We Are Rescued Animals

                                                                                 (Written by PHS Volunteer Patricia Celenza)

We cannot speak.  We bark.  We purr.  We do not have words to share our former lives of hardship, neglect and abuse.  It is only in the moment of rescue that we finally find our voices.  No, we still cannot communicate our past painful experiences in words, but in animal rescue, there are people who have mercifully become our advocates, and yes, our voices.  These advocates are members of the Placencia Humane Society.

Because of PHS, we are rescued from certain death: we are given a second life.  These good people don't hold it against us that we were pathetically weak, sick and scrawny or covered with open sores and bug infestation.  These advocates only recognize that we are survivors, and believe that we have the right to a healthy, caring and loving home.

The mission of the PHS is to restore us to good health and yes, find us that permanent caring and loving home.

Sadly there are way too many of us, abandoned pets.  But the Placencia Humane Society is changing that with its dynamic outreach rescue program.

Between 2005 and 2007, a total of 30 kittens were rescued.  All but 7 of these have been adopted.   These 7 have remained with their foster family and still need a home.   In 2008, 19 dogs and 10 more kittens were rescued and adopted to new homes.  The statistics for 2009 are:  12 dogs have been rescued and 9 have been adopted.  Seven kittens have been rescued, and 4 of them were placed in permanent homes, 3 are still available for adoption.  There is a definite shortage of homes for rescue animals, and PHS will not be satisfied until all rescued animals find loving families.

We are only a few of those survivors who have been placed in permanent homes.

Please read our stories.

We cannot tell you details of our former lives; however, our photos speak volumes.

Sadie's Story

Greetings, one and all from Sadie!

You do remember me, don't you?

Yes.  Sadie, the now very, very happy Sadie.

I was one of the dogs rescued by the Placencia Humane Society.  You read about me and some of my other rescued buddies in the last PHS article.

I was the one who bit Pam Keck, my rescuer.  Gosh, I was so frightened!  I had such a terrible case of mange, no muscle tone, and it had been a real, real long time since I had been fed.  I was so skinny.

Well, Pam Keck did more than forgive my biting her.  She found me a really great permanent home!

And now I am the star of this article!

Let me introduce you to Sue Harris, this wonderfully special person who gave me a new life in her loving home in Monkey River.  

Hello from Sue Harris.  One could say that I really do love dogs.  My canine critters are poster "children" for rescuing "potlikkas" (Creole for mutts).

They certainly have their ways of brightening up our lives.

I already had three dogs, and to most folks, that would seem to be enough.  But I had a hankering for a fourth, and so mentioned to Pamela Keck that I was looking for another girl.  Of course, she immediately had a candidate, Sadie, who had been rescued as an adolescent from Seine Bight by a young volunteer.

Sight unseen, I agreed to take her, and went to pick her up from Mary Ann and Keith Kaye's house.  The Kayes foster many rescued dogs.  Their house is my idea of heaven: they generally have at least ten dogs in residence, their own and rescued ones, as well. Sadie was an elegant, slim young lady, very much like Arbie, another dog I had adopted earlier from PHS.   Sadie had the most beautiful Cleopatra eyes, was a little reserved.  I had to have her of course, so I quickly signed the adoption papers and off we went in the boat back to our house, Steppingstones, in Monkey River.  

My three big dogs were out on the dock waiting for us, and I walked Sadie down the dock on the leash and into the house for her to get used to things, the big dogs trotting excitedly alongside. 

 It became apparent right from the start that Arbie and Sadie were going to be playmates.  Arbie was especially excited when Sadie came, as he was no longer the smallest dog.  Unfortunately for him, Sadie continued to grow, and so he is the little guy again ("But I'm the boy!")  They immediately began to play like puppies, rolling and play biting all over the house, racing up and down the stairs, skidding on the carpets and generally having the best fun.  Sadie seemed small and thin next to Arbie, but she was full of life.  After a day and night in the house, we let her loose with the others to play and roam as she wished.  She and Arbie immediately began a big game of chase, with Faye and even stately Suzie Q joining in.  We are lucky that we have no roads here to worry about, just a lovely stretch of about half a mile of beach, so we can just let the dogs out to amuse themselves.

And such entertainment they provide us! We keep free range ducks and chickens, and the young dogs learn from the older ones that we don't chase them or molest them in any way.  They will even mix in with the birds when scraps are thrown out, pretending to be chickens in order to get an extra little snack.

Sadie is my number one campaigner against blue crabs.  She hasn't figured out yet that those big claws will bite, and I am sure one day she will come in with a crab stuck to her nose!  It's funny watching a stand-off--Sadie versus The Crustacean!

There is also the excitement of wondering what they will bring into the house to play with next--an endless supply of washed up flip flops, plastic bottles, sticks, socks stolen from the laundry constantly appear in our sitting room.  Sadie is the worst culprit.  She finds something she likes, then parades it in front of you, looking out the corner of her eyes-- "Can I play with this TV changer?"  "NO!"

As well as being our funny friends, they are excellent guard dogs, no-one gets near without us knowing.  On the other hand, once they know you are allowed to be there, they will just accept you as one of the family, so they are ideal to have around guests. My head girl, Faye, is my number one guard dog.  Sadie is number 2.  If Faye comes to see me, Sadie has to push in to make sure I know she is on guard, too.

When we leave our dock in our boat, it's Sadie who runs down the  beach as far as she can get, and watches as we disappear in the distance, even howling occasionally.  She then waits on the dock until we get back, even if it's a few days later.

 All my dogs are very loving.  They seem to know that they have been rescued.  They each of them have the habit of suddenly and for no reason coming over and putting their head on your knee and gazing up at you as if you are their hero.  Suzie Q will be asleep, sprawled on her back, when she will suddenly for no reason wake up and come and launch herself into your lap, butting you with her head.  It is very endearing, albeit a bit painful!

Yes, "potlikkas" are the best breed of dog!  Anyone considering adopting a potlikka shouldn't hesitate, and if you have one or two already, get another one!

The Placencia Humane Society will match you up with the perfect dog to adopt.  Please contact Pamela Keck, President of PHS at 520-4057 / 625-3123 or pkeck11@yahoo.com                 

                                                                  You won't regret it!

Hi, my name is Simon.  No one wanted me.  I was hiding under a house in Seine Bight because people were throwing bottles and stones at me.  Mary Smith crawled underneath the house and gently removed me.  I now have a wonderful life with Cindy and Jim Weller in Placencia!

SIMON BEFORE                                                          SIMON AFTER

Greetings from Booker T !   I was homeless in Seine Bight.  I had such a severe case of mange that with treatment, it took over three months to clear up.  When I was rescued, I was so frightened that I could not make eye contact with my rescuer.  But I was curious enough to look at her out of the corner of my eye. I knew she meant me well, but I was still a little scared.  I now enjoy being picked up and petted. Thanks to the Placencia Humane Society, I have found a good home with a lovely couple in Belmopan who make me feel very, very special.

BOOKER T. BEFORE                                       BOOKER T. AFTER

My name is Sadie.   I now trust and love Susan Harris, my new adopted family in Monkey River.  I was hanging around Seine Bight, abandoned, and I actually bit Pamela Keck when she came to take me to her home.  I was extremely emaciated, had no muscle tone and had scaly skin as a result of a bad case of mange.  You will be reading more about me in an upcoming PHS article.  I am a great success rescue story and I cannot wait to have my new family tell it to you!

SADIE BEFORE                                           SADIE AFTER

Hello from BooBoo, Vandy, Hooper, Ubey, Cookie, Sulu, Miss Piggy, Paint, Chico, Callie, and Luigi. We are all rescued kittens. Someone actually threw acid on Luigi.  Can you believe that?   Did you know that our foster families needed to bottle feed us with specially made formula sometimes every two hours?!  Is that love, or what?  We are so proud to tell you that we were all adopted into different families in Seine Bight, Placencia, and Plantation.  Luigi is being adopted by a PHS board member along with his brother Mario.

UBEY                                                                 LUIGI

From all of us, the very fortunate ones, the rescued pets placed in loving homes--thanks to everyone who supports PHS.

THANK YOU PLACENCIA HUMANE SOCIETY FOR THE GIFT OF LIFE.

THANK YOU PLACENCIA HUMANE SOCIETY FOR THE GIFT OF ONCE AGAIN TRUSTING PEOPLE.

Want to know more about adopting a rescued animal or how you can support Placencia Humane Society? Contact  Pam Thomas 629-3599 seaturtlep@yahoo.com or Shannon Romero 600-2473  wolfnbelize@yahoo.com

SIMBA

(A letter written to PHS from Simba's new mom  March 2009)

Dear Placencia Humane Society,

I want to thank the Placencia Humane Society first and foremost, for its interest in animals, in their well being, protection, health, and in making sure they are in good, caring homes.  Pam Keck, President, is surrounded by a marvelous support team.  You know who you are, support team, so kudos to you all!

For almost eleven years, I have rescued stray animals.  They have mostly come to me on the beach: they were homeless, and I had a home.  It was all quite basic and simple.

Last month, I adopted a rescued dog through the Humane Society.  His name is Simba.

Simba initially had been rescued off the Placencia street.  He had been abandoned, hit by a car (his left back leg dangling at his side, useless), was emaciated, his fur full of fleas.

He was brought to the animal clinic in Placencia.  Instead of being put down, the Humane Society saw the sweetness in this animal.  At their own expense, the Humane Society paid for x-rays, shots, medicines, etc. to bring Simba back to good health.  The Humane Society felt this dog could and should find a good home.

The Humane Society did a short write-up in the Placencia Breeze, where he caught my attention.

Before the adoption, however, I spent two short periods of time with Simba, taking him for walks.

After the second visit, I knew Simba would come home with me. 

But what I also knew after those two visits was that Simba had not only been rescued by a caring group of individuals, but had been fostered by a couple of wonderful people.  Mary Anne and Keith Kaye opened up their home to Simba, adding him to their own family of six dogs.  It was obvious to me that the Kayes had given Simba not only nourishment, but acceptance and support.

Their loving fostering of Simba made my adoption of him that much easier.

Simba has been with me for two weeks now, and I must say, he is a real treasure.  He moved right into my house and my life with a minimum of effort or strain.

In just a couple of days, my other three dogs accepted him as one of our family.

Simba is adaptable and smart and fun loving.  He loves his walks on the beach, where he chases birds, swims after them in the sea.

He has found his voice, and provides me with plenty of protection.

Simba is a survivor, and it is only because the Placencia Humane Society saw that in him, that underlying desire to live, that they gave him another chance at a wonderful life.

Thanks, Placencia Humane Society!

Keep up the great work!

With much gratitude and fondness,

Patricia E. Celenza