When we came to live in Mexico, we made the decision to get ourselves a
small dog.
We
then fell in love with a tiny 6 week old Chihuahua. I named him after
my favorite Mexican word Cacahuate, but Jen decided that we should call
him after the English translation of the word…….Peanut.
From
the start he was a very special little puppy, never afraid of anything
or anyone. Always full of life. He loved to go out walking and meeting
our friends, but his favorite was to walk and play on the beach, he
just loved it. Soon after, we found him a playmate Spud.
They became inseparable, eating, playing
and sleeping snuggled up
to each other, Spud was four times his size but Peanut was always the
boss! If he wanted to eat first - he did! If he wanted the
toy
Spud had - one yip from him and the toy was his!
Everything was perfect until one morning we woke to discover that
Peanut could not stand.
He was dragging himself around on his front paws, unable to use his
back legs at all.
We
rushed him to the vet where he was checked over and x-rayed. It was
then discovered that two of his vertebrae at the top of his spine had
separated, trapping the nerves. The vet informed us that whilst not
common, it was a trait with this kind of small dog and there was not
much he could do.
We sadly took little Peanut home, knowing
that there was really only
one outcome. We just couldn’t bring ourselves to do it, not just yet.
Over
the next couple of days Peanut would continually try to stand. He
became distressed at his inability to go outside and relieve himself.
Over and over again, he tried to stand. That is when I made the
decision to try and build him a wheelchair. I had no idea how to do
this, but after looking at some ideas on the internet, I constructed a
wheelchair using some spare bits of materials I had lying around.
We
were amazed the first time I gently placed Peanut in his chair. He
immediately ran off across the room - it was incredible how happy he
was! I took him outside and off he went! I couldn’t
stop
laughing, his head was darting left and right and his little tail was
wagging so hard, it was a sight to see.
Although happy in his chair, Peanut still
tried and tried every day
to stand on all fours. His determination grew and grew until, for a 48
hour period, he did nothing but struggle over and over again to stand.
Stopping only to eat, take short naps and bathroom breaks.
Imagine
our shock and surprise when we awoke one morning to find Peanut
standing proudly on all four feet, complete with wagging tail!
To this day we do not know how he managed to get up. Within days
he was walking around un-aided. Over the next couple of weeks he
regained 80% use of his limbs and could even climb stairs. However, he
could not run and would tire quickly. To see this once crippled puppy
walking again made our hearts swell. Although he still used his chair
occasionally, he was once again able to take the beach walks he loved.
Things were great for about a month when
sadly, Peanut suddenly lost
the use of his back legs once more. This time he appeared
much weaker.
We again rushed him to the vet, only to be told that his little body
was shutting down.
He
appeared to have a congenital problem in his brain and this time there
would be nothing we could do for him. And so we took him home as he
wasn’t distressed or in pain, just weak and tired.
The
next morning his strength had all but gone and we knew the end was
near. We took him to his beloved stretch of beach one last time, but
instead of digging in the sand and dipping his toes in the ocean he
just lay on a blanket in the shade with only his gently wagging tail to
show that he knew where he was.
We took him home, tucked
him into his little bed with his favorite blanket and told him that
although he would be sadly missed, it was ok to go.
That night little Peanut went to sleep for the last time.
The
next morning at daybreak we buried him under a tree on a deserted part
of the beach he loved so much. No-one but us knows where his grave is.
Peanut was only ten months old when he passed. We feel
privileged to have known him as he taught us an important
lesson:
No matter how hard things are, no matter what life throws at us, if we
don’t give up we can achieve miracles.
He was only a tiny puppy but he had such a huge heart. His
courage and determination was the inspiration for the Peanut Pet
Shelter .
RIP Peanut
How
the Peanut Pet Shelter Came to be
It
all started with Spud………….our first rescue!
We were driving along the highway late one evening after visiting
friends out of town, when out of nowhere a little puppy appeared at the
side of the road.
Our first thought was to get him out of
harm’s way. It was late and traffic had slowed, but lumbering towards
us was a huge 18 wheel truck !
We knew the little guy would be killed if we didn’t take action.
Finally we managed to catch the poor, bedraggled puppy (who
we
later named Spud) and took him home to live with us and our other new
puppy the tiny Chihuahua named Peanut.
This first rescue was soon followed by a
sick mother with 6 pups.
Not long after, an emaciated female who had been living in the car park
of the Coca Cola plant joined our growing ‘family’.
We managed to find loving homes for the new puppies but the word
quickly spread and before we knew it we had 11 dogs and puppies in our
small rented house (we were not supposed to have any!!) So, the
decision was made to move to a larger rented property and before we
knew it our 11 had become 20 !
Soon it seemed the whole town
knew about the two crazy Brits who had turned their little house into a
kennel and from then on there was no stopping the flood of sick and
starving dogs and puppies that arrived at our door.
Since
then we have managed to become a locally accepted charity with a large
support base. To date we have rescued over 450 dogs and cats,
puppies and kittens, of which so far over 200 have found happy loving
homes both here in Mexico, Canada, U.S.A. and even Spain.
We have come a long way since the days of
11 dogs in our crowded
little one bed house. We now have a purpose built rescue shelter, where
at the last count we were taking care of over 80 dogs and puppies.
Our
next project will be to build a clinic inside the shelter grounds,
where vets will be able to treat not only our animals, but also those
of local people who are currently unable to afford full veterinary
costs, particularly with regard to spaying and neutering.
We
feel it is of the utmost importance to reduce the current amount of
indiscriminate breeding, if we are ever to see a significant reduction
in the amount of dogs roaming the streets of Playa del Carmen.
It is our dream to see an end to the sick and starving stray
population of dogs here in Playa del Carmen. We are convinced that with
perseverance and education, one day we will see our dream realized.
