CHICOPEE — We Americans have a near-excessive love affair with our dogs. Perhaps they scratch our need to for recognition and unconditional love. For the cost of just a little kibble and a belly rub, we are loved. But we don’t seem to stop there, do we? We shower our pets with services, toys and specialty foods. Kassandra Perez and Vanessa Henriquez know all about that. They run Endless Pawibilities, a pet care service in Springfield.
Sunday, Perez and Henriquez launched a fundraising event at the View Street Tavern in Chicopee to buy food and pay for services for the homeless dogs and cats of Puerto Rico. With support from other pet-related businesses, like the Paw Street Bakery in Chicopee, and Henriquez’s family in Puerto Rico, the two hope to provide a better life for abandoned island pets.
“We found that for just $100 we can feed a large number of dogs for two weeks,” Perez said. “There are close to 2 million homeless animals in Puerto Rico, and we are trying to raise money to feed these animals and to get vaccinations and neutering.”
“That’s part of the problem, there is not a lot of neutering, so the homeless cats and dogs just keep reproducing,” Perez added.
Beyond the Sunday launch, all proceeds from services purchased from Endless Pawibilities for the month of December such as dog training, pet manicures, pet daycare and boarding, dog walking, will go to providing needed services for island animals.
Perez said as things stand, they buy large bags of food from Walmart’s online services, and Henriquez’s mother and brother pick up the food at an island Walmart and feed animals in Cabo Roja on the southwest coast of the island.
While large, urban areas on the island such as San Juan may have resources for abandoned dogs and cats, those services are very scarce in outlying areas like Cabo Roja, if they exist at all.
“It is so sad,” Perez said. “There are certain places where people leave their dogs and just take off. The dogs stay around expecting to go home but they don’t. We have been to these places and saw the dogs. They walk up to you wagging their tails because they are accustomed to people. They think you are going to feed them.”
Neutering pets is not a “thing” in Puerto Rico, not part of the pet-owning culture like on the mainland.
“It’s just not what people do with their pets,” she said. “We would like to see if we can get vaccinations and neutering for dogs and try to reduce the number of homeless animals.”
Cats are a different story, Perez said. Once abandoned, cats tend to stay away from humans and drift deep into the woods. They become feral and use their hunting skills to survive. Dogs, on the other hand have become accustomed to human care.,
Perez said she is working to receive her 501c3 tax-deductible designation to turn the ad hoc fundraising project into an established charity.
Endless Pawibilities can be reached at endlesspawibilities@gmail.com.
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