Our Partner Organization, Helping Hands for Hounds of Honduras, helps some of the most in-need dogs and cats in Tegucigalpa. If a cat or a dog is old, very ill, really traumatized, and unwanted/abandoned....Pilar and HHHH will help.
Here are some recent rescues -- and a few of HHHH's previous rescues, some still at the HHHH Sanctuary, one happy adoption, all enjoying their lives after trauma, illness, scarcity, fright.
This post ends with news that we had promised in December: information about how Pilar (with help from Animal-Kind International) is expanding her network and spreading her 40+ years of knowledge working in animal care and welfare in Honduras.
Pilar's vet helped a family member of an abusive owner get Dusty the Chihuahua to a safe place.
Dusty's owner wasn't feeding Dusty enough and he was losing weight, he wasn't providing proper care and Dusty was covered in ticks, he was anemic, and overall he was a sick and unhappy little dog. The woman in the picture, a relative of the abusive man, couldn't stand by any longer and watch little Dusty suffer. She didn't know who else to go to so she took Dusty to a vet and requested his help.
As usual, when Pilar's vet is faced with a difficult situation involving a dog or cat in need of rescue, he coordinates with Pilar/HHHH. Pilar facilitated Dusty's adoption to a really nice home with Melissa, Pilar's neighbor, close by so that Pilar could continue to help with Dusty.
A couple of days after he was adopted, Dusty got even sicker. Dusty's new owner wasn't well either. She had recently gone through chemotherapy and radiation for breast cancer and hadn't been able to work. So HHHH paid for Dusty's blood test, which indicated ehrlichia, the month long treatment for ehrlichia, and agreed to pay for half of his neuter once he recovered from erlichia.
You might remember Ginger, the starving dog, who Pilar's neighbor, Gloria, found scrounging for food on the street in Tegucigalpa. Ginger was not a good street dog, she wasn't aggressive enough and seemed to be looking for someone to care for her more than she was looking for food.
It was a lucky day when Gloria saw Ginger and with Pilar's help, Gloria was able to bring her home and foster her.
HHHH covered Ginger's spay surgery.
Finally, in March, Gloria and Pilar found a perfect home for Ginger, who now has a boxer dog for a brother:
Many of our old friends are still at the HHHH Sanctuary. Although of course a real home would be preferable, to these dogs, HHHH is a wonderful place to be, it's their forever home if they need it to be.
Pilar and Kelly recently gave the HHHH dogs a bath. Here's Beto after his bath:
When Beto was rescued and arrived at HHHH in 2019 he looked like this, what a difference from the healthy, very content looking dog in the picture above!:
This is Thor after his bath:
Back in 2017, Thor's owners brought their one-year old rottweiler to Pilar's vet to have him put down. He had been purchased from a breeder, but his owners no longer wanted him because his feet and a leg were deformed and he was small for his breed. Instead of euthanizing, the owners agreed to let him go to the HHHH Sanctuary.
HHHH had a difficult time finding him and Beto adoptive homes. Since potential adopters expected both dogs to be guard dogs (since rottie and dobie type dogs have that reputation) and both dogs are sweeties and not at all interested in guarding (and HHHH wouldn't adopt out dogs for guarding), they were never adopted.
From left, Bunny, Dot, Niko, and Dobby wait for their baths (and the treats in Pilar's hands):
Bunny arrived at the HHHH Sanctuary in 2016 when she was just a puppy. A guy in a "fancy car" drove by the HHHH Sanctuary and actually threw Bunny to the boy who was cleaning the front yard, and drove off. One of Bunny's front legs hadn't fully developed and Pilar's vet thought it was best to amputate:
As we mentioned, after over 40 years of caring for animals in Honduras, Pilar is focusing on sharing her skills and knowledge with other groups. Back when Pilar started rescuing animals, she was an anomaly. Now there are many individuals and groups involved in animal care, animal rights, and animal rescue (many of them Pilar's ex-students) --and they are doing this with varying degrees of success, and not all of them using best, accepted practices.
Among the many possibilities, Pilar is identifying a few of the organizations with the greatest potential, and is working with them to become even better.
One of these organizations is Organización ARI, and director Wendy Aris and Silvia, one of the volunteers.
Wendy and her husband have a home-based shelter with 26 dogs and 12 cats. Four of the dogs have broken backs and need to be bathed continually and also have to have their blankets washed daily. All but a few have been spayed/neutered (Pilar is helping to get them all fixed). Silvia fosters 32 dogs and 3 cats in her home, which she shares with her parents, who -willingly(!)- help her.
Recently, HHHH helped ARI with a dog who had pyometra and almost died-the dog's uterus was so full of pus, it came close to bursting. Having been rescued by Organización ARI, they needed help with veterinary costs for emergency surgery to save her life. HHHH paid for half of the cost of surgery and ARI, through donations they received, paid the other half. Surgery was successful, and the dog has been fixed, never again to suffer like that:
During the 1st week of May, Wendy and Pilar are planning two Humane Ed talks for 2nd and 3rd graders at the Discovery Bilingual School in Tegucigalpa.
The collaboration between HHHH and ARI is looking very promising! We'll certainly keep you updated.