine rules. So in town the next day after we had no luck finding them we were loading up the boat with our groceries when all of a sudden our friend said “I will be right back”, about 2 minutes later he comes running down the dock carrying the dog. Apparently he saw her in the middle of town and was running down the streets carrying Panama in his arms back to the dock LMFAO!! So we bring her home and give her a nice bath but unfortunately you could tell she was sad. The baby (Saigon) hadn’t been found yet and really since they weren’t found together we assumed that they were close to each other, but not THAT close. On May 14/20 we get a call from our friend saying he found her (Saigon), we asked if he could bring her out right away and they showed up at our dock 20 minutes later. Panama at the time was laying up by the house and Saigon was sitting in the bottom of the boat. So when we called Panama over , at first they didn’t see each other but once they did both of them were literally hopping for joy. Saigon couldn’t get out of the boat fast enough, they were so happy to see each other. The whole thing literally brought tears to our eyes and if there was ever i time we should of had our camera, that was it. Our boat driver who is a big tough burley guy that never really shows any emotion was actually tearing up.
This is where the stories mesh. Saigon is like a little deer, she hops around happily all day!! She is very loving and cuddly. Yes she chews up a lot of things she shouldn’t...like the one pair of shoes I have here, she is still greatly loved!
Panama is the quieter and way more laid back of the two. It’s been so nice watching Panama teaching Saigon and then play fighting together. Since the ocean is right here they did get swimming lessons but we have decided against it in the future, since they had mentioned they weren’t impressed lol.
Now when the option of adopting a dog was just an idea, we looking for something that was friendly, gentle, loving but protective as well. They were so amazing snugly, loving and affectionate that the concern was very much that they may have been too nice. Well we’re we ever proven wrong. A neighbour they hadn’t met yet tried to come up the ladder out of the water on our deck, they went into immediate defensive mode. You know how in movies when wolves surround a victim and they are growling and have their teeth exposed and look scary as all hell...it was just like that! The neighbour who had been in the Brazilian military was even taken a back! Good job girls :).
They have been with us here for 2 months now and their progress is amazing. They have gained back so much weight, Panama isn’t pregnant again (this would have happened without intervention). We had heard all but 1 of her babies, which is Saigon had passed away. The two of them lie on their back when resting to show they are not fearful of their environment. You can tell how relaxed they are not having to fight for food. They just feel loved and safe :). They will both be getting spayed and vaccinated this week, since we are getting ready to return to Costa Rica once the borders open. This in itself will be a huge adventure but more on that later :).
Bottom line help when you can, remember that adopting rather than buying can be much more rewarding for both the dog and the owner. The gratitude they show is amazing, you are literally saving an animals life in this area. Also you don’t always have to adopt puppies, this can actually be easier as far as training and more fun. Yes humans are so so important through this crisis but so are the animals. One of the reasons for the influx of homeless dogs is that this is an island, it’s completely tourist dependent. There is simply no money here without tourists. A lot of people have left the island to the mainland leaving behind the animals to fend for themselves. Unfortunately sometimes the people are having to make the voice between feeding their dog or their family. Expats have also left the island to go back to their home countries leaving behind their pets as well. The situation is bound to only get worse once flights open and any remaining expats or stuck tourists leave, leaving behind more animals with less people to help take care of them. Unfortunately most of the people who have remained and are trying to help don’t have the money to do so. The situation is exactly the same just on the other side of the Panamanian border in Costa Rica. We need help of any kind at all, even $3 makes a huge difference if enough people help. We are asking for the help so we can save as many of these poor animals as we can, unfortunately without help some of them will die needlessly and painfully.
You can donate at https://www.gofundme.com/f/akashasanctuary?sharetype=teams&member=4962818&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&pc_code=ot_co_dashboard_a&rcid=6a952020c4354eb78d843e98b9a72360
