St. Rita's Kennel for Rescue Dogs
Donation protected
My Name is Vivian Mauro and I am living in Abadiania, Goias in Brazil since November 2014. I used to be a Casa guide for 10 years taking international groups to the Casa de Dom Inacio for healing. I run my own kennel, take care of 30 dogs a day, rescue dogs in need, rehabilitate and send dogs home with tourists.I do all my own fundraising .I am living on the other side of Abadiania in an agricultural community where they are not educated about animals and don't understand that animals have souls or feelings. Dogs are treated like objects and this is cultural. The situation with animals here is awful . Dogs are constantly abandoned on the streets and no one can afford castration. Most dogs that I have rescued ( over 300 ... I stopped counting ) have tick disease or other serious diseases. Lack of compassion and ignorance = unnecessary suffering of animals.ASPAAB/ Association To Protect Animals of Abadiania is our non- profit organization supported by donations. I built a kennel for the dogs with tourist donations. We have 14 dogs there. I live with many rescued dogs now and rent another house for the dogs we have no room for. Another 7 are living with Brazilian families that I pay boarding for. I take care of 30 dogs daily and I am often exhausted. Where I live dogs are not taken care of. People love puppies however, most of then end up on the street and homeless after a few months. It's a poor community, so the last ones to get fed or care are their animals. I see so many homeless abandoned animals here. Animals are producing offspring every 6 months. Horrible to imagine being a pregnant dog in the rainy season with no where to give birth or protect your puppies. Or being a female in heat with no defense from gangs of male dogs in hot pursuit . This is the hard reality here. There is overpopulation of homeless animals. Locals do not understand that they are part of the problem by not neutering their pets. City Hall promised a Castration Clinic, but nothing now for 3 years...just promises. I was however given a piece of land by the Mayor of Abadiania to move my kennel. Our first kennel had no running water. I was carrying 25 liters on my bicycle daily going 12 kms.
When I walk my dogs I am in danger because I face packs of wild dogs.Children often ask me, " Why are you walking your dogs ?" People have dogs chained up all day on short leashes and barking all night long. I have visited many neighbors to tell them that dogs need space and care. I have seen & rescued dying animals on the road that people ignore or intentionally run over.
I went to City Hall to tell them that this needs to change... this horrible treatment of animals here. I have been to the Dept. of Education here, and gone to 8 elementary schools with a local veterinarian talking to children in my broken Portuguese how to take care of animals and showing WSPCA dvds on ' Animals Are My Friends'. The #1 question that the children ask is : " Do animals have feelings ?" This lack of awareness & compassion for animals is what needs to change here. Awareness in the mother of all transformation. Also have my own show on the radio to educate the community .
When I walk my dogs ,kids follow me and ask if my dogs bite. I tell them if they treat their animals well they will be good, but if they hit them, chain them up and don't take care of them they will have a bad dog. My goal is to educate the community about animal care and to neuter the cats & dogs to control the over population that end up abandoned and without food or care.
Many dogs have diseases that can be prevented with vaccines. Tick disease is rampant here. If a dog gets tvt, a venereal tumor which is cancer, when that dog goes into heat it can infect an entire community. Distemper is common here and the effects of that disease are devastating. Locals don't understand that vaccinations are necessary .My neighbors dog has been pregnant 8 times in 6 years. She is a puppy machine. I offered to get her fixed, but they gave me a funny look. I want to help her and many other dogs get the care they need.
City Hall agreed they have an overpopulation problem. I am working with them now with a plan to form an animal castration clinic here. City Hall said they cannot fund it with money. Because I am an American they want me to raise the money for this clinic. The Mayor of Abadiania is looking at our proposal. We need funding to start. We will do castrations, vaccinations and adoptions. What we will need is veterinary equipment, computer, supplies, food, vaccines, medicine etc. We had our first Spay Day to castrate many animals for low cost in the community. I have rescued so many females in heat and had them castrated.
I also am helping people save Casa animals and export (fly) animals out of Brazil. Five years ago I took my dog, Lucky ( who I rescued from the streets here) back to Buffalo, New York after he received a miracle healing of cancer from John of God. They wrote an article about him in the Buffalo News, "A Chance Meeting Turns Lucky's Life Around" on March 24, 2011.
The best part of my rescue work is my Adopt & Fly Service/ Adotar e Volar . So far I have sent 59 lucky Casa dogs back home with tourists to locations all around the world. Currently I have 23 dogs looking for forever homes. You can go to my Facebook Page : Animals Lovers Abadiania and see some of them there.
It's not easy living here, but I feel I am on a mission as an educator, advocate and protector of God's Special Creatures. My bigger mission is to educate all of Brazil with commercials about castration, vaccination and to see more media used like television shows about dogs and cats and their value in society. When animals are left in survival mode which most street dogs are... they cannot show you their tremendous capacity for unconditional love. When you take a street dog and give it a bath, food, water, a bed and the medicine it needs and some love ... the transformation begins. There are many cultural things that I cannot change here, but the animals need us to protect them and defend them .The animals and I are so grateful for your donation. When you rescue an animal, they spend the rest of their life saying "Thank You"!
Thank You for helping us reach our goal ! Visit our Facebook Page : Animals Lovers Abadiania
Organizer
Vivian Mauro
Organizer
Grand Island, NY