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The most fulfilling part about private rescuing is developing lifelong friendships with individuals who adopted my pups or kittens, and being able to share the joy in their journey. During my last semester of vet school, I was alerted of a group of 4 puppies that were in need of help. They were living under cars near an old car repair shop. In a country where dog fighting is illegal but still occurs, there were individuals that were concerned for the safety of these puppies. My friend, Robin and I decided to help these pups out. Looking under cars and around the construction area, we managed to only find 3 out of the 4 pups. Like many stray puppies, they were covered in fleas and one of the puppies hind leg needed medical attention. The three puppies received the necessary medical attention and after ~1.5 months, were ready to be adopted. 

 

I was fortunate to cross paths with Dr.Lewis by coincidence through social media who eventually adopted one of my puppies that resembled her island dog that passed away. Dr.Lewis is Rossie alumni who happened to be traveling to St.Kitts for a conference. Mere coincidence…? I’d like to think its fate :

 

Dr.Lewis wrote the following testimonial through the eyes of her adopted pup, Caribelle:

 

"I lived with my Mom, sister, and brother on the streets of St Kitts for the first few months of my life.  I guess some people didn’t want us around and were going to “get rid of us”. Lucky for me some students from Ross University came to rescue us! They were not able to catch my Mom, but Fifa and her friend, Robin saved me and my siblings. I lived with an awesome girl named Fifa, she took care of us and promised to find us new homes. Then Fifa found out about a family who had a dog just like me for 18 years. That dog had just passed away, and her Mom was so sad because she loved her so much, and just didn’t know if she would ever be able to find another dog like her. Fifa told her about us, and the family picked ME! They said I looked just like their other dog, and they were so excited to meet me. They were coming to St Kitts for work and vacation, and Fifa and I got to meet them. They decided I was perfect for their family, and before I knew it I was on a plane heading from St Kitts to Rochester, NY. At first I was scared, but my new parents had a cat who became my best buddy, and a little boy who let me sleep in his bed every night while he fell asleep. I have been part of the family for almost 2 years now, and am so happy here. They tell me I am spoiled rotten! I get to lay in the sun, and sometimes play in something called snow, which I thought was like the sand in St Kitts but it is cold! They also adopted another puppy last year and we are the best of friends! She lost her mom when she was a baby, so she thinks I am her Mom. We have lots of fun together. I’m so glad that people cared about me when I was a puppy, and helped me to find a family to love."

Caribelle was adopted on December 2016

by Susan Karynski Lewis