Peru’s forlorn pups find new homes
Bright Eyes Dog Rescue gives homeless canines new leash on life
The streets are no place for a dog — but unfortunately, that’s how many Peruvian canines live.
Thanks to Paulette Riou, Peggy Martin-McGuire and Bright Eyes Dog Rescue, some distressed Peruvian pups might find the loving home they’ve never had.
The Regina residents — both foster parents for rescue dogs at Bright Eyes — adopted two furry friends from Peru after travelling there in February. But, now the women are raising money to bring a few more to Regina.
“Its not like we want to start importing dogs on a large scale. We just figure that if we could find the resources and if people are interested, then we could probably find homes for the occasional one that comes through,” said Martin McGuire.
Originally, the women travelled to Peru to volunteer at a monkey sanctuary in the rain forest.
Unable to reach “monkey island” by vehicle, the two travelled by boat and plane from Iquitos — the capital city of Peru’s Maynas Province and Loreto Region. They were shocked to see how many dogs lived on the streets.
What started out as a casual walk through Iquitos soon turned into temporary heartbreak. Riou walked past a small terrier-like dog, infected with sarcoptic mange — a highly contagious skin disease found in dogs.
“I fed her a treat and walked away. I actually walked away. And the next morning I woke up and had to go back to find her,” said Riou, her head in her hands.
The owner of the hotel where they stayed — who coincidentally ran an animal rescue shelter — heard the story and took Riou on the back of her motorcycle to rescue the pup.
Endearingly named Monica after the hotel owner, the terrier made the trip back to Canada and finally had a home.
Martin-McGuire followed suit. She rescued a homeless Peruvian Hairless dog named Chola. However, the bald, black pup needed some TLC before she could come home.
“We don’t want to bring anything back to possibly harm any other dogs,” she said. After about two months of precautionary treatments in Peru — including vaccinations and spaying — Chola came home to Canada.
Although Peru enacted a wild and domestic animal protection law in November, that didn’t solve any problems for homeless dogs.
Riou said it costs about $1,500 for necessary treatment and airfare, but she’s set on “giving a life” to a few more dogs. She’s currently paying half of treatment costs for a dog in Peru named Rico. He was found malnourished with sarcoptic mange — so badly he lost almost all his fur.
Riou and Martin-McGuire set up a funding page for Rico’s journey — you can donate by selecting Rico from Peru in the drop down menu.
“We just hope there’s other likeminded people out there, like us,” said Martin-McGuire.
Once he’s healthy enough — and funds suffice — he’ll be transported to Regina. From there, Bright Eyes Dog Rescue hopes to find him a home.
“Rico is doing considerably better. He was in rough shape,” said Taryn Nixdorf, director of media relations at Bright Eyes Dog Rescue. She said she’s positive Rico will find his forever home once he arrives.
Riou and Martin-McGuire both said their Peruvian rescue dogs have adapted well, and are great family dogs.