Vincent Hatches Plan to Save 110 Other Strays!

Oct. 2011

The crisis facing dogs in Puerto Rico is a dark legend. Thousands are in deep crisis as they scamper across moonlit roads, crowded parking lots and hot sandy beaches in search of food and water. They are often chased off by residents and left for dead when struck by cars. Females give birth under porches and behind dumpsters and then begin the almost impossible task of raising a family of homeless puppies. Yet there is a group of women on the island who is saving these dogs hand-over-fist. They fly under the banner of All Sato Rescue (sato means street dog in Spanish) and a dog named Vincent recently became their mascot extraordinaire in a race to get help for his fellow strays.

He Showed Extraordinary Resilience & Forgiveness

It all began when our the Harmony Fund's partners at All Sato Rescue got a call about a dog who had been badly hurt in a fight with some stronger dogs. The victim was a lanky white shepherd who had lost so much blood that he was too weak to stand. His legs and ears were seriously damaged, and after working on him for quite some time, the veterinary team ultimately had no choice but to remove the remainder of his left ear.

"Truthfully, we all expected poor Vincent to withdraw when he woke up," explains the group's President Edilia Vasquez. "We anticipated a long struggle not just in his physical recovery, but most importantly, in his emotional rebound. And that is why we were all shocked by what Vincent did next.

"In a matter of a couple of days, it was as if nothing had happened," Edilia continues. "Just like the painter, Vincent lost his ear, but not his love for life."

And while Vincent waits for his forever home, he has become the focal point in a massive rescue operation for the strays he left behind. Vincent is leading a race to save 110 dogs, one for every mile across the island from East to West.

"Today we are taking a leap of faith and hope there are enough caring people out there to help us undertake an island-wide rescue of 110 dogs. It's not going to be easy. So many of them need significant veterinary care and trapping a frightened dog is always difficult, but this is what we do. If a one eared dog who almost lost his life in a street attack could become a grateful, gentle giant in a couple of days, just imagine what is possible for the others."