Meet Fergie

FERGIE - Volunteers Tom and Tanya Whitehead were returning from a doctor's appointment in Santiago when they spotted what appeared to be an injured dog along the highway.  They turned their car around to see if the dog needed assistance.  Pulling over they found Fergie who was in very bad shape - severe mange, many open wounds down to the bone, dehydration, and feet swollen to twice the normal size. Despite all of these issues, Fergie still had a wagging tail and came right up to them on the highway.  It was apparent that Fergie needed help and Tom and Tanya took her home with them.

​They gave her a bath, IV fluids, prednisone and a lot of love until they could get her in to the vet. The doctor felt that Fergie was likely burned alive by someone and then tossed along the side of the road for dead.  In Tom and Tanya, Fergie finally found humans who treated her  with love. Over many weeks she fully recovered, all the while showing all an amazing spirit.  She truly appreciated the love and affection that was provided to her by DCDR and eventually ended up in a great home in Canada with a loving family.

Meet Lucky

LUCKY - Lucky was found on the side of the road by a DCDR volunteer after being hit by a car.  She was in a lot of pain and her back two legs were paralyzed.  Our volunteer rushed Lucky to the vet and the vet alleviated her pain and started her on a regimen of anti-inflammatory medicines to hopefully bring down the swelling in her spinal cord in hopes that she might walk again.

DCDR volunteers worked with Lucky over many weeks and months in hopes that she would walk again.  Medications were tried, chiropractic care was tried, many x-rays were taken, but eventually it was clear that Lucky would not walk again.  Through all of this she had an amazing spirit that was an inspiration to all around her.  Even though she could not walk, you could tell that she felt "Lucky" to be alive and surrounded by people who loved her.

The next step was to raise money to get a wheelchair for Lucky.  Thanks to our wonderful donors we were able to get a custom chair for her.  The joy that was on Lucky's face when she once again was able to "run" with the other dogs brought a tear to many eyes.

Lucky was eventually sent to a rescue in Canada in hopes that medical treatment there would be able to help her improve.  Lucky eventually found an amazing family to adopt her and although she improved some, she eventually succumbed to complications from her original injuries.  Thanks to many dedicated volunteers and supporters, Lucky had additional years of love and happiness instead of dying in pain, discarded at the side of the road.

Meet Belle

This is sweet little Belle. Belle was barely discovered while on outreach in Sosua. She was so tiny and frail we almost missed her. Belle was immediately taken into foster care as she was so malnourished and dehydrated, she needed around the clock care to give her a chance to survive. When she was first taken in we thought she was about 5 weeks due to her size, but she was actually about 9 weeks old. Once we thought she was healthy enough she was returned to her family. Unfortunately, when DCDR went to check on Belle the next day she seemed off. So back into foster care she went. The next morning Belle was found in the midst of a full-blown seizure. She was rushed to the vet where it was determined she had suffered some kind of trauma to her head and had brain swelling which was causing the seizures (she had several and her balance was off). It’s unknown whether the trauma occurred prior to her first stint in foster care or in the one day back in her village, but most likely that one day ....

Belle needed to stay in foster care for several more weeks to heal. At that point it was determined that it would be best to find her a better forever home and not put her back in the village as she had now spent most of her life indoors. Her Haitian owner was fine with that as he just wanted her to be healthy. So Belle stayed in foster care growing bigger and stronger until an opportunity to fly her to Boston came up. Dr. Louise Morgan took Belle in and worked to find her the perfect loving forever home that she deserved. 

 Belle is now living her best life ever because of DCDR and the volunteers who cared and the donors who generously give to help make rescues like this possible. 

What People Are Saying About Us!