Animal abuse in Venezuela has been on the rise and is the order of the day. This is why the level of consciousness of the community has been awakening and becoming massive like a snowball thanks to media exposure of cases of violence against animals.
By La Patilla – Marianny Castellanos
Aug 23, 2022
Currently, there are many legal advances related to the defense of animal rights in the country. However, there are still “gaps” in about the penalties for the crimes for attacking wildlife and animal abuse.
This is why many, as private volunteers or members of foundations, dedicate their day to day to animals ensuring their well-being, feeding and giving them a second chance at life.
Such is the case of Michelle Flores, a young woman with an immense love for animals, who materialized her dream with the creation of the “Projecto Dumbo” (Project Dumbo), a non-profit foundation dedicated to rescuing and placing pets for adoption in Aragua under the motto ““no es uno más, son muchos menos” (It is not one more, but much fewer”.
To the rescue of the puppies
Despite the limitations she had to study Veterinary Medicine at the Central University of Venezuela (UCV) in 2017, due to the political and social crisis that the country was going through -guarimbas, emigration and a university strike in the UCV-, Michelle, who Today she has a degree in Marketing, began her volunteering in order to bring food and veterinary attention to the little furry ones of Puerto Cabello.
“I have always rescued animals from the streets and I still have the hope of one day studying Veterinary Medicine. In 2017, the foundation was born with another name, with the aim of bringing food and veterinary care to puppies in Puerto Cabello, because I used to go on vacation there very often and all the puppies were in very bad shape. When my friends who lived there emigrated that project came to an end, but I still kept rescuing animals on my own, between my mom and me,” she said.
Four years later, specifically in the middle of last year, Flores signed up for the challenge “Saca el Pecho” (Come forth) de “Hacienda Santa Teresa”, in which they offered financial aid to startups or foundations, and thus she got much more support from people.
As the months passed, the idea of this rescuer was to find a space that she conditioned thanks to donations. However, it was not the right place to care for animals with major injuries, so she got another home that she adapted until it opened last July 24th.
“Among the volunteers that I got to know while painting the space, an official Dumbo Project volunteership was created. It consists of at least 10 girls who support us, painting, and taking care of the puppies. We also have a clinical veterinary center that helps us with credits and many times they exonerate us from high fees and surgery fees. And so little by little, with help, it went from a small idea to everything we are today.”
A Tribute to Dumbo
Dumbo Project, a second chance in the midst of animal abuse in Venezuela
As a kind of lucky charm, Dumbo came into the life of this animal rights defender to pave the way for what would be the realization of her greatest dream. That is why with only three months of life, this puppy was the inspiration for what today is the hope of many furries, puppies and felines.
“Dumbo was a puppy that was abandoned in the vicinity of the Maracay Plaza Shopping Center, a friend saw him and even though she couldn’t help him much, she remembered that I sometimes helped puppies. She picked him up and that night I looked for the puppy at her house and I took him to the UCV veterinary clinic as an emergency, because his entire belly was purple, his femur was broken, his leg was hanging down limp and he was crying a lot. I did not know if he was broken inside, it seemed that he had been run over,” she commented.
After contacting Dr. Ángel Rojas, a specialist in traumatology, Dumbo got his second chance at life, because after overcoming the operation, he currently walks perfectly, jumps and runs as if he had not experienced that traumatic process.
“When I published all the information about Dumbo, because the first night was 120 dollars and after that 400 dollars for the surgery. I asked for help and many people listened to me, helped me. After Dumbo I said: well, we can continue doing the same thing with at least one puppy a month. In the end, my mother stayed with Dumbo, and with my partner we continue to rescue animals that way,” she said, remembering how this canine came into his new life.
“It Is Not One More, But Much Fewer”
As the first step to prevent more animal abandonment on the streets is to educate, Michelle also dedicates her volunteering to spreading the message of how to care for puppies and where to go for help, as well as informing about the importance of vaccinating and sterilizing to reduce the number of abandoned puppies on the streets.
“The second goal is to organize workshops in low-income communities, because we know that today medicine, both human and animal, is very expensive and we also know the economic realities of certain areas. The idea is not to forget those areas, because there are also animals there. Our goal in the near future is to carry out conferences and motivate others to do so as well. Today there are many vaccination and sterilization days compared to a few years ago,” said the founder of Proyecto Dumbo.
Among the foundation’s short-term plans is the creation of more refuge rooms and seeking self-sufficiency so as not to depend solely on donations. In addition, another of the goals set is the acquisition of a vehicle with which they can carry out rescues in a more adequate way.
Continuing with the premise of her slogan, one of the plans for the future is to cover more locations and reach other states to motivate other people to create foundations and explain to them that “it is not as complicated” as it seems.
An Incomparable Refuge
Despite the fact that they receive many reports of cases of abandonment and abuse on a daily basis, they currently have to choose the one that needs help the most, because unlike other shelters, at Proyecto Dumbo each pet has a single room with air conditioning.
“I have a dog that has a tumor that is contagious and has to be isolated. I have several dogs that don’t get along, even on Sundays we tried to unite them to see how they got along and there was no way. So since I am not there all day and to avoid an accident, I have each dog in its room as in a hospital,” she pointed out.
In the case of cats, she explained that it is different, since she cares for them at home, because most of them are small and stop eating when left alone in the shelter. In this way, the control is kept closer and prevents them from getting sick.
Venezuela, Country of Challenges
Dumbo Project, a second chance in the midst of animal abuse in Venezuela
When asked about the challenges she faces as a volunteer in a country where the economy is very unstable, she said that living on donations to save the lives of animals is the most complicated because on many occasions not everyone can help.
“Apart from the economic support, they help us with medicines, bedding, with services such as the installation of air conditioners for free. Many times the volunteers who were not official volunteers at that time, helped us clean, seal all the leaks. And spreading the word will always be a good way to help us, because that way we can reach other spaces and more people. Disseminating the news is the best way to always help,” reviewed the animal lover.
However, she also mentioned that another challenge is knowing how to manage the psychological part to overcome the entire process of the loss of pets that cannot be saved. In addition, the comments of people who do not know all the work and effort that a foundation entails also affect emotionally.
Adopt Don’t Buy
This animal rescuer constantly uses her social platforms to show the reality of “hatcheries” (breeding operations), where they treat pets like commercial machines. For this reason, the final link of all the work that Michelle does together with her volunteers is the adoption of the puppies and felines.
For this, the protocol is strict and begins with a questionnaire that they send via WhatsApp to collect information that allows them to evaluate the economic position of the family. “We evaluate the economic part, the space where you are going to live, if it is comfortable, if you have a roof to protect yourself, if you are going to live on the patio, etc. We deliver them vaccinated to avoid being told that we delivered them with distemper, and when they are puppies, the representative does have to give them the second and third dose (of the vaccines),” she said.
The process continues with the signing of an adoption charter where the new family legally agrees to take care of the puppy, provide the annual vaccinations and to sterilize them within a year.
If these requirements are met, the adoption ends with the furry’s delivery to its new home to confirm conditions of space and all the information that was previously provided. “If they buy (a pet) they collaborate with animal abuse, that’s why the idea is to adopt to put an end to those businesses.”
To continue supporting and helping more puppies and cats, those who wish to collaborate with Proyecto Dumbo or adopt a pet, the social media accounts @projectdumbo on Instagram and Twitter are fully available. You can also contact the telephone number 0424-3096420.
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