5 Dogs Found Dead in Barriada Clark

Wednesday & Thursday, August 14 & 15, 2013 Reported by Animal Welfare of Culebra (AWC) Sometime between Tuesday and Wednesday, August 13 & 14, 2013, at least 5 satos in Barriada Clark were poisoned and died. Animal Welfare of Culebra was notied by a resident (referred to as Resident 1 hereafter) on Calle Catalina Santiago, Barriada Clark, Culebra, PR, that there were 2 dead dogs in his yard. Cana and her puppy were found by said resident at 3:20 p.m. on Wednesday, August 14, bleeding from the mouth. On Thursday evening, another resident (referred to as Resident 2 hereafter) found a dead dog on the property adjacent to theirs, and contacted Animal Welfare of Culebra (see photo 1). On Friday, another dead dog was found in the yard of Resident 1, totaling 4 dead dogs within 1 house of each other, within 1-2 days of each other. We are certain that the 5th missing dog is also dead, as she has been missing since Tuesday (last seen at 8:00 a.m.); she would always come running when AWCs car appeared. She has not appeared since Tuesday.

Background information on the dogs in this neighborhood:

There were 5 satos in this neighborhood near the Monjitas (Sisters), that were under the care of Animal Welfare of Culebra and Resident 1. Each day, AWC visited these satos to feed and provide them with fresh water. The goal was to socialize them enough so that they could be crated, and taken to the vet to be sterilized and vaccinated. 3 out of 5 of these dogs were sterilized and vaccinated in May 2013. 3 more female dogs in that neighborhood were also sterilized and vaccinated with AWC funds. AWC was helping to control the canine population in a humane way. We had only 2 more female dogs to sterilize. They are now dead. According to our new on island veterinarian, Dr. Osmar Rivera, these dogs died due to Tres Pasitos (3 Little Steps, rat poisoning). This is against the law. It is criminal and punishable according to Ley 154. And someone within 5 houses of Las Monjitas is responsible as these dogs did not make it very far before dying a horribly painful death. The criminal would have realized, simply by speaking with AWC, that these dogs were sterilized, stopping the growth of the dog population in that neighborhood. Tres Pasitos is not a form of sterilization or animal population control. It is a form of murder. Furthermore, one of the dead dogs was believed to have been someones pet. According to residents in this neighborhood, this is the second time, within 1.5 years, that poisoning, with the intent to kill domestic animals, has occurred on this street, in this area, in Barriada Clark. What the community can do if they witness or think that cats/dogs are being poisoned in their neighborhoods: 1) Call the State Police that help to administer Ley 154: " Ofcer Rafael Flores 787-661-7400

Ofcer Cynthia Cruz (she handles eastern PR, Vieques & Culebra regarding Ley 154) 787-885-2020 or 787-459-8144 2) Report incident to our local police; insist that they appear at site of incident 787-742-3501 3) Take 5 photos of the animal from different views 4) Report incident to Emergency Management/Civil Defense, Arturo 787-439-4156 5) Report incident to the Humane Society of Puerto Rico, Maritza 787-306-8877 6) Report incident and send photos to our on island vet, Dr. Osmar Rivera,787-552-4199. Email osmarrivera@yahoo.com What the community can do to help animal welfare here in Culebra: 1) Revise and update the local animal welfare ordinances, dated 1985 2) Add an ordinance for mandated registration of pets 3) Add an ordinance that pets must be humanely contained on ones property 4) All incidents, along with photos, should be emailed to the municipality and assembly: alcaldecul2013@gmail.com Animal welfare is a community issue, affecting public health, conservation, safety, tourism, and quality of life. If interested in helping change the outcome of this most recent tragic event, please email Animal Welfare of Culebra at culebrasatos@gmail.com or message us on Facebook. Tres Pasitos, and all types of poisoning or other methods of killing domestic animals are illegal and punishable by law. It is illegal to administer it with the intent of killing cats and dogs. It is criminal. It is punishable. It is inhumane. There are alternatives to controlling Culebras animal population. Please contact us.

Photo 1