Pooches in Transit: Saving Lives One Dog at a Time

We know — we are all over talking about COVID. We would love to talk about something else. But it is hard to skip past, because the very presence of COVID forced us to make radical adjustments to our lives, including how we cared for the dogs at Hope Sanctuary.

When we first started volunteering at Hope in 2019, adoptions in Mazatlán were rare. Most dogs found "furever" homes by flying north, usually to Canada, where many of the volunteers had connections. Then COVID happened. Flights to Canada were cancelled and adoptions ground to a halt.

The few lucky ones who found local homes were far and few between. Many people who lived day-to-day could no longer afford to feed their pets, and intakes climbed. By the summer of 2020 the sanctuary was over 250 dogs and rising. Something had to change. With other volunteers, we began exploring transports to the United States, where there were countless families looking for a new family member.

We started building relationships with partner rescue groups who had more demand than supply. The first trip was Socrates and me flying seven pups into San Diego, where another volunteer would meet us with seven more — fourteen in total. We did not expect it to be all sunshine and roses, but we also did not expect to be cancelled on, last-minute, by the contact who had agreed to host us and fourteen dogs the night before our flight. Scrambling to find shelter with 24 hours notice was awful. We pulled it off.

That first transport led to many more, by plane and by car, with partner rescue groups across California, Arizona, Nevada, New York, and Texas. By the end of 2022 we had moved around 115 dogs across the border. These 115 may not have found the same opportunities here in Mazatlán. Saying goodbye to favorites broke our hearts, but it was the right call. They got homes.

2021 brought a new burst of energy, and the transports continued. It might have seemed like sending so many pups north meant fewer animals to care for. It did not. Requests for intakes kept rolling in. Dogs were still living in the worst conditions across the city. Transports ran in parallel with intakes all year long. There are too many dogs in Mazatlán in need of sanctuary, and it always feels like we cannot do enough.

Which is why we always need help. From anyone willing to adopt, foster, donate, or volunteer (and adopt) with Mazatlán Animal Rescue. That is how we keep finding "furever" homes — or, at the very least, giving them the best possible care while they wait for the right family.

If you can support Mazatlán Animal Rescue and Hope Sanctuary, please reach out, or donate to MAR directly. If you'd like to adopt, the MAR available-dogs page is the place to start.

“No matter how little money and how few possessions you own, having a dog makes you rich.”