romeo

Male - Mixed Breed

On January 3rd, we were contacted by Nayarit Animal Welfare (Medio Ambiente) asking if we could accept two dogs they had recently rescued. As many of you know, we don’t have limitless space, steady funding, or ongoing government support—but we said yes.

Romeo and Juliet were reported by a concerned citizen in San Vicente, who noticed they had been abandoned inside a vacant house. Not only were they left behind, but they were chained up; short chains, no food, no water and little protection from the elements. To make matters worse, Romeo had a lock on his chain. If you look closely at the photos, you can see it.

The report was made to the newly formed Nayarit Green Patrol. While they are law enforcement, they do not have the authority to enter private property. The case was escalated through the proper legal channels and a judge in Nayarit approved entry into the abandoned residence.

Romeo and Juliet were rescued.

However, Nayarit does not have a municipal shelter in the Bay of Banderas, leaving authorities with nowhere to take seized dogs. That’s when we were contacted.

Both dogs arrived terrified. They had ticks, are underweight and suffered skin irritation from the chains. Juliet clearly has been a mom. They will both need full veterinary care. After a few days of decompression in kennels, they are now out with other dogs and are doing well with us.

We can’t imagine what they endured being chained, alone and forgotten. We are incredibly grateful to the person who noticed them and took action by reporting the situation. Sadly, the individual responsible will face no penalties—Mexico is not there yet. Still, with this judge’s ruling, we are hopeful that change is slowly happening and that animals are beginning to receive the protection they deserve.

We’ll take—and push forward—any progress we can get.