During the summer of 2007,
while driving towards Hopkins two of the North American citizens who have taken
permanent residence in the area came across this tiny puppy on the road. The puppy was obviously near death and showed
signs of being badly abused and neglected.
She almost appeared to be begging for their help!
For as long as North
Americans and Europeans have been taking up residence in the local areas, they have
been faced with the seemingly hopeless dilemma of trying to find a solution to
this almost insurmountable problem. A
general feeling that nothing could be done to change the sorry plight of these
animals was the consensus of most residents and visitors to the area. Bitte provided a turning point.
These are the pictures of
that little dog which has been named Bitte, (sounds like Bitta) which is a
German word for “Please”.
Bitte 3 days after rescue
If
not for this dog stepping out onto the road in front of the vehicle on this fateful day,
The Hopkins Belize Humane Society may never have been
formed.
Within a 3 short weeks after
rescuing this puppy, and considerable help and dedication from our friends and
neighbors in the area, the Hopkins
Belize Humane Society came into
being!
Bitte 9 days after rescue
It
was during those first three weeks that the first Animal Clinic was set up in
the
The first three months after
forming the Hopkins Belize Humane Society proved to be extremely busy for all
the volunteers. They were able to hold 6
Animal Clinic’s where they managed to vaccinate most of the younger dogs plus
many of the older ones.
Bitte 20 days after rescue
The
committee members for the society have also started a puppy training course for
the children of Hopkins
and their puppies. After only a few
classes, the children are already showing significant improvement in the manner
in which they treat their animals and their understanding of the loving bond
that can be formed between themselves and their pets. The training
classes have proven to be an excellent time to check on the health and general
welfare of the puppies as well as provide any medical care to those animals that may not have made it to the clinic. The puppy training course is
turning out to be very popular with the children here, and the trainers are all
enjoying seeing the progress and changes in attitudes of the children that have
taken place.
The full time onsite medical
team consists of a retired Veterinarian from the Mid Western States and his
wife that has worked with animal’s most of her life. They take care of minor medical emergencies
as well as try to go to people’s houses when they can not get their dogs to the
clinic. The group routinely goes out
about the Village to check on the puppies that have been adopted out, making
sure that they are being properly fed and cared for.
The societies committee has
also set up a humanitarian excursion for Veterinarians from Arkansas to come to the little Village
of Hopkins near the end of February, 2008, to do spaying and neutering.
This will undoubtedly be a milestone in helping control the exploding
pet population.
This has been extremely well
received by not only the village of Hopkins but also by
the Belizian Government. The Government
has taken steps to ensure that any of the much needed supplies required to keep
this dream alive pass through importation requirements as quickly as possible
and are not delayed in reaching the end users.
Bitte 40 days after rescue
The most urgent project right
now being undertaken by the committee is to finance and build a permanent
Animal Shelter so that there will be a safe haven to shelter the stray and
unwanted animals until they can be placed into a safe and loving
environment. Right now, there is a local
resident who has graciously volunteered to foster the puppies for the society
until a suitable permanent location can be established, but unfortunately,
there is currently little that can be done to take care of the older dogs.
The society is desperately trying to keep
treatments and care for the poor unfortunate animals free of charge for those
that can not afford it, and ask for donations from the owners of pets that are
more fortunate.
As with all non profit
groups, the Hopkins Belize Humane Society is always looking for those of you
who either can lend a helping hand, or who can donate to keep this project
running and make it into the success that all believe it can become. Any and all help that you can provide will be
greatly appreciated. For those of you
planning a trip to the local area here in
if you can
But if not, I'll still be
YOUR BEST FRIEND!