899 Surgeries Performed in Ceiba.

Seventeen year old Mahomar has spent his entire life with his Grandparents in a small house that his grandfather built himself. When Hurricane Maria came, the house was almost completely destroyed. There was severe structural damage and the roof was mostly torn off. It has been eight months since the storm and they finally got electricity only the week prior to the Spayathon and still do not have a roof. When asked what they do when it rains, he said they huddle together under the only section of the roof that still remains over the kitchen and still get a little wet. Through it all, Mahomar still managed to graduate from high school this year, get accepted into college, and care for his three rescue dogs, who he says, “are everything” to him. When he cannot afford dog food, he shares his own food with them. The overwhelming love and affection between him and his dogs stole the heart of every staff member and volunteer who saw them together. Mahomar’s dogs were the very last ones we treated during Round One in Ceiba. They also served as a powerful reminder of what our hard work all week was for.

Under the hot Puerto Rican afternoon sun, despite coming prepared with her own lawn chair, Sara was standing in the Spayathon line. Why? Because she said her dog Toma seemed uncomfortable, so she offered her the chair instead. Sara says that she was never a dog person until she traveled to visit her sister in the mainland U.S. and fell in love with her small white dog. Upon returning to PR, she suddenly found herself filled with compassion for the small street dog who had been living in her neighborhood for several years and had already given birth four times. Sara started to feed her and gain her trust. “Toma” means “take” in Spanish, which is what she would say to her when offering food. Gradually, this became her name. Then Toma became pregnant again. Two of the puppies were hit by a car and died, two were adopted by neighbors, and Sara decided that this was the final straw. She officially took Toma and the lone remaining puppy into her house and now says she cannot imagine her life without them. Her and Toma have a very special bond and she is so happy that Toma will never again have to give birth.

Rosa lives in Punta Santiago, Humacao, where Hurricane Maria first hit. The storm completely flooded their home and they lost everything. Luckily, a friend took her entire family into their house, including all five of her dogs. But then tragedy struck again and Rosa’s 27 year old son suddenly passed away. She considers her dogs her angels. She says that they are what have seen her family through this chapter of tragic loss. She came to the Spayathon in Ceiba with their 3 year old Pomeranian, Alondra Poala and their 4 year old Shih-tzu, Lala Loopsy. She has had them both since they were puppies and wants to do everything she can to care for them in return for their unconditional love. She was very thankful to the Spayathon for giving her the opportunity to spay them and keep them healthy.

Lucky was adopted as a tiny puppy from a shelter and lived with his family for 4 years. But then his family decided to move to Texas and were going to return him to the shelter. Fortunately, their neighbor, Chong, hated the idea of Lucky having to go back to a shelter - where the euthanasia rate in Puerto Rican shelters is 99%. So she decided to adopt Lucky herself, even though she’d never had a dog before. She’s just been learning as she goes and then a friend told her to come to the Spayathon event to have Lucky neutered, and here she is! The first day she came, she didn’t get in before we hit our max. However, she said she knew it was a good thing to do for him, so she returned and got in on her second try. We’re pretty sure Chong is going to make an excellent dog mom.

Mulan was part of a littler of nine puppies and was the only puppy that survived. Her adopted sibling Megara was found as a puppy in an abandoned empty house. Like all dog moms, their mom, Marioly loves them like family. During Hurricane Maria, she says they provided not only comfort, but protection. They helped the family feel safer during a time when everything was unstable. After the storm, the instability continued. Dog food became extremely limited, as was human food. But when the dog food ran out, they didn’t hesitate to share their own limited food supply with them. Marijoly has done everything she can to take care of her dogs. The risk of them becoming pregnant has always weighed on her. But now thanks to the Spayathon, she has one less thing to worry about.

Jeanelly found her two cats, Princess Caroline and Black Ninja, as tiny kittens right after Hurricane Maria in a place where garbage was being dumped. She tried to find homes for them but was unsuccessful. Fortunately, her living situation changed and she was able to keep them herself. The Spayathon helped her take them both to a vet for the very first time.

Kahlua and his family used to live in a house with a fence that was too short to keep him contained inside. He kept jumping the fence and it was causing a lot of problems. The solution? Kahlua’s whole family moved to a completely new house so they could have a better yard to contain him and keep him happy.

Tati is four years old and has fortunately never had puppies because her mom, Elsa, has always done everything she can to be responsible and keep her contained. Elsa adores Tati and has always been very protective because she did not want her to have to go through having puppies. When asked about her thoughts on the Spayathon, Elsa had tears in her eyes when she told us how grateful she was to have this opportunity to not only spay and vaccinate the dog she loves but to do her part in preventing more unwanted and homeless puppies from wandering the streets. The Spayathon was Tati’s first time seeing a vet.