"National Treasure" Found at El Acopio
 Laura Gelezunas - PVNN
| | The Animal Shelter of Puerto Vallarta, Acopio Animal, is open Monday through Friday from 9 am to 2 pm. For assistance, call Liliana [she speaks English] at 293-3690, or visit the Puerto Vallarta Animal Shelter's website at AnimalPV.com for more information in Spanish. |
Puerto Vallarta - A few months ago, after seeing the weekly Pet Parade on BanderasNews.com, tourists Mike and Cathy Anderson of Phoenix, Arizona found a hidden jewel while visiting the Animal Shelter of Puerto Vallarta.
Having volunteered to wash dogs and make them ready for adoption, they washed puppy after puppy; however, Mike was distracted by the mother of some of the pups, she was sitting patiently in a single pen.
Pacing back and forth in front of the cage, he finally asked if the mother could be taken out of the pen so that he could get a better look at her. When all eight of her puppies were washed and dried his request was granted.
Mike and Cathy talked to each other, looked at the dog, walked the dog, talked to each other some more and then said they were sure she was a "Jindo gae" or Jindo dog, a rare breed seldom seen outside of Korea, where they have been named one of the country's national treasures.
Mike and Cathy were distressed to have to leave her, but since they had four dogs at home, one of which is a Jindo male, they had no other option.
The following day Mike and Cathy were invited to animal shelter volunteers home, Sherrill and Dianne, for brunch and a swim in the pool. For the first two hours they talked about little else than the Jindo female at the Acopio and how they wanted to help her. At this point Dianne and Sherrill offered to foster the dog until a suitable home could be found.
A few days later the Jindo was liberated from the shelter and taken to Dr. Francisco at Sabuesos, where he determined that in addition to being malnourished and dirty, she was suffering from tick fever.
Mike and Cathy sponsored her for a bath, medications, collar, dishes and food. And now, Sherrill and Dianne are providing a loving home with other animal friends. The Jindo has become part of the family.
Any of you who were watching Dr. Phil on the David Letterman Show a few months ago heard him talk about getting a mixed breed dog from his local pound. When the dog trainer he hired saw the dog he told a surprised Dr. Phil that what he actually had was a Korean Jindo gae, a rare and endangered breed forbidden exportation by the Korean government. He then offered Dr. Phil $15,000 for the dog, which Dr. Phil refused.
The new family member, now named Bonita Korea, has adjusted well to her new surroundings and has shown herself to be a loving dog and gets along well with other animals, while protecting her new family from "outsiders". Sherrill and Dianne believe she is not a stray, but once had a loving home, because of her behavior in and outside of the house.
The moral of this story is that you too may be able to find a "treasure" of your own at the acopio. Come up on any Thursday morning to wash, walk or cuddle the homeless animals of Puerto Vallarta, you never know what you will find.
The Animal Shelter of Puerto Vallarta, Acopio Animal, is open Monday through Friday from 9 am to 2 pm. For assistance, call Liliana [she speaks English] at 293-3690, or visit the Puerto Vallarta Animal Shelter's website at AnimalPV.com for more information in Spanish. |
Vallarta Weddings
Vallarta Living | November 2006 
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