On my trip to Belize I met a stray that caught my heart. A brindle Pittie mix. He seemed to follow us around more than the other strays. He is a bit thin. Not terribly. But he has an ulcer in his eye that is terrible and face swelling to go with it. I think the eye needs to come out. Hes surely blind in that eye and the some of the other dogs pick on him.
All the dogs on the island roam freely. Collared dogs have an owner, dogs without a collar are strays.
I felt connected to him. Like he was asking for and needed our help. We (my kids and I) decided to make him our dog and help him. The CDC has ridiculous requirements to bring a dog from Belize (one of the 113 banned countries) into the USA. We knew we needed help. The process takes 4 months but we only had 5 days.
So we went to talk to the animal shelter on the island. He gave us a collar to claim him and said he could help bring the dog to the vet and to the main land for necessary requirements. Great start! We took the collar and went to look for him. I stopped at a coffee shop I had seen him at before. We ordered some food and I just asked the staff if they knew the dog and if so, did they know if he had an owner? I just wanted to make sure he was a stray before taking over someones dog! He was a stray.
Later in the trip we found out the dogs story. Island talk… its a small place (the island is 3/4 of a mile wide and 1.5 miles long). He was dumped in the ocean off a boat with another dog. Too far away from shore to swim to land. Someone saw them and went out in a boat to save them. “Beans” got pulled in, the other dog didnt make it. The other dog went under and couldnt be saved.
Beans was released onto the island as a stray since the rescurer couldnt take him in and the shelter is over capacity. There are so many strays on the island so its very normal. He had only been there 2 weeks. The coffee shop has been feeding him.
After I heard his story I knew he was going to be my dog. We found him, we put a collar on him. He is now ours. We are home in the USA, he is in Belize, roaming the streets but being watched by my new friends. He cant go anywhere, no cars on the island and its so small he is safe. I have the animal shelter helping me, the owner of the coffee shop, Ice and Beanz, looking after him for me (feeding him and keeping an eye on him) and the island humane society looking after him for me too. I am in daily communication with someone about him. He has a collar so everyone knows he is owned like the others that roam with a collar. And the people of the island know he is mine.
Although I would love to keep him, my house is dog full. But I am committed to ensuring he has the best future ahead of him. I will be looking for a foster/foster to adopt for him. And I will always be his safety net. He will always come back to me if needed. I want to be of service to animals, helping as many as I can. That is what makes my heart full.
It will take FOUR whole months to get him the necessary requirements for import into the USA. But he is worth it. If we can get the eye out before he comes home, great! If not he will get the medical care he needs when he arrives.
The island is small. There are volunteer vet techs at the humane society for 2 hours every saturday to provide no cost care (by donation) to the island pets. There is a volunteer vet one day a month for spay and neuter, minor surgeries and exams. Beans will get his first set of shots Saturday October 15th, and neutered at the end of the month (Oct 26th) along with a full exam to make sure he is healthy enough to make the four month wait. We want to make sure the swelling on the face is not a tumor.
After the exam we will know for sure if he will go through the four month process of coming to the USA or if euthanasia is in his best interest. Either way, he is safe, cared for and loved now. My hope is he can come home. But regardless of the outcome he deserves medical care and love and he is getting that, even though he is 2000 miles away from me right now.
If he comes home he will get all the medical care he needs and be looking for a foster / foster to adopt. He is a great dog:
* Gets along with other dogs (never saw him retaliate or even try to defend himself once despite getting picked on – he just gets knocked down, scared then runs)
* Gets along with cats (doesnt chase)
* Gentle and Kind
* Medium Size (will prob be 50ish lbs when in good weight)
He is a street dog though so he will need to learn house manners and have some training. But he is worth it. He is so kind. He jumped up on our laps for hugs and love many times.
If you are interesting in fostering or adopting Beans please let me know!
Angie@AngieMorin.com
UPDATES
- October 13, 2022 – I connected with Beans to see how he felt about all of this
“When you put the collar on me I felt like it shined in gold. I have never been loved enough to be collared. That was the best day of my life. I hold my head higher now. I feel like I am worth more. I feel loved. Its all Ive ever wanted. To be loved. I feel like my collar glows of gold shine every where I go. No matter what happens now I know I mattered and I was loved. Now I am a happy dog. Some of my friends are jealous, they want a collar too. I will never stop waiting so please come back for me. Im ready to start a new life. “
October 27, 2022- Beans was neutered and received his distemper and rabies vaccine on October 27th. He returned on the 29th to have his stitches removed, ears cleaned and receive HW and F/T preventative. The humane society said he was such a good boy they were able to use him for students learning/interning for school!
November 1, 2022 – I recieved a photo and video from my friend, Marius (in Belize). There is a big storm in Belize tonight so he brough Beans to his house for the night to stay safe and dry. I am so thankful for the group of people assisting me in helping this beautiful dog.
February 6, 2023 – Its been a while. Ive been busy and havent remembered to post! Every month since November Beans has gone to the Caye Caulker Humane Society on the island for his FT preventative and his Rabies and Distemper vaccines. Every month. So thankful for the help from my friend Marius. Marius has also been inviting Beans into his home to get acclimated to house life. Beans has taken very quickly to house life! He LOVES is. He gets along well with other dogs. And he loves to curl up and sleep. I talk to the people caring for Beans mulitple times a week.
Beans has also gone for 5 days of proffesional training on the “big island” (San Pedro). He went over on a boat, received 5 days of training, and now walks well on a leash. Knows basic commands, and is very settled. He is ready for house life in the USA.
Ive been talking to SO many people about getting Beans here to the USA and I have an option that will allow him to come soon! Quicker than our original plan. Its must more costly but getting him as soon as possible is priority. Hopefully Ill be able to update soon with his travel date!!
February 21, 2023 – Beans is on his way to the USA from Belize! He left Belize today and will be traveling to Boston by road transport. I will be picking him up in Boston early next week. He is being drive by Matt (from Honduras) of Best Friends Transport. He makes the trip from Belize 1x a month, he picks dogs up along the way in Belize, Honduras, Mexico, and USA southern areas where shelters are over full. He has never come up as far as Boston but he is this time!
The original plan was NOT to drive Beans 3500 plus miles, BUT, we had some snafus. Belize is on the CDC banned list which I knew. I was working with that. However, the process was quicker if I could get Beans through Mexico. Mexico is NOT on the list. But I didnt have contact. So we pursued to go straight from Belize. The hitch, the airlines would not accept him even in cargo! Cargo wasnt ideal but he is too big to go in the passenger plane area. The planes are made smaller now and there isnt enough room on full flights. In addition, the cargo area is not climate controlled so there is a very small window of time when a dog can fly, especially to New England. It cant be too hot or too cold. Its a last minute decision by the airline/owner. And last minute does not work with the paperwork needed to get a dog from Belize into the USA with the CDC regulations. So I needed an alternate plan. This is when with the help of others on the island in Belize, I found out about Matt. Its about 4x the cost to drive him than fly him, but, I committed to him, my heart is invested, he is counting on me. Dogs know. And, I already did all the vet work to get him “legal” there is no way I was going to let him back out on the streets… so this is when I trust in the universe to make it all work out. And thank all the people that are helping in some way. So back to his trip so far….
We had a hitch at the boarder of Mexico due to a small paperwork issue, caused a delay and some (ok, a lot of ) stress. But everything worked out and the were back on their way within an hour.
Beans will be seeing the vet shortly after arrival to see what the plan is for his eye.
Matt has said Beans is traveling well. He is calm and quiet. Im sure he will have plenty of energy when he gets here after being kenneled for so long! Matt is great though. He takes the dogs out of their kennels for potty breaks often and they go to the hotel room at night with him.
Bean’s expenses are going to add up and it takes a village to help animals. If you are able and want to, please consider donating to his transport and vet care. Beans and I thank you with both of our entire hearts!! Updates will keep coming!!
