Hundreds of pets have been rescued from the water since flooding began in southern Brazil. Wet and nervous, many have been welcomed into shelters created on the fly while they wait for a new home.
In Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, the shelter located at the Infante Dom Henrique school is a barking mess.
It opened its doors just a day ago and already cares for 47 dogs, to which 10 cats will be added in the next few hours.
Still unnamed, brown dog number 16 is stretched out on her bed looking tired. She was rescued from Eldorado, a city of 42,000 that was almost entirely flooded, and is now receiving treatment for scabies. “We do not know anything; only where they rescued her,” volunteer Letícia Rodrigues explains to EFE, who says that they have leashes, cages and leftover food, all donated, but that what they are missing are people willing to adopt. The volunteers have opened a social media account with images of the dogs to see if they can find the owners, although it is difficult in the midst of the existing chaos.
When the floods began, Rodrigues, a 35-year-old Judicial Branch official, set out to rescue people isolated on the roofs of their houses, but she soon realized that no one was taking care of the animals. “We went into the water with the firefighters and pulled them out of every place imaginable. Then, we saw that there was nowhere to take them,” she says.
Around 10,000 animals, including pets and wild species, have been rescued in Rio Grande do Sul in the last week and a half, according to regional authorities. Some of these operations have received exceptional attention in the media and social networks in a country that goes out of its way for pets.
This is the case of the horse Caramelo, who was rescued from a roof thanks to a special operation with inflatable boats, a dozen firefighters and veterinarians, and a helicopter from the Globo network recording every detail. Far from the spotlight, three veterinarians, with stethoscopes around their necks, make rounds at the Porto Alegre shelter to check on the dogs.
They listen, look at teeth and give medications to kill the worms. Some bark, although most are calm waiting for their portion of food. “They arrive in panic, but once settled they begin to relax,” explains Marilia Corsetti, a 62-year-old veterinarian. Despite the infection on her skin, dog number 16 has caught the interest of Ana Paula Ramos, a 31-year-old teacher who already has two puppies but who says that “where two fit, three fit.”
He runs his hand over its back and asks Corsetti what treatment he should follow for scabies. Once the doubts were cleared, she decided to keep it, to the joy of the veterinarian and the volunteers. Renamed Margarida, the dog stands up and leaves the shelter wagging her tail alongside her new owner. “Thank God for one more adoptee!” exclaims Corsetti.
Source: EFE
