Happy Beginnings

Nina and Nicole were the unlikely pair of a purebred Rottweiler and a purebred German Shepherd living together in the jungle overgrowth at "Dead Dog Beach." When Nina and Nicole were discovered, they could barely stand, and both dogs looked like they might have been suffering from elephantiasis. Resident "Dead Dog Beach" dog caretakers Steve McGarva and Sandra Cintron kept Nina and Nicole alive through routine feeding and medication, and kept them away from the other dogs because both needed all their strength for survival. In late October of 2006, Nina and Nicole were rescued from the beach and brought to Dr. Ramos. Nina and Nicole spent about 3 months boarding with Dr. Ramos, rehabilitating from mange, fungus, parasites, starvation, you name it! Miraculously neither dog had heartworm, and when they were ready for adoption, Amigos was lucky to have Mid-Atlantic German Shepherd Rescue (MAGSR) of Baltimore, Maryland, come to their aid. Nina and Nicole were greeted at the airport with handmade blankets, sweaters and tears, and were adopted out shortly after their arrival after receiving much love by MAGSR.

Jess was dumped at "Dead Dog Beach" after having hot oil thrown on him. Resident dog caretaker at the beach, Steve McGarva, aided Jess as best he could by stitching his open wound with a needle and thread - a wound where the oil had penetrated so deeply that bone material was visible. Somehow Jess managed to thrive at the beach despite his circumstance and wound. In early 2006, Jess was rescued from the beach, and the difficulty of placing Jess began. Jess did not particularly show well in the kennel, because he much preferred playing in open space. Jess also had a lot of energy (because he wanted to be with people - always) which made Amigos cautious as to just what stateside shelter we'd send him to. Amigos resigned to plastering Jess's story across the internet in hopes that we'd find him the home of his dreams by individually placing him. Scores of peope were rooting for Jess and posting his story forward. Jess is an extremely loyal dog, and we wanted to find him someone that would be just as loyal to him. After four months with Jess we got our break through a shelter in the Pacific Northwest called Animals In Need who work with rescuers in Puerto Rico. Animals In Need found Jess his forever-family. He didn't even have to go into boarding, his new family picked him up at the airport. Jess is now famous in his community. He attends baseball games, sleeps on the couch, has a cat for a buddy, and recently had his first-ever camping trip. Jess's new guardian Kym says that adopting Jess was the best last minute decision she's ever made, and says she gets 20 emails a day asking how Jess is doing. Amigos is grateful to Kym and her family, and proud of her young children and their embrace of Jess's "star" (scar). Amigos wonders if the faux cheeseburger is still Jess's favorite toy.
Click here to see Jess with his new family!

My wife Mollie refers to Chuck as “The Supervisor”. He oversees everything, and nothing goes on in the house without his approval. When I am home he is never more than a few feet away, it was an instant bond. You are doing a fantastic job and a wonderful thing.
~ Chuck & Bill

Zara was rescued from a sanctuary / hoarding situation in a town just outside the metro area in San Juan. Much attention was brought by the media to this failing sanctuary, and Amigos saw Zara featured on TV. When Amigos stepped in to help the sanctuary by relieving it of some dogs, we also sought out Zara. Zara was one of the many dogs Amigos took in that day and rehomed from the sanctuary. Zara was a special case though - she had one petrified leg. Dr. Ramos agreed to perform the surgery on Zara to relieve her of her petrified leg, and also named her. Zara is now a happy and healthy tripod. Shortly after Zara recovered, she was discovered by a couple in St. Thomas through Petfinder.com. Thanks to Mary Eldergill, her husband Fred and their small plane, Amigos was able to fly Zara to St. Thomas first class to be joined with her forever-guardians Lisa and Chip.

Ursula was rescued from "Dead Dog Beach" and fostered with Steve McGarva before making her way to Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League in New Jersey, and through whom she found her new guardians. Steve recognized that a breed like Ursula's would not survive the harsh conditions of the beach, and took her in the first day she was dropped off at the beach. When Ursula was taken to our Dr. Ramos, he discovered she had a pincho stick (equivalent to a shish kabob skewer) lying horizontally across her throat. Ursula had to be given anaestesia to remove the skewer. Ursula is now happily living in her new home with her new guardians and another Great Dane, and she's come a long way to shake off the shyness that plagued her throughout her foster care.


Photo by Jack Keenan

Joe was adopted by Mary O'Connor and her girls from St. Hubert's North Branch shelter. Joe is now named Cooper so there aren't two Joes in the family. Mary says Cooper's tail never stops wagging, he gets to sleep on the bed and that he has added a lot to all of their lives. Cooper lives with Mary, her daughter, two cats and two rabbits.

Lady was one of the first rescued dogs off "Dead Dog Beach." She was rescued as a 3-4 month old puppy and fostered for a couple months before being sent to Tri-Boro Animal Welfare in New Jersey for adoption. Lady now lives in the loving home of her adopted family, who recently adopted another Puerto Rican dog from Tri-Boro named Sandi to keep Lady company (aka help tire her out.) Look how beautiful Lady is!

Maggie was adopted at the St. Hubert's Barkfest in May of 2007. Maggie was a shy girl, and didn't do much in her kennel at Barkfest but remain absolutely motionless. This young girl sat by Maggie's side for over an hour and later pleaded with her parents to let Maggie come home with them. When the adoption was final, Maggie trotted off alongside her new companion like they'd been together for years.

Chance got his 2nd chance at life anew after being rescued from a cardboard box left on an abandoned property. Chance was too young to eat the food he was left with. Lucky for Chance he had a good set of lungs, otherwise the jogger who scooped him up never would have heard him. Chance was also so full of parasites he almost didn't live. Thanks to Dr. Rafael Ramos, Chance made a full recovery. Chance will make his new home in Boston's North End with a great person/friend by the name of Janine. We are so happy for Chance.

Shell's story is really something. Shell was spotted on the expressway, sitting on a cement ledge, with nowhere to run but on the shoulder of the expressway, or right into traffic. Rescuers Chris and Liz circled back around to her spot after seeing her and found her running on the expressway shoulder, having obviously been hit by a car at some point during her ordeal. It took some doing, but eventually Shell was caught and taken to the vet. The vet suggested Shell be put to sleep because she would require extensive surgery and because of her age (7+). Chris and Liz put off making any decision and showed her xrays to another vet who said he wanted to see her. Shell was brought to the other vet who performed the surgery right away. Shortly after Shell's surgery Chris received a notice from someone who had lost their Yellow Lab. It was Shell. Shell's guardians showed up to the vet's bright and early the next morning to see her. She was still in recovery at the time, but it wasn't long before they were reunited for good and dropped by to have their picture taken by Liz. Shell was really only 3 years old according to her guardians.