Help Maple and Her Children

Hello everyone! We are the Gardner family, in New Brunswick, Canada.

Earlier this month, we were on a family vacation in Montego Bay, Jamaica, staying at the Iberostar Rose Hall. What we thought would be a vacation of fun and laughter took a very different turn...

One afternoon, we were horrified to witness that a stray dog, who had apparently wandered onto the hotel premises seeking water and food was, rather than being shown basic kindness, beaten and kicked by the hotel staff. We yelled at them to stop, which startled the staff momentarily. The dog wound up hiding under a chair on the beach, crying, because, when it sought help, all it received was cruelty. This dog seemed to have decided that it had no choice but to simply give up. To our horror, we noticed this poor dog was not only thirsty and starving… but *pregnant*. Yet there she was, crying under a chair because, where she sought human kindness, she was met with cruelty.

Our family could not let this continue. We quickly grabbed the dog and gave her shelter, food, and water. BUT (!) we were leaving in two days.

Scrambling, we posted a message on one of the PETA-affiliated Facebook groups. By pure coincidence, the message was seen by a woman named A.J., in the United States, who quickly messaged me. Same as our family, AJ was not willing to let this pregnant mother die and experience further cruelty.

Jamaica has only two animal shelters on the island – they were either closed or are not taking in animals. And, there are two non-profit rescue groups (Montego Bay Animal Haven and Negril Pup Rescue) – both said they could not assist and were full.

But, due to a conversation started on one of the Facebook groups, we gained traction. An ex-pat from the UK/New Zealand, who lives in Kingston and volunteers with dog and horse rescue out of Jamaica, helped us formulate a plan to get Maple to safety, before we left Wednesday morning. But someone needed to agree to ultimately adopt Maple and her pups. My family immediately agreed we would take the puppies and A.J. agreed to take Maple.

Between the three of us, we were able to formulate a plan and get Maple to safety before we departed. On Wednesday morning, A.J. and I hired a driver who transported Maple OUT of the area, to safety, to a veterinarian in Kingston.

In the past six days, I’m happy to report that Maple is currently safe: she was with a wonderful veterinarian (Dr. McNab) for five nights, fully evaluated, and had an ultrasound (she is expecting anywhere between three to six puppies! We will have our work cut out for us in terms of finding families, but two of our family members have already stepped up!). Maple did great at the vet and she has a look on her face, as though she cannot believe that humans are finally being kind to her.

Two days ago, Maple was placed with a boarding services provider, David, who will tend to her until she gives birth (in about two or three weeks) and tend to the puppies until they are ready to fly to Canada once they're weened off Maple.

As you can imagine, there are costs associated with all this. So far, we have paid $260 USD to transport Maple to Kingston; $325 USD to the veterinarian; $45 USD in additional food, and $265 USD for one month of Maple's boarding (through early December). The boarding for Maple alone will be about $265 USD for each month (total about two or 2.5 months -- she is due to give birth in about two weeks but then needs to 'feed' her pups for about six weeks, until they can be weened off her, etc.), and we are still waiting on the estimate of what the pups’ boarding will cost, not to mention the cost of one of us flying down there to retrieve them; the airline surcharge for the pet-passenger-addition, etc.

It may sound like a lot for just ‘one dog’ but it’s not just Maple – it’s Maple and her family. Sure, it’s a speck of sand in an enormous problem. Jamaica has thousands of dogs in similar situations – but THIS DOG CAME ACROSS OUR PATH. So we have to help this dog. Turning our back on Maple just wasn’t an option – she would have starved to death before she gave birth; would have possibly been beaten to death; died giving birth (as you cannot give birth with no food for strength); or given birth behind a dumpster only to then have her children die of hunger alongside her.

We are each chipping in as much as we can but neither of us is rich (my husband is retired armed services out of Nova Scotia, and I am a school bus driver of 26 years, whereas A.J. is a single mother) and we need your help to execute on this mission. We will post receipts for everything, to ensure full transparency. Please, we ask that you help us get this mother and her children to safety as, absent your help, we will not be able to fund this mission. Maple has been through so much – let’s show her there is light at the end of the tunnel! Below is a breakdown of the costs, in full transparency! THANK YOU AGAIN!

$260 USD transport Maple to Kingston (PAID);

$325 USD veterinarian invoice (PAID);

$45 USD in add'l food for Maple (PAID);

$265 USD for one month of Maple's boarding (through Dec 8) (PAID);

$600 USD (approx) for the add'l boarding: Maple is due to give birth end of Nov or early Dec. After that, she will be nursing for about six-to-eight weeks, at which point the pups can be weened off her. That means 'boarding until about late January.' It's about $10 USD per day so the add'l boarding is an additional $600 or so. (The boarder has graciously agreed, because he wants to help this charitable endeavor, to charge what he charges for ONE dog, even though it's Maple and her entire litter, which is really nice of him.)

more food for Maple = $100?

food for pups once weening off mom = $50?

add'l vet visit after birth (boarder estimates she will need one) = $200?

That brings us to about $1850, not including the flights. Hence the $2,500 goal.