Talk about a coincidence! The day I decide to post about my Colombia Shelter fundraiser, we catch a stray dog right here in Arizona!

First of all, thanks to all of those who have donated and spread the word about the campaign. We have raised a total of $325 so far!

I have chatted, in Español mind you, with the veterinarian that will be performing the surgeries. It is not unusual for veterinarians and clinics to give a bulk discount to animal shelters for these types of operations, even here in the United States. My original base for pricing was the Colombian Veterinarian University fees but we got an even better deal! Female operations are usually more complicated than male operations (neutering) thus more expensive but it comes out as follow:

Our vet is giving us the following discounts for Fundación Cantoalavida:
Female Dogs: 70,000 COP ($22 USD)
Male Dogs: 40,000 COP ($13 USD)
Female Cats: 50,000 COP ($16 USD)
Male Cats: 25,000 COP ($8)

Which brings our overall cost for 40 operations down to an average of: $880!!!!
(Based on the highest price of 40 operations on females dogs @ $22ea) 

I will round up my funding goal to ONLY $1,000 USD allowing us to either perform more surgeries and purchase school supplies for the children! (One consideration is the fee GoFundMe charges 2.9 percent payment-processing fee collected on each donation, along with 30 cents for every donation) 

If you haven’t donated yet, consider helping me meet my newest goal and donate any amount you can, whether it’s $1, $5 or $10. Any amount will bring me closer to my goal: https://www.gofundme.com/fundacion-cantoalavida

Thank you so much! ❤ ❤ ❤

Gloria sent me this photo of her on her way out to town to get supplies. Notice the kitty in her front basket haha!

And now for our little Arizonan Stray story!

About 3 or 4 weeks ago, we boondocked (dry camping) on Arizona State Trust Land near Tucson. We saw a glimpse of a dog roaming the area. Noticing the stray dog, I started putting a bit of food scraps out to see if it would take the bait and it did! You can see the progression photos at the bottom of the post. 

We then moved and camped for a week or so on the North side of Tucson. We returned to our original camp spot last week and noticed that our visitor was back so I started dropping a trail of scraps on the road leading to our van. It took a few days before the dog stuck around the van longer for us to take a good look at it. It was obviously underfed and had been here for at least several weeks. That’s when I knew I had to step it up and gain this dog’s trust.

Over a few days, I sat outside and left food and fresh water out for the dog to find when eventually it started eating the food with me sitting outside nearby. I continued talking and trying to hand feed the dog by kneeing on the ground showing that I was not a threat. We fed it whatever we had on hand; bacon, beans and leftovers. The dog was not picky as it was so hungry!

Uncertain if she would bite, I took it very slowly and stood still most of the time. A ziploc bag crinkling would scare her and she would bolt away, tail between her legs. Eventually, she approached me and let me touch her. We then bought a wire crate and dog food for her so we could transport her to an animal shelter within a few days.

Friday night, we went to bed and she stood guard outside the van, barking and crying. The cage was out there for her to use but she was still too scared of it.

After giving her several good meals over a few days, I went outside on Saturday morning to find her waiting for us to wake up and ran up to me in a very playful mode. Tail wagging, jumping in excitement and trying to play with me. Overnight, this dog’s personality came out and we saw who we were dealing with: the sweetest girl ever!

That morning, she would not leave my side and would cry outside when we retreated inside the van where she couldn’t see us.  We were able to coax her to come inside the van which took many tries but she managed to build the courage to jump in. We decided to drive her to Walmart to get her a cheap collar & leash and bring her back to our camping spot. It got windy and a bit chilly that day for us to leave our door open, so we  coaxed her again to come back inside the van where she could be sheltered from the wind and cold. As soon as the van door would re-open, she would bolt outside then cry because she couldn’t see us.

Bryan and I both agreed she couldn’t spend the night in the van with us. She was a stray and who knows where she had been or if she’d chew anything or potty inside… But then bed time came and she jumped right back in the van and and onto the bed to lay at my feet on the bed… which is when I realized I had no say in where she was spending the night! She already had made that decision for us. She was the perfect snuggle buddy minus all the toots from the various food we gave her. haha! Don’t worry, we washed out sheets after she slept in our bed!

On Sunday, we woke up packed up the van and drove to Phoenix to drop her off at her new home with our friend Bruce. I will keep on posting update on her as she gets settled into her new home. She does not have a microchip and will soon go to the vet soon and receive all the appropriate shots and care!

From now on, she never has to worry about where her next meal will be and will always have a warm place to sleep and someone to snuggle with, thanks to you Bruce! ❤