Tessa. A tumor on her belly nearly killed her

We arrived in town just days after the big 6.0 earthquake hit Guanica. People and animals were on the street between crumbled homes. In a narrow alley way between two crumbled houses was a small dog, hiding in the far corner shaking. We could see from afar that something was wrong. 

We could not leave her there as we drove down the street. But the only way to reach her was to scale a tall fence. And so we did. As we scaled the fence she retreated further back into the alley but thankfully there was no way out. She cowered and shivered and hid her head. She growled as we approached.

We brought a can of cat food to entice her. From just feet away we could smell the pungent oder infection - overwhelming it was. She thankfully was quite hungry (thankfully for this rescue operation only) and took to the canned cat food immediately. We then carefully slipped a lead around her neck. In fear she thrashed and growled and tried to bite us. But we have done this before. We  carefully distracted her with a towel over her face and got her into our small crate. We then lifted her over the fence and into our car.

Her tumor  - the source of the pungent infection smell - was the size of a tennis ball. It was open and bleeding and oozing and covered in dirt and car oil. We have no idea she had been on the streets like this. It hurt our hearts to even think of it. She also suffers from Cherry Eye, a painful but correctable eye deformity.

She was immediately taken to the emergency vet an hour away since there was still no power in Guanica. There, they gave her pain meds and antibiotics and orders to bring her back in a week for the hopeful removal of the tumor.

We had nowhere to keep her but constructed a pen on a volunteer's porch where she happily took to it, laying in her crate with a clean towel as if she knew better days were coming. She quickly took to us, greeting us each morning with tail wags and enjoying her walks in the morning sun. She developed a good appetite and took her meds like a champ.

This week she returns for her surgery and biopsy. We hope we will have good news and it is not cancer. She will be spayed and then will rest in preparation for her trip to the DC area. We can only take dogs like Tessa off the street and give them the care they deserve with funds. Please donate to her care. Her suffering needs to be in the past. Her future needs to be filled with the love she deserves.