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Thursday 17th May

What is very sad about abandoned dogs is that when they were sweet looking babies they were loved, played with, fed regularly. Then suddenly when they grew up the door was shut in their faces and they were on their own in the street: unloved, unwanted, left to scrounge food from garbage. Street dogs are forced to live the rest of their lives like this... fighting other dogs over a bag of mouldy bread or the contents of a baby's nappy; getting food any way they can; always being yelled at to get away or having stones thrown at them, and they become afraid of humans.

When I bring these poor sick dogs home to the Shack they usually spend the first week hiding behind a door, but within a short time they start to relax. Their personalities revert to being just like 'normal' dogs. They stop fighting over food when they realise that they will be fed regularly twice a day. No longer do they cower at the sight of the broom or run and hide if I throw a ball anywhere near them.  It is truly wonderful to watch the dogs' transformation. Playful, relaxed, fun-loving creatures again, they race round and round the Shack, roll in the long grass, play chasing, act like regular happy dogs.  Which makes me want to rescue ALL the street dogs who have had to learn to ignore their need for love and instead to put all their energy into survival, bring them all home and make them happy again.


Sweetie

Sweetie was one of these abandoned dogs. The first week that I was in Puerto Maldonado I found him living on waste land and he has been with me now for almost 2 years. He is an extraordinary dog in that he senses my feelings and tries to 'put things right'. If the other dogs are sick he stays with them, sleeps by their side. He breaks up fights and keeps control over the younger dogs.  Just yesterday I saw Sweetie in action: one of the young dogs, Machito, escaped when I opened the gate to go to work. Machito ran up and down in front of me, ducking away everytime I tried to grab him and I was getting more and more stressed. Sweetie wandered up to Machito, bowled him over and kept a paw on him until I could pick him up and put him inside the gate! Sweetie was a street dog, he was in the most awful state when I first saw him, and although his health will never be very good due to his hard years he is quite the most intelligent and wonderful dog. He stares into my eyes as if trying to read my mind. I hope he can see there the love that I have for him.

Thursday 10th May

Puerto Maldonado is in the grip of more unrest: the miners'strike is over, but now it's the turn of the teachers. The government has decided to close many country schools as they say there is no money to pay for teachers, and so all the public schools in the Madre de Dios area have closed as a protest against the government. The strike is now in its third week and things are grim. Parents are arriving in Puerto Maldonado, most with babies/small children in tow; they join the teachers and march with banners during the day and sleep on classroom floors at night. They arrive after hours of standing up in cattle trucks and go home at the weekends the same way. The Teachers Union is feeding them twice a day but it is unsure how long this can continue as they are also having to pay the teachers. The market and many shops in town are closed in solidarity with the strike.


Mothers and babies beside a cattle truck

In every school yard in this part of Peru dogs scavenge through rubbish bins and are fed by the children. The dogs live their lives at the schools. The strike has affected the school yard dogs badly; their food source has dried up and many of the dogs are starving. In the school where my friend is a teacher, one of the resident dogs gave birth a week ago to 8 puppies. She has them hidden under some plywood at the back of a garden. With no food in the bins she is starving, and so we are feeding her daily and keeping an eye on the health of her babies. They are truly a small miracle in the midst of political unrest and chaos.


Puppies in the school yard

I would like to thank the very kind and generous people of the UK for their donations through this web page. It is with your help that we can make sure these poor unfortunate dogs are fed regularly and get veterinary care when they need it. Thank you
 

Thursday 3rd May

Part of my work here in Peru is to  talk to people who want their dogs or cats sterilized, I explain about our programme, tell them where to take their animal, at what time, and what to expect with after-care. I even supply a map of where to find Boris the vet.  They listen, nod, agree, smile and then do... nothing. This happens time and time again. I've got to the stage now when I don't bother with all the details: I just say: OK I shall be here at 1pm, I'll take your dog to be sterilized and return her tomorrow. It saves a lot of time, and frustration on my part.



This happened with Inocente, a dog that has taken up residence in the doorway of the Police Station. She was clever as this is no ordinary Police Station: it is specially for women who are victims of domestic violence. Yes, they wanted her sterilized, yes they will take her tomorrow. Always tomorrow. And so I took matters into my own hands and picked up Inocente myself.  BUT! Immediately the Police Chief came forward and ushered Inocente and me to a Police car, and so we drove across town in the back of the car, with a 2-man escort, in uniform and with guns. I was hoping that someone I know would see me!

Not only do they want her sterilized, but also shampooed, treated for fleas, nails cut, the works. AND they have promised to pick her up and take her back to the Station tomorrow, once again in the Police car. It was my first ever ride in a cop car and while it was fun  I kind of hope it was my last.


 

Thursday 26th April

Estrella is my darling miracle girl. She was totally abandoned by her owner:  Kill her! he told Boris the vet, She's too old!

Boris refused  to kill this sweet 8 year old dog whose body is worn out from years and years of having puppies so he called me and of course I couldn't say no, even though we are at bursting point here in the Shack. We discovered that as well as rotting teeth and lice Estrella also had a venereal tumour. During the day before her chemotherapy she spent the whole time jumping at a concrete wall, trying to get back to the family who wanted her dead. Poor Estrella, she was heartbroken to be separated from them.


Estrella is sick

Then she had chemo and the following days were just awful as her temperature soared and she vomited all day and night. She looked miserable. She stopped eating and her eyes sunk into her head. Gradually she stopped vomiting, but after 8 days of not eating a thing she was put on a drip.  What a difference that made! When I brought her home from the vet her tail was wagging and when I presented her with her dinner she ate the lot!!

Estrella has stopped  trying to jump the wall and has joined the other dogs in their play time. She waits at the gate for me to come home and wags her tail happily. Now she just needs to put on all the weight she lost. She and Puppy Face are the oldies here and they sleep together in a corner away from the rowdy younger dogs.



The girl trying to give away the puppies  is a normal sight here in Puerto, and I'm trying to do something about it. So far we have sterilised 62 dogs and still have a long list to go. Unfortunately puppies are bussed in from Cusco and sold in the market, a practise that I want the town council to stop but they are reluctant to as they say that people need the money. With an estimated 5,000 street dogs  roaming the streets and living on garbage I think the council including the Minister of Health is not facing up to their responsiblities to the dogs and to the health of the town in general.

Thursday 19th April

This week has been difficult.  The number of dogs I have with me at the moment is 12, too many for this small house, and as well,  2 of them are very sick. Poor Estrella, who I mentioned last week, has given up the will to live now that she has stopped trying to jump over the wall and return to a home that wants her killed. She won’t eat and won’t even get off her bed despite cuddles and heaps of attention; and little Toro, whose owner adores him, is sick and the owner asked if I could take him until he is well again as they are worried that Toro will pass on some disease to their baby. Toro now has movement in his previously paralysed legs, but his stomach problem has got worse and he isn’t eating either.

On top of all that, Dr Boris the best vet in all Peru went AWOL for 3 days: I had a list of patients for him to treat but his surgery was shut and no-one knew where he was. No reply from his cell phone either. Today I finally tracked him down: he is in hospital and someone there has stolen his cell phone. I'm so relieved to know where he is but also wish he wasn't sick too.

Sunday after work I went up the Tambopata river to a community to check on some dogs there. I love getting the canoe and heading on up this wide and peaceful river with jungle on both sides. The community is small, 32 people all members of an extended family. Once there we had a real Amazon experience: all of a sudden a huge swarm of ants came out of the jungle and made straight for an old and very run-down kitchen. Kids were following, shouting with delight at this strange spectacle. When the ants arrived at the kitchen they disappeared inside and seconds later out ran piles of cockroaches, with the ants giving chase. Ants covered the cockroaches, pinning them down and sucking them dry. Any who managed to escape were flicked back into the swarm of ants by the kids who were now armed with sticks. This spectacle takes place once a year according to the community. Only in the Amazon!

This is the kitchen the ants invaded

Thursday 12th April


This past week I have called The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

Little Torro, the adored puppy of Leo, a young guy who lives with his wife, his brother and his baby in a space smaller than a tiny garage, has had an accident and is paralysed in his back legs. Leo has absolutely no money but is determined that Torro has the best vet care possible. So I am taking Torro for his daily pain relief and injections to help his back. Only time will tell as to what the outcome will be, but this dog is wanted, loved and cared for. His treatment is paid for from donations from generous caring people in the UK, Australia and Canada. That is the Good.


Torro is paralysed

The Bad is dear gentle Estrella (Star) eight years young, whose family don't want an old dog! They took Estrella to Boris the vet and said "Kill her"! Boris refused, so now I have Estrella living with me. She is number 11!  She has a venereal tumour that has to be treated, then she'll be sterilized and she'll be able to grow old with someone who loves her (me). She is a real sweetheart but still has a lost expression in her eyes. I can't blame her. We don't give away our children when they grow up, although I know some people who wish they could, but here people think nothing of putting a dog in the street and closing the door.

The Ugly is very ugly. The poor Mama Dog in the photo below was left in labour too long, her owner didn't bother to go for help, and she died. The puppies had died several days before and had poisoned her. If the owner had thought to call the vet, this would never have happened and this lovely dog would not have suffered an agonizing death. I was present at the autopsy and it was very unpleasant. I admire Boris for being able to do it.


Mama died giving birth
 

Thursday 5th April

I now have a full house, with 10 dogs in my small shack. Each dog has a story, and each story is one of neglect, abandonment, illness and starvation.

This is the story of Pia:

I was in the town market one night and noticed a puppy following people as if she was lost. A little while later as I was leaving the market, there she was again, this mangy little thing curled up on the footpath. I picked her up, along with the fruit and vegetables I'd bought and flagged down a taxi. I was so excited telling the taxi driver what I had found and I asked him to suggest a name for her. He came up with Pia, and it so suited her, a small name for a small puppy.

When I got her home and had a good look at her I felt sick with sorrow that a puppy could be in such an appalling state. She was mangy, starving, dehydrated. She had chewing gum stuck to her back. She was unable to open her eyes.



The next morning the vet prised open one of her eyes as I was unsure that there was actually an eye ball in there, it was so firmly closed.

Pia started her life with me living, eating, sleeping on my small table, not the most hygienic of places but she felt secure there and it gave her a chance to get to know the other dogs without having to be in the thick of them. She quickly gained weight, her mange cleared up and she became sleek and a bit tubby!

Pia today is a darling. She's extremely fast on her feet, in fact she does a little dance sometimes, sort of an imitation of Michael Jackson's moon walk. If any food falls on the floor Pia always gets to it first. She gobbles down her food and I have to hold her or she would rush over and start eating everyone else's.

I hate to think what would have happened to her if we had not found each other. With her eyes so firmly closed of course she couldn't have scavenged for food. She would have starved to death in some corner of the town.


Pia in her new collar

 

Thursday 29th March

When I first came to Puerto Maldonado 2 years ago the road from Cusco was still being built through the jungle. The bus travelled at night, when the road workers had finished for the day. It was a very dangerous journey, especially during the rainy season as we were crossing fast-flowing rivers and making detours into rough-cut jungle tracks.  But less than 4 years ago there were no buses coming here. The journey was by truck and it took around 7 days in the dry season. In the wet season the road was closed. It took a strong person to make the trip.

Then in September the last stretch of the Pan Pacific Highway was finished, linking the east coast of Brasil with the west coast of Peru. This last section was the bridge spanning the Madre de Dios river. It and the new road have changed completely the face and the lives of the people of Puerto Maldonado. There used to be  almost no cars here. All traffic was either motor bikes or tuk tuks, called Motorcars.  Now the streets are jammed with huge 4 wheel drives coming from Brasil. They are huge tanks of vehicles and they travel very fast on streets used to a more slow pace. Pedestrians and dogs who used to amble across the streets now have to run for their lives. There has been an enormous increase in accidents and deaths among the dog population.

One death that affected me deeply was my dear dog Maxine, who was adopted last year and went to live on a chacra (farm). She must have gone walk-about or perhaps she tried to find her way back to us, because she was found dead on the road.  Maxine was a funny girl, she always made me smile with her facial expressions. She was alarmed at the camera and would stare into the lens as if it was going to bite her. She would click her teeth at me if the food was slow being served up.

When I first found Maxine she was living rough, had sores all over her body, and had a flea nest on her back. The fleas had eaten a hole in her back!



Gradually she got better and her true beauty showed: her perfect thick white coat, her strong little body despite signs that she had given birth many times. And so another street dog has departed this life. Maxine is gone but I will never forget her.


 

Thursday 22nd March

The market here in Puerto Maldonado is smack in the middle of town, and it is always crowded with people. It is the best place to buy fruit and vegetables; there is a very smelly meat section, hardware, clothes, shoes, fruit juice stalls, even cell phones and cameras.  There are also about 30 stalls serving lunches.  Because of the likelihood of dogs being able to find food in the market, it is a favourite spot for people to dump their unwanted dogs.

These poor abandonded animals are left to fend for themselves, begging at the meat section, hanging round the lunch stalls, going through the garbage in search of food. They quickly catch mange, get sick, pregnant, and the slower ones starve.  Three of my dogs came from the market: Pia who was covered in mange and chewing gum and couldn't open her eyes; Oscar who was mangy and is unable to use one of his back legs; and baby Blanka who was just too young to survive on her own. She also had mange.

Last week I got a call about a dog there: the caller said the dog appeared to have been burnt and was hairless. I rushed there and found this poor old thing, he hasn't been burnt thank goodness, he just has such bad mange that his skin pigmentation is showing. There is nothing I can do for him except take him food every so often as old dogs do not rehome easily. They suffer from being fenced in and don't like mixing with other younger dogs.  There are many dogs here like this one, dogs that once were someone's sweet puppy and when they grew up were dumped or else wandered off and nobody bothered to look for them.



Doctor Boris is continuing to help us with the Sterilizing Programme. I in turn have been able to help him by buying a special spot-light bulb that recharges itself as it is being used, so that when there is a power cut (as there is at least 4 times a week) he can continue operating. And thanks to donations we are also buying a cat carrying cage, and having a door put on the surgery so animals can't run out onto a very busy road. As happened on Saturday when a naughty dog slipped his collar and ran past us and straight onto the street. Such basic things that a struggling young vet just can't afford.
 

Thursday 15th March

The Sterilizing Programme is now underway, we are so lucky to have found a vet who is clean, caring and insists on silence while he is operating! Believe me, this is very rare. I have been in vet surgeries here in Peru where people come and go, drink, fool round, and play loud music: so loud it was impossible to hear what the vet was saying. All this while  animals are being treated/operated on. The worst example of this complete lack of caring happened on several occasions in one vet's that I no longer use and now urge people not to use either: I had to take a dog to be euthanized due to her having distemper. She was my baby and as I held her and cried a group of youths came in, talking and laughing. They stood with their backs to me, laughing and pushing each other around. Nobody told them to be quiet. In fact, the vet joined in.  And so now I've found Boris and he is a saint in this crazy world of false vets, bad vets, dirty vets, vets in it only for the money.

This week's update from the Shack must now include a tribute to a brave and sweet dog named Rose who died on 13th March. When I first saw Rose in the street I was horrified at the state she was in. She was a walking skeleton, the only remaining fur  was a small strip along her back. She was searching through rubbish for food. I tracked down her family and took over the care of Rose. Everyday she had a high protein meal with vitamin supplements, but she didn't improve and was diagnosed with a haemorrhage in her intestine. Despite Boris the vet's best efforts Rose passed away at home, in her soft clean bed, on the evening of 13th March. There are some dogs that really touch my heart for their sweetness and Rose was one.  The family had a funeral for her, with flowers and candles, the first funeral for a dog that I've ever been to or even heard about in Peru, so I hope that in a small way Rose and I have changed for the better their thinking about dogs.



RIP Rose

 

Thursday 8th March

It has been a crazy week in Puerto Maldonado. All along the banks of the river Madre de Dios are gold mines; thousands of young men, mainly from other areas in Peru, come here and cut tracks through the jungle then set  up camp and mine the banks of the rivers. They cut down trees, pollute the river, don't pay taxes, then when they've made enough money they leave. Periodically the army are called in to bomb the gold mines, after giving the miners 12 hours notice. That's when the miners come to town. They block the streets with rocks and rubbish and stage sit-ins. The town goes into lock-down and the riot police are everywhere. Helicopters buzz over and things get quite tense. The market can't open and so the stall holders, and the shops of course, aren't making any money, which is a tragedy in a hand-to-mouth economy.  For me it means I have to stay away from town, so I've discovered many alternative ways of getting to the dogs on the feeding program. I'm just hoping that I don't run out of dog food before the miners all go home!





Not all my work involves feeding dogs, taking them to the vet, etc. Sometimes I have to do things like crawl under a house and spray for fleas... which is what I was doing 10 seconds before taking this photo; this girl and I crawled under her house, through the rubbish and both of us came out covered in fleas. We couldn't stop laughing as we did a little 'flea dance'.


Here is Rose on her new bedding [donated by Dori Kiss] - the old bedding had to be destroyed due to the flea infestatoin.

Thursday 1st March

Rose is continuing to get her protein-rich meal every day: puppy kibble, an egg, special puppy milk and vitamin powder. She hasn’t started putting on weight yet, but she certainly has more energy. She can actually run a little way without having to rest; she runs towards me if she sees me coming along the street. We have cuddle sessions but her family still won’t touch her; they are scared of catching mange.  I noticed today that Rose has an infected eye and claws.  So many hurdles to overcome before she regains her health.

At the market here in Puerto Maldonado suddenly the fruit stalls have become even more colourful than ever with the harvesting of PIJUAYO, the fruit of a palm tree. It has to be boiled in salted water like you boil potatoes, then peel and eat.  Or it is used to make a thick and fruity jam.  I just love the variety of fruit here, most of which I don’t know the names of and quite a few are only made into drinks. The apples come from Chile, grapes from Argentina, all have much more flavour than fruit in Australian supermarkets, and even though it isn’t so perfect I like a few blemishes, they make it look more real and less like plastic.



 

Thursday 23rd February

I'll be so glad when the rainy season finishes, in a couple of weeks. The back garden is a mud quagmire with part of it underwater, but most of the land near the Tambopata River is the same; people are wading through mud and knee deep water to get to their houses.

This weather has a devastating effect on the health of the dogs.  Mange runs rampant; those horrible little mites seem to love wet, warm weather and the dogs rapidly loose weight as all their energy is used up by the constant scratching, until sores get infected and the dog is in serious danger of septicemia.  Even dogs who have owners are affected as they live in the streets alongside 'street dogs'.  Rose is such a case. I first noticed her on Monday (20th February), hobbling along a street looking for something to eat in the rubbish that is everywhere.   Rose's owner has absolutely no idea how to look after her, and had in fact given up on her. But in his favour, he is delighted that she is now on my feeding programme and I am looking forward to the difference I hope we'll see in a few weeks.


 
Rose lives under the blue tarpaulin.  Today she got some cardboard and a blanket to sleep on to ease her poor bones.

Back in the Shack, our newest arrival, Oscar, is so much better.  He still has a puppy personality and plays with Gracia and baby Blanka as if he is their age. He does have some problems with his back legs: when he walks they are too close together and his hips are very narrow.  The vet said it was due to lack of calcium but I tend to think it could be genetic.  When he has put on some weight I'll take him for an x-ray.  Woofs from the Dogs of Peru.

Thursday 16th February 2012

Well, it has been raining cats and dogs this week. Literally!  As well as heavy tropical rain almost non-stop for 4 days, I also have dog number 9! Poor Oscar, I kept getting phone calls about this sick dog hanging round the market but despite looking for him for days and nights, I never could find him. Until yesterday when Oscar and I got lucky. He is a sweetie, very young, scared of everything especially the broom (how come almost all my dogs are scared silly by the broom? Have they been hit with one in the past?)


Oscar

You can see in the photo that the vet has wrapped tape round his mouth while bathing Oscar; he does this to all dogs as he seems to be scared of them. Soon as I took the photo the tape came off.


Oscar having mange treatment

Yesterday I also had a call about a cat who had been savaged by a dog the night before. The owner did not have a clue what to do, so we took Blanco to the vet where, as soon as he was turned onto his back we could see that his stomach was full of blood. He was bleeding internally. As I was holding him so the vet could prepare the euthanazia injection Blanco suddenly turned round and bit me on the hand, which is now infected.

About 6 a.m. this morning the person who had lent me a lovely wooden table and 3 chairs arrived, needing them back. I have had the use of this furniture for more than a year and had actually forgotten it wasn't mine! So it's off to the market today to look for some replacements. Something in red plastic to brighten up the shack.

Everyday I wake up with absolutely no idea what the day will bring. I try to plan my days the night before but then the phone rings and all is thrown into chaos. We all are just hanging out for the day the rain stops, the clothes and bedding dry out and the floor can be de-mudded. That's life in the jungle.
 

Wednesday 8th February 2012
I have now been back in Peru for 3 weeks after my wonderful Christmas break (thanks to Joe Peacock for caring for my dogs so well, they were spoiled rotten!)  Right from the first day back I've been incredibly busy, I didn't even have time for jet lag.  I'd like to introduce 2 new members of my dog family, firstly little Blanka who is around 3 months old, still with her baby teeth.
 

Blanka

She was living rough near the market; when I saw her she was searching through garbage for food. A woman there   told me Blanka had been hanging round for a few weeks and she begged me to take her. She had a big tummy full of worms and also has mange but not badly: just on her legs,tummy and ears. She has settled in very well with the others and actually has all the dogs running round like puppies!

The second new member is Gracia. Poor Gracia, she is tiny, the size of a Chihuahua but without the Chihuahua features. She had been living on garbage in a flooded and muddy street in an area that is mostly under water every rainy season.   It took 3 days to be able to catch her as she was terrified of humans; thank goodness she's used to me now,and the only thing that scares her now is the broom and the thought that one of the other dogs will steal her food.


Gracia

I have had her at home with me for 1 week  and her infected sores are starting to heal and she has also put on weight. She is an absolutely gorgeous dog with the sweetest personality. We think she is around 5 months old. How could anyone throw these beautiful puppies out to fend for themselves?  That is the fate of so many female dogs here in Peru; they are killed at birth or abandoned when they get near their first heat.


Gracia's sores

Cristina with Angelita