Patas Por Honduras Sambo Creek

  Reason #1: You’re saving lives   When you adopt a dog from a shelter, you’re saving multiple lives. Not only are you saving that dog’s life, but you are also giving more room for another dog to be saved.    Reason #2: Dogs can improve your health   Dogs help improve their owner’s health in several ways. Research shows that dogs increase oxytocin levels in humans, which decreases stress and anxiety. Studies also show that dogs can relieve pain in humans by increasing endorphins. A study conducted by the Loyola University Chicago Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing showed that people who had joint replacement surgery needed 28% less pain medication after therapy dog visits than those who had no contact.   Reason #3: Save money   A great majority of shelter dogs come with microchips, spay/neuter surgery, and the most recent vaccines. That's over $700 in savings! Plus, most shelter dogs are housebroken and trained, which means you can save money by avoiding expensive classes.   Reason

Many dogs are homeless in Honduras and they do not have access to health treatments and preventatives. It’s important for dogs to receive these treatments and preventatives not only for their health but for the community around them. The following outlines some of the health treatments and preventatives many dogs in Honduras need.  Heartworm treatment The amount of mosquitoes in Honduras is outstanding… which can only mean the amount of heartworms is even greater. Dogs who get heartworms typically need an expensive one month long treatment or a slower one year treatment. Dogs who have untreated heartworms suffer immensely. Therefore, heartworm preventative treatment is greatly needed for dogs living in Honduras. Mange and other skin condition treatments Being outside most of the time can result in dogs getting many skin conditions. Close contact with other dogs can make these diseases spread quickly. Giving dogs these treatments will help them as well as stop the spread of the

Image taken from Volunteerworld.com                 Honduran dogs are free roaming and typically live in cities and towns due to the resources. These dogs are medium-sized and live up to 14 years. They do not have a distinct unique feature that occurs among all since most are mutts. However, most Honduran street dogs have pointy noses and chipped ears. They are a lot like the domestic dogs we own except they roam free and have a striking independence. Experts believe these dogs are very similar to the ancient dogs that lived alongside humans almost 15,000 years ago.         Temperament and personalities of Honduran street dogs Dogs native to Honduras are adaptable and intelligent since they must fend for themselves. They tend to be skittish towards humans since they do not rely on them directly for food or shelter. Most Honduran dogs are filled with lots of energy and a need to roam. They tend to be a little harder to train since they most likely did not grow up with extremely clos

                                                                  Pictured centered is Mancho. Left is his sister Dotty.                                                        Picture by Helen Mlady.                                                           Today I had the most interesting interview that I’ve ever done, an interview with a dog. Due to the language barrier, I had to have his owners translate. Mancho is a dog who came from the village of Sambo Creek, Honduras. He is roughly 60 years old, which is 10 in human years. According to his owner his favorite hobbies are stealing whole sheets of cookies, chasing seagulls, singing, and sun tanning. He also enjoys farting really loudly and then leaving the room once he can smell his own fart. Mancho is just like any other dog I’ve ever met except for one thing: he has one of the most interesting lives that I’ve ever known. Today, his daily life is very boujee. He wakes up to dry kibble and leftover pasta. Following, he demands