From Mange to Prada

His name was Pablo and he was brought in by one of the shelter volunteers. Covered in mange, plagued with mites and parasites, he barely had the will to lift his head and drink water. The same week he came to the shelter, he was 

taken to the vet and given multiple prescription medicines. It also came to light that Pablo was not a boy.

Now one month later, Prada is thriving. Still timid and shy, but playful with the newspaper in her litter box, Prada is 

up for adoption. She is young and beautiful with black and white fur. Her favorite pastime is to roll around for play 

and attention.

Mange

His name is Pablo and he has an advanced case of mange.  Currently he is on antibiotics and receives a shot every two weeks to cure it.  He lives in the hospital wing of the shelter and once he is cured of the mange and worms he will be fixed.  If he is not adopted upon his recovery he will be released. 

This photo was taken February 1st and I've heard that he is doing much better.  At the moment I am in North Carolina, but will return to San Juan, PR next week.  I'll get an updated photo of him posted as soon as possible.

Save A Gato

This is what the shelter usually looks like.  With cats lounging around and being curious about everything we still clean litter boxes and cages, administer medicine, follow feeding schedules and try our best to keep the place clean.

'Gato' is slang for street cat and the shelter is in the Old City of San Juan, PR.  A three-room concrete building provides shelter for about fifty cats.  Brought in from all over San Juan and the surrounding metro area are kittens, adult felines, all injured, sick and wild.

In the front room of the shelter are the cats up for adoption, kittens and those that need to be fixed.  The mothers and their litters of kittens are placed in the second room of the shelter, known as the hospital.  Twice a week volunteers take several cats to the vet for examinations and surgeries. 

The third room is the playroom. With cat toys, boxes and balls, those that are normally in cages are let out to play. Currently, the room is occupied by Mama cat and her five kittens, one of which has already been named Corona.

In place of air conditioning we use portable fans all around the shelter to provide cool air and venilation. Recently, the shelter was upgraded with efficient indoor plumbing and a good paint job.

Every now and then we will witness a cat fight but they all tolerate each other fairly well.  At the front of the shelter are two cat doors where the wild cats may come for food and water and go as they please.   www.saveagato.org

Save A Sato

The Save A Sato dog shelter is in Carolina, Puerto Rico.  Their mission is to take in stray dogs, get them vaccinated, get them healthy and get them off the island.  From the shelter the dogs are sent to animal welfare and humane societies along the eastern seaboard.  Via American Airlines flights the dogs accompany people and other volunteers on their flights bound for the U.S.  Currently, Save A Sato is connected with nine shelters in five states. You may visit their website at http://www.saveasato.org/.