New dogs each day, each week, each month, new mouths to feed and care for. This is a small island, yet thousands of homeless dogs are roaming the streets in search of food, water, love…
They are all looking for the same…someone to love them and be kind to them. You would think that is not too much to ask…but here, it is. Not many people see these homeless dogs as sentient beings. Dogs on the stree
ts get abused to no end of cruelty. Most of the dogs I helped through the years had no eyes, broken hips, broken legs, r***d, escaped death by hanging, chained for all their lives, etc, etc. So many sick dogs are on the streets silently dying from distemper, Heartworm, Ehrlichiosis, anemia, starvation, kidney disease…and the list goes on. I know some people are reluctant to donate, thinking I am trying to scam them for their money, and mostly because people do not know me. I have been helping the homeless dogs since I moved to the Bahamas on 2004. Hard not to notice them, when they are everywhere on the streets. My car always carries dog food and water, because I know dogs will cross my path constantly, so I feed them. Most dogs are just passing by and I never see them again, but the ones that live in the area, I come every day to feed them, until they trust me enough to touch them and I know it would be a safe transition once I take them from the streets. The dogs get vetted, vaccinated and from there they come to live at my refuge, until I am able to find a rescue willing to help me with them in the States. Countless of homeless dogs have left the streets of Nassau and they are now enjoying life being loved and cared for by their families. Dogs that were disposed of as garbage on the streets by their families, once they did not suit them well. Dogs that were abused, mutilated, tortured. Dogs that nobody wanted. Dogs that were trash here, now are someone else's treasure in the States and Canada. That is what I do on a daily basis. I am not a dream maker, but I do my best to give them what they all dream of. Nobody forces me to show receipts on what I spent daily, but I’ll do it to be clear and transparent. I do not help these dogs to make a living. My pockets and my wallet are constantly filled with receipts, more than money, and I get mistaken for a bag lady on the streets, which I couldn’t care less. I do not get up every morning and leave the refuge to go have fun, and bring lots of money. I never know if I am ever coming home, because the streets are dangerous and I could lose my life in a blink of an eye by feeding dogs in the most dangerous neighborhoods. My faith has been put to test in so many hard ways. My heart has been broken so many times that a normal person could not bare the pain, but I force myself to stand back on my feet when I have fallen, because the streets are filled with thousands of strays needing a helping hand. I do not expect for you to believe in me, because I have my doubts about everybody these days as well. Life is hard, and people have managed to take the trust away from others by scamming using these animals. This is me… My name is Chella and I love these strays with all my heart, and I would do anything for them…anything at all!
