There is a global tendency that is growing faster in which people tend to personify the animals and give them conditions that usually belongs to the humans. This trend happens most of all with pets who seem to be the new and real owners.
Family members
They go to schools and after they attend to pet colleges, they have appointments at the spa once in a while, they have their own gang and friends whom they meet at the same time and the same place -or can just say the same park- and “classmates”.
They also get to celebrate their birthdays with cakes and parties that are specially designed for them and also visit the shrink and some others go to the homeopath doctors trying to battle against that huge stress from the dog life they have.
Any one would like to live as a dog in the next life, if being a dog is living like that and not having to concern about bitter realities from life such as duties, early wake up calls, working restlessly 24/7.
Be fully aware (some more than others) of pain, fear, anger, sadness and each and every of the human emotions, exposing our selves continuously and undefended to a broken heart among many other non pleasant moments.
The problem
However, not all the canine friends are lucky and live in this great conditions. There are also lots of dogs that suffer bitterly and they have to struggle most of their lives or all of their existence against the awful weather conditions.
They have to live under a bridge look for their masters that are if they were imaginary masters because from time to time the dogs have to look for them for years, searching for some food all over the city’s trash and garbage cans trying to survive.
They have to survive to human’s unjustified harassment, violence and abuse.
For some people, and it is a solid argument, it is incredible that people prefer to help animals over people and that they have wills and foundations that protect animals. That they maKe juicy charities for those in four legs prior to helping starving children over the world, ancient in need or disadvantaged mothers who has to maintain their kids.
A renowned example of this situation was a Colombian irreverent writer who won an important grant some years ago and decided to donate the money to Caracas´s stray dogs, the city that gave him the prize.
Immediately all the mass media and the critics turned over and criticize not just because he donated to animals nor to people but also because he didn´t donate it to his country, a pretty natural fact indeed if remembering that the laureate but strange writer do hates his homeland.
The main argument from the animals defenders and their sponsors is that they help animals before helping people. They do so because people are the ones that cause damage to animals and because the four leg beings don´t have the necessary tools to defend them selves against humans in most of the cases.
This is just one of many times in which the debate between helping animals or people has been in the center of it all. Some people strongly believe that it is unjustified to help the animals in the first place, it is true that our sympathy and solidarity should be first with people around us, but it is also true that all the help given to animals is valuable and important.
The fact is that animals rely on us for help, they are truly victims from humans barbarity and sadism and because they are living beings that feel, hurts and need to be preserve too.
Creating the foundation
In my personal believe, anyone doing something to improve the world, spending some of their time and resources to a noble cause and doing something for others. It is very valuable and must be recognized in a world that seems increasingly more selfish and self-centered second by second. It doesn’t matter if it is helping street dogs, the environment, orphan children, captive dolphins or women who are victims of violence. The important thing is to take an action and the desire to help and to be able to act for others and look beyond our noses and our selves.
Daniela Castilla is one of those valuable and brave women. She is truly decided to help and leave a mark. Although she is young she has been fighting for the homeless dogs for all her life, she has been trying also for people to adopt a pet before buying one.
As she said there are many dogs who live in the streets or in dog shelters that deserve an other chance and a family can give it to them when deciding to adopt and not to buy to their children an expensive breed dog. She also struggle for giving other animals different than dogs that she has in her shelter some better live conditions.
She lives to help the animals, that is why she studied ecology. The career that she thought would be more helpful in order to help animals in need. Animals in need is an aspect that is much more than a simple life project, it is her mission.
We would love to rescue all the abandoned dogs but unfortunately we can’t due to economical reason and because we don’t have enough space, we can just rescue a few. That’s why we have to decide which ones need our immediate help.
Now days she spends her time between the corporate world, from which she is also generating impact because she works in a company that offers environmental solutions for all kind of business.
Her personal life and her Foundation. Fundacion de Protección Animal Dejando Huella which according to its profile it is “a non profit organization created with the finality of helping abused and abandoned animals”.
After talking to her and after she told Solkes all abuse and heartbreaking animal torture stories, we definitely understand the importance of helping animals and to take definite actions against animal abuse.
We had the great chance of interviewing her and she taught her a lot. Thank you very much, Daniela.
A helping hand
Solkes: What do you do exactly for abandoned dogs? What is your work?
Daniela Castilla: In the Foundation we take care of those dogs that nobody wants. The old buddies, the dogs who are sick, those dogs that families bought when they were puppies but they grew too much, the blind dogs, all of them, those are the dogs that we rescue. Currently we have 67 dogs, all rescued from the streets, most of them are female. People get rid from female dogs, they think is difficult to control them because of reproductive reasons and they don´t want to invest in sterilization expenses.
However I must say that there are some dogs that we can’t rescue. Most of them are very sick and they feel real panic for humans. Our main ingredient in their recovery process is tons of love and to teach them again to trust in that being that had hurt them so much, it’s a matter of time and dedication.
The first thing that we do is name each dog, the dog must feel identified. The dog stops being just another dog among the herd, it gets a name and it has someone to watch over him. Then we take him to the vet and there’s where the recovering process begins. The first thing we do is to take care of the physical wounds. Nonetheless, the emotional wounds are the hardest to heel. With the enough amount of time we can say that the dog is completely healed and that he´s ready to live in a new home where he could be loved and respected for the rest of his life.
Solkes: How did your interest to take care of animals arise? How has it grown and changed over time?
Daniela Castilla: I have lived with animals and among them for all my life. Not only dogs, but also cows, horses, cats, goats and other animals. I grew up in a farm near Bogotá, in the suburbs, where my mother always taught me to love animals and also she taught me the importance of taking care of the environment and have environmental awareness.
I had the opportunity to live on a farm in which we produced everything we needed and we had all the recourses available. But, we needed to work for it and cropped it so that’s how I learned to value the land and the whole eco system and most of all the animals that were our allies.
That farm where I grew up is now days the Foundation’s shelter where the dogs that we rescue live. Everything in life is a pay it forward game. They are living now in that place where once other dogs took care of us.
The dogs were our protectors, they were our most faithful company while we worked on the farm and they also got to guard us some times from thieves because they warned us with their intense barks and because we got to know and understand their behavior changes and the messages behind them.
Since I was a little kid I learned the real value and the wisdom of nature because I lived with nature around me. I always got the concept of eco sustainability and the importance that every animal and living creature develops in this perfect order and the dogs have the importance of being the guardians and to take care of humans.
Speaking for the voiceless
Animals, especially dogs, are the engine in her life, they are a support, an unconditional company. This passion to help them has grown tremendously over time. Castillo is aware that we live in a society that does not respect and ignore the rights of animals and this is mainly due to animal abuse is not punished. Someone has to speak for those who have no voice.
The greatest achievement and growth they have made and the most important moment has been the creation of my foundation. We keep with our own resources. Sometimes we lack material things for dogs, because it is an expensive workforce but most important of all: they will never lack love.
Solkes: Your work and your Foundation are just for helping dogs or do you help any others animals? What do you do for those animals?
Daniela Castilla: At the Foundation, we have 1 cat, 5 donkeys and 2 horses besides from the dogs. All of them have been victims of animal abuse. We don’t ride the horses or the donkeys… we decided that they are retired, they spent so many years of their lives working in regretlable conditions and supporting more weight than they should. That’s why we are taking care of their rest and providing them the necessary conditions to enjoy the years they might have from now on.
We go to the visit with the dog so we can watch him in his possible environment, not all dogs are for all the families and vice versa. We strongly promote animal adoption.
When someone contacts us saying that they can’t have a dog anymore or that they rescued a dog and we can’t receive him at the Foundation, we tap into our social networks. We try to find an appropriate home for them or at least someone that can take care for the dog until we find a definite house.
All the adoptions are supervised and assigned by the Foundation. Those who are interested need to fill out a form and after we visit them to assure if the family is or not the proper family for that kind of dog.
We want to change the chip in people who prefer to buy dogs. We want to help them understand that a dog that once was a street dog or a dog who was abused can learn to trust and to love again and they have a pure heart who is seeking for love.
Solkes: Tell us a little more about one of the extreme cases and that has generate more impact in you from all the cases that you have attended.
Daniela Castilla: I have witnessed so many cases of animal abuse and abandonment that it is very difficult talk about one in particular. But I am going to tell you about Dante. We rescued Dante outside a beach in Cartagena, on January 14, 2013. He had scabies type 3 and his skin all burnt by the sun and fungi all over his body. He turned positive for Ehrlchia (tick-borne disease) and he also was anemic. After visiting three different vets, the given conclusion was that it was better to euthanize him, but an inner voice keep telling me to try harder for some more days (or months).
That’s how we arrived with Dante to Bogotá after an exhausting road trip because he couldn’t travel by plane because of his health conditions, and once there we visited a veterinarian again. He wanted to use antibiotics and serum but it was impossible to find a vein due to the advanced anemia he had.
He didn’t eat or drink water and he rejected the medicines we gave him orally, his health was getting worse. There was nothing left to do, we didn´t have the sources to help him and my mother and I were starting to believe it was time for him to rest from that cruel life he had to have.
On the next day he woke up and started to eat by his own, it was like if he would understand the conversation we had last night where we were trying to decide his sort of luck, and his recovery process begun at that exact moment. Dante didn’t take any medicine and after that, he cured him self from a variety of illnesses that tend to be mortals.
Dante’s recovering process took 4 months. The hardest part was to gain his trust and confidence again. Due to his skin burns and the fungi he had, Dante expelled a very unpleasant smell that’s thre reason why people always banished him from all places where he tried to rest. He also has some burns caused by hot water that surely people threw him to scare him away.
Now days Dante is an absolutely lovable dog, he could be a little distrustful at the very beginning with unknown people and totally healed, he just has a tic that is sequel of the canine distemper he also had. Some time after we visited again the place where we rescued him and somebody told us that he has been abandoned when his skin problem begun.
Financing
Solkes: Where do you get the resources to fund and maintain economically speaking your Foundation and being able to maintain this beautiful labor on duty?
Daniela Castilla: I have the fortune to have my mother´s support. She is a retired lady who literally gives her life for animals. With her retirement plan and the income I have for my work we aim to maintain the dogs. We don’t always have all the necessary, but there’s always food and infinite love. Eventually we receive some help from people who want to make a difference. They have donated food, plates for the dogs, medicines and cleaning and toilet supplies. Those donations are not periodic therefore there are complete months in which we don’t receive anything at all.
Solkes: Who helps you? Do you have any employees? How do you handle your altruistic mission with your personal life, your work and your daily life?
Daniela Castilla: I have the help from a family who live in the shelter and they have two kids. They are in charge of taking care of the dogs and daily feed them. My mother goes every two other days but I can only go on weekends thus my work demands me to be in the city for the week. Maintaining 67 dogs is a huge responsibility. I have had to sacrifice different aspects from my personal life and modify some others but I don’t regret it at all, in fact I feel exactly the opposite way. I feel that idea of helping street dogs, those dogs whom nobody loves, the dogs in need make me a better person. Give them help with out receiving anything in return, (nothing tangible) – because they are masters in paying back with love, tenderness and loyalty – it is a way of showing love and respect for them. There is nothing more rewarding in my life as seeing stay dogs fully recuperated and happy.
We should teach them to respect and to always worship and protect life. I can’t pretend that people adore animals such as I do but I can ask for respect.
What comes next
Solkes: What is next? Where do you want to take your Foundation? How can people help the beautiful job that you are doing?
Daniela Castilla: There are many dogs who we can not adopt either becuase of their age, their behavior or because they have been for such a long time with us that giving them in adoption would be a very drastic change for them. That’s why we are working hard on the sponsoring possibility, it means to take care of the expenses from one of our dogs by a monthly payment that is relatively low. When you sponsor a dog the Foundation commits to send you weekly photos and to inform you about any activity that they have such as bath, vets visit, food buying toys (acquisitions etc.). We are also making bathing days and donations down at the shelter and in this way people can get to know the place and our work with the animals.
Solkes: What do you think is the main cause for animal abuse? What can be done to decrease and to prevent it?
Daniela Castilla: The main cause for animal abuse is ignorance. There are loads of people who buy dogs with out knowing the implications that it has. It is important to be informed about the needs of each dos and breed, to analyze if those conditions are suitable for the family who’s having the dog. To take in account the space, expenses and the time you will dedicate, it should all be considered before choosing to have a dog. A strategy to avoid and decrease the abuse and abandonment is to teach our children about this issue, these values should come from home.
It’s essential that people understand the importance of adoption. When you decide to adopt a recued animal that is in a shelter. You are saving his life when giving him the opportunity to be loved and to have a home for once. Also, when you take the pet with you, you are giving the opportunity to an other animal to join the program and start his recovery and rehabilitation process.
Adopting a pet that has been victim of abuse and abandonment is an act of love and it is also the perfect chance to teach your kids life values such as responsibility, care for others, compassion… and you are also teaching them the real meaning of unconditional love.
Solkes: Some people tend to criticize the foundations that work in animals behave because they believe that is more important to help children, people and seniors who are in extreme necessities before helping animals, what do you think about this argument? Why helping animals before helping people?
Daniela Castilla: I think that helping animals is as valid as helping people. If you compare how many foundations are helping children, seniors and homeless people and how many foundations are helping animals you would realize that the first ones is far higher. I chose to help animals because they are infinitely grateful and they can’t speak, defend their selves or ask for help. They depend on us completely. I consider my self a very fortunate person for having the possibility to help the dogs who are rejected and abused by others.
An endless labor
Solkes: How would you define the dogs that have accompanied you throughout your life? Are they pets or are they much more than that? What do you think is the meaning of the concept pet and what is the difference between having a pet and making an animal an important and meaningful active part of your life?
Daniela Castilla: All the dogs that have accompanied me throughout my life are my family, they are a part of me, I live and I work for them. I have lost so many of them throughout the road but I continue with my mission because I know there are so many more that need me. For me, my pets are more than just pets, they are live beings that do feel and deserve love and respect.
Well, after meeting with Daniela I dont have any doubt about the great importance of foundations such as hers that invest their time and resources to help all those animals in need. I can just say that definitely the barbarians ‘r’ us.
