Dead Dog Beach

Last updated

Playa Lucia
in Yabucoa in 2020 Playa Lucia en Yabucoa, Puerto Rico.jpg
Playa Lucia in Yabucoa in 2020

Dead Dog Beach (La Playa de los Perros Muertos, also known as Sato Beach and officially named Playa Lucia) is a beach within the municipality of Yabucoa in southeastern Puerto Rico. Its nickname derives from it being a dumping ground for stray animals, mainly dogs that the inhabitants of Yabucoa could no longer afford. Most dumped animals were not spayed or neutered.

Contents

The beach was known for having one of the highest concentrations of stray animals in Puerto Rico. It attracted animal rights activists and groups hoping to make a difference. One example is The Sato Project, a large-scale rescue project which focuses its efforts on Sato Beach in Yabucoa. [1] Many individuals who come are so moved by these animals' living conditions that they extend their stay to help. Various rescue projects focus on the island's development. Many of these efforts were prompted by abuse of animals, even by local authorities, as in the Barceloneta Massacre in 2007. [2]

By 2014, a gate had been put up to deny access to people who would dump dogs on the beach and Sato Project regularly monitors the beach for strays.

Geography and climate

Lucia Beach in Yabucoa in 2010 Lucia Beach in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico.jpg
Lucia Beach in Yabucoa in 2010

Puerto Rico, mainly a 90-by-30 mile island located in the Caribbean region, includes smaller islands off of its eastern coast. Its average temperatures range from 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Its beaches stretch for hundreds of miles. [3] Along the northern coasts, are cliffs and a region known as the Karst region. This region contains notable land features such as caves, caverns, waterfalls, underground rivers and rain forests. Puerto Rico has the largest and deepest trench in the Atlantic Ocean, known as the Puerto Rico Trench. [4] Notable rivers include the Guayanes River extends for 17 miles, as well as the Prieto, Arenas, Limones and Ingenio Rivers. [5]

Yabucoa is surrounded on three sides by the San Lorenzo Batholith and the Caribbean Sea. It is humid and mainly flat. Mountain ranges in this area include Santa Elena peak, Pandura, and the Cayey Range. Yabucoa valley consists mainly of farmland. It was originally a small mountain town. [5]

History

Playa Lucia
in Yabucoa in 2010 Playa Lucia in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico.jpg
Playa Lucia in Yabucoa in 2010

The name Yubucoa means "place or site with waters", although some scholars believe it means "place of cassava". [5] The area was founded in 1793 when Manuel Colón de Bonillas and his wife, Catalina Morales Pacheco, donated the settlement. [5] Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony until 1898, when it became a U.S. territory. [6] Economic hardship dates back to the 17th and 18th centuries. Although briefly resolved, such hardships play a key role in the story of Dead Dog Beach. Yabucoa received popularity when in 1989 the WBO held a boxing championship there between Orlando Fernandez and Julio Gervacio. Fernandez' victory brought attention to the town and to Puerto Rico. [7]

Before becoming known as "Dead Dog Beach," Playa Lucia was a popular beach. It consisted of a pool, cabana facilities and other recreational activities. It became a wasteland: the pool was covered in graffiti, and full of garbage. The facilities were abandoned and without proper maintenance turned into ruins. The only visitors who roamed the area were dogs and cats among piles of pet carcasses. [8] As of 2014, a gate was put up to deny access to people who would dump dogs on the beach and Sato Project has been regularly monitoring the beach for strays. [9] [10]

Causes

Coconut palm trees in Playa Lucia in Yabucoa, 2020 Palmas en Playa Lucia en Yabucoa, Puerto Rico.jpg
Coconut palm trees in Playa Lucia in Yabucoa, 2020

Economy

The economy of Puerto Rico weakened under the weight of the 2017 hurricanes. Many individuals were forced to abandon their pets. Local shelters filled and individuals left the island. [11]

Culture

The practice of not spaying and neutering pets causes population to expand rapidly. A majority[ citation needed ] of Puerto Rican pet owners believe that sterilization is not "natural" and/or "kills their sex life". Other owners breed their animals as a source of income. Some individuals go so far as to argue that it is less humane to kill their pet's "sex lives" than to actually kill the pet. [12]

Rescue projects

SATO Project

The Sato Project is an animal rescue project that operates across the territory while mainly focusing on Dead Dog Beach. Launched in 2011 by Chrissy Beckles and her husband Bobby Beckles, it is the official rescue group in Yabucoa. The Sato Project is composed of teams that work together to ship the dogs to the continental U.S. The Sato Project began a multi-phase campaign to facilitate and promote free spaying and neutering events in the area.

Other rescue operations

The Animal Rescue Foundation is an animal rescue project started in 1997 which primarily operates in Rincon. Its main focus is to rescue dogs and cats, provide spaying/neutering and adoption services, and to educate the community about pet safety. [13]

Barks For Hope is a rescue foundation started by Leo Roubian in 2014. Its primary goal is to provide aid and adoption for abandoned animals throughout the island. The operation offers transportation and medical care, including rehabilitation and rides to be spayed and neutered. [14]

Brevard Humane Society | Spay-A-Thon | ViDAS (Veterinarios Internacionales Dedicados a Animales Sanos)

The initiative, known as “Spay-A-Thon” for Puerto Rico, aims to provide high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter services to 20,000 animals in underserved communities across the Commonwealth by May 2019. With the support of Governor Ricardo Rosselló and First Lady Beatriz Rosselló, the Brevard Humane Society, located in Brevard County, Florida, was the only local animal welfare organization to participate in this historic endeavor. In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, the most destructive storm on record in Puerto Rico, Dr. Zenaida Agriat-Rodriguez, veterinarian for Brevard Humane Society, joined VIDAS (Veterinarios Internacionales Dedicados an Animales Sanos) for a spay/neuter clinic in the territory's second largest city, Ponce. “We couldn’t be happier to help a community that was ravaged by a devastating hurricane which left thousands of animals homeless. This collaboration will undoubtedly make a real difference and impact on the welfare of Puerto Rico’s pets.” said Theresa Clifton, executive director of the Brevard Humane Society. [15] [16] [17]

Individual rescue efforts

Stephen McGarva moved to Puerto Rico in 2005, and, while exploring his new home, came face-to-face with the animals' plight. McGarva began feeding the dogs and cleaning their wounds daily, in the hope to make them more adoptable. McGarva remained in the territory for several years to take care of the animals before returning the U.S. where by sharing his experiences, raised awareness of the animal crisis in Puerto Rico. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pet adoption</span> Adoption of pets that have been abandoned by previous owners

Pet adoption is the process of transferring responsibility for a pet that was previously owned by another party. Common sources for adoptable pets are animal shelters, rescue groups, or other pet owners. Some organizations give adopters ownership of the pet, while others use a guardianship model wherein the organization retains some control over the animal's future use or care.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animal shelter</span> Place where stray animals are housed

An animal shelter or pound is a place where stray, lost, abandoned or surrendered animals – mostly dogs and cats – are housed. The word "pound" has its origins in the animal pounds of agricultural communities, where stray livestock would be penned or impounded until they were claimed by their owners.

An animal rescue group or animal rescue organization is a group dedicated to pet adoption. These groups take unwanted, abandoned, abused, or stray pets and attempt to find suitable homes for them. Many rescue groups are created by and run by volunteers, who take animals into their homes and care for them — including training, playing, handling medical issues, and solving behaviour problems — until a suitable permanent home can be found.

In some countries there is an overpopulation of pets such as cats, dogs, and exotic animals. In the United States, six to eight million animals are brought to shelters each year, of which an estimated three to four million are subsequently euthanized, including 2.7 million considered healthy and adoptable. Euthanasia numbers have declined since the 1970s, when U.S. shelters euthanized an estimated 12 to 20 million animals. Most humane societies, animal shelters and rescue groups urge animal caregivers to have their animals spayed or neutered to prevent the births of unwanted and accidental litters that could contribute to this dynamic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peninsula Humane Society</span> Animal organization

The Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA (PHS/SPCA) is one of the largest humane organizations in the United States. Located in San Mateo County, California, it is a private non-profit charitable organization. It is an animal rescue, rehabilitation and adoption operation with two locations. The Tom and Annette Lantos Center for Compassion, where adoptable animals are housed, is in the city of Burlingame and the older physical plant, which serves as the intake shelter, is located at Coyote Point in the city of San Mateo. PHS/SPCA has been responsible for considerable progress in the California Legislature with new humane laws in the state, especially since the late 1970s. PHS/SPCA has been characterized as a progressive and innovative humane organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dogs Trust</span> Largest dog welfare charity (started in 1891)

Dogs Trust, known until 2003 as the National Canine Defence League, is a British animal welfare charity and humane society which specialises in the well-being of dogs. It is the largest dog welfare charity in the United Kingdom, caring for over 15,000 animals each year. Dogs Trust's primary objective is to protect all dogs in the UK and elsewhere from maltreatment, cruelty and suffering. It focuses on the rehabilitation and rehoming of dogs which have been either abandoned or given up by their owners through rehoming services.

A no-kill shelter is an animal shelter that does not kill healthy or treatable animals based on time limits or capacity, reserving euthanasia for terminally ill animals, animals suffering poor quality of life, or those considered dangerous to public safety. A no-kill shelter uses many strategies to promote shelter animals; to expanding its resources using volunteers, housing and medical protocols; and to work actively to lower the number of homeless animals entering the shelter system. Up to ten percent of animals could be killed in a no-kill shelter and still be considered a no-kill shelter.

North Shore Animal League America, headquartered in Port Washington, New York, is the largest no-kill animal rescue and adoption organization in the world. Marianne H. Sanders founded the League in 1944, and the League's mission has been saving the lives of pets through adoption, rescue, spay/neuter and advocacy initiatives. Each year, the League rescues, nurtures and adopts nearly 20,000 pets nationwide, and to date, has placed nearly one million puppies, kittens, cats and dogs into screened homes. One of the first animal rescue agencies on the ground in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the League rescued more than 1,400 pets from the region.

AB 1634 was a 2007 bill in the California State Legislature which would require that dogs and cats in California be spayed or neutered by 6 months of age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potcake dog</span> Dog breed

The potcake dog is a mixed-breed dog type found on several Caribbean islands. Its name comes from a traditional local dish of seasoned rice and pigeon peas; overcooked rice that sticks to the bottom of the cooking pot is commonly mixed with other leftovers and fed to the dogs. Although appearance varies, potcakes generally have smooth coats, cocked ears, and long faces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine Animal Welfare Society</span> Organization

The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) is a volunteer-based, non-government organization whose goal is to prevent animal cruelty through education, animal sheltering and advocacy, based in Quezon City, Philippines. It was founded in 1954 by Muriel Jay. PAWS believes that the creation of a more peaceful society starts with the widening of mankind's circle of compassion which includes animals, thereby envisions a nation that respects animals, practices responsible pet ownership and protects wildlife. The volunteer-based organization rehabilitates these animals in the hope of finding them new homes and a second chance at a good life. PAWS does not take in pets of other people, but only victims of cruelty or neglect where the animal offenders are charged with violation of the Animal Welfare Act in court.

The National Animal Interest Alliance (NAIA) is a non-profit organization in the United States dedicated to promoting animal welfare and animal husbandry practices, strengthening the human-animal bond, and safeguarding the rights of responsible animal owners and professionals through research, public education and public policy. The NAIA mission is "to promote the welfare of animals."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Compassion and Responsibility for Animals</span> Organization

Compassion and Responsibility for Animals (CARA) is a registered non-profit, non-government animal welfare organization in the Philippines. It was founded in 2000 by a group of animal lovers determined to help the plight of animals in the Philippines. The current president of CARA is Nancy Cu-Unjieng.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Street dog</span> Unconfined dogs that live in cities

Street dogs, known in scientific literature as free-ranging urban dogs, are unconfined dogs that live in cities. They live virtually everywhere cities exist and the local human population allows, especially in the developing world. Street dogs may be stray dogs, pets which have strayed from or are abandoned by their owners, or may be feral animals that have never been owned. Street dogs may be stray purebreds, true mixed-breed dogs, or unbred landraces such as the Indian pariah dog. Street dog overpopulation can cause problems for the societies in which they live, so campaigns to spay and neuter them are sometimes implemented. They tend to differ from rural free-ranging dogs in their skill sets, socialization, and ecological effects.

Abandoned pets are companion animals that are either inadvertently or deliberately abandoned by their owners, by either dumping the animals on the streets, leaving them alone in a vacant property, or relinquishing them at an animal shelter.

World Spay Day advocates spaying, or neutering, advocating it "as a proven means of saving the lives of companion animals, community cats, and street dogs who might otherwise be put down in a shelter or killed on the street." It is an event held on the last Tuesday in February each year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animal Rescue Foundation</span>

The Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) is a nonprofit organization founded by Elaine and Tony La Russa, based in Walnut Creek, California. ARF rescues dogs and cats from public animal shelters where they would otherwise be euthanized and adopts them into new homes. Their programs include a spay and neuter clinic, training classes, psychiatric service dog training for military veterans, a volunteer therapy dog program, and humane education programs for children.

Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh (HARP), formerly known as the Animal Rescue League of Western Pennsylvania, known commonly as Animal Rescue League Shelter & Wildlife Center (ARL), is an animal welfare organization founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1909. The ARL is a non-profit organization that offers various services to support both animals and pet owners alike. It is the only animal shelter in the Pittsburgh area that accepts both domestic animals and wildlife. The agency's shelter and clinic are located in Pittsburgh's East Liberty neighborhood, while its wildlife rehabilitation center and boarding kennels are a few miles away in Verona, Pennsylvania. The organization maintains a contract with the city of Pittsburgh and accepts all stray pets that are apprehended by the Animal Control unit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soi Dog Foundation</span> Thai nonprofit organisation

The Soi Dog Foundation is a nonprofit organisation for the welfare of stray dogs and cats. Its headquarters is in Phuket, Thailand, and it is a legally registered nonprofit organisation in Thailand, the US, Canada, Australia, France, UK, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Its primary goal is to care for homeless and abused dogs in Thailand. It was established by British couple John and Gill Dalley with the help of Margot Homburg Park in Phuket in 2003.

The Sato Project is an animal rescue and protection organization founded in 2011 by British-born Christina Beckles. It works to rescue abused and abandoned dogs in Puerto Rico, educating the public and advocating for abused and abandoned dogs. "Sato" is the Spanish word used in Puerto Rico and Cuba for referring to stray dogs or cats. Many of the project's missions have involved airlifting dogs before and after natural disasters, including Hurricane Maria in 2017 and the earthquakes that struck Puerto Rico in 2019 and 2020. "Spayathon" is a spaying and neutering program, attended by Sato Project and other animal rights organizations in Puerto Rico, which has had an impact on the stray dog population.

References

  1. "The Sato Project". The Sato Project. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  2. "More Than 69 000 Pets Massacred In Puerto Rico". www.cbsnews.com. October 12, 2007. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  3. Barreto, Maritza (2017). Assessment of beach morphology at Puerto Rico Island. Puerto Rico and Caribbean Beach Network. retrieved from: http://drna.pr.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Geomorphic-Assessment-of-Puerto-Rico-1977-to-2016.pdf
  4. "Geography of Puerto Rico, Landforms - World Atlas". www.worldatlas.com. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Municipalities: Yabucoa". www.enciclopediapr.org. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  6. "Central America :: Puerto Rico — The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  7. "Orlando Fernandez boxer". www.fightsrec.com. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  8. Ann Roche and Evelio Contreras (August 25, 2015). "Sato Project saves pups from 'Dead Dog Beach'". CNN. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  9. "Hope For The Lost And Abandoned Dogs Of Puerto Rico from The Animal House | WAMU 88.5". www.stitcher.com.
  10. "The Spayathon for Puerto Rico". The Sato Project. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  11. Long, Heather (March 20, 2016). "Puerto Rico has become 'dead dog island'". CNNMoney. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  12. Márquez, Juan Agustín (September 7, 2012), 100,000 , retrieved November 14, 2016 via DrunkenGunsAndBombs on YouTube
  13. "Animal Rescue Foundations".
  14. "Barks for Hope".
  15. "BREVARD HUMANE SOCIETY LENDS A PAW TO AID PUERTO RICO ANIMAL RELIEF EFFORTS". Brevard Humane Society. September 3, 2018.
  16. Hometown News, Jamie Desena-McFarland For Hometown News (September 20, 2018). "Pets from Puerto Rico available for adoption locally". Hometown News Brevard.
  17. "Pets rescued from Puerto Rico coming to Brevard". www.mynews13.com.
  18. Buiso, Gary (August 24, 2014). "Hundreds of dogs saved from massacre on Puerto Rico". New York Post. Retrieved March 25, 2020.

Further reading

18°02′N65°50′W / 18.04°N 65.83°W / 18.04; -65.83