Our dogs

Every one of them has a story

These are the street and beach dogs we look after in towns along the Dominican Republic's north coast. Tap any dog to read their story, or donate to fund their food, vet visits, and medicine.

0 of 104 dogs have a monthly sponsor

104 dogs in our care

Lassie — photo 1 of 4

In our care1 / 4

Lassie

My name is Lassie and yes, I know about the other one, and yes, I am aware of the expectations this creates. People see me and they say Lassie! and their eyes go wide and they expect some kind of heroic thing and I want to be honest with you: I am a medium-energy dog in El Valle who enjoys napping in the afternoon and inspecting the river and eating whenever possible. I am not saving anyone from a well today. The mountains here are beautiful and the river valley is quiet and I have built a very comfortable life that involves mostly sleeping and occasionally barking at things that probably don't need barking at. I have ticks, which I find not at all heroic, and gut worms, which are also very unheroic. I need medicine. I need food. I am Lassie and I have needs. The legend can wait.

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Sonny — photo 1 of 4

In our care1 / 4

Sonny

My name is Sonny and I live at Casa de Delio in El Valle and every single day I wake up and the sun is shining and the mountains are standing right where I left them and I think: this is going to be a great day. And then it is! Every day! This is my entire personality. I am possibly the happiest dog on the peninsula and I come by it honestly because look where I live — El Valle has the most stunning mountain views, the warmest rain, the friendliest frogs, and the best smells in the jungle. One time I met a tarantula on the path to the garden and she was the color of autumn leaves and I sat down to look at her properly because something that beautiful deserves your full attention. She walked past me very slowly and deliberately and I think we understood each other. Great day. Again.

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Luna — photo 1 of 3

In our care1 / 3

Luna

My name is Luna and I live at El Valle Don Pirón and I am named after the moon which means I am required to appreciate the night sky, which I absolutely do. The moon here in the valley comes up over the mountains and lights everything silver and I howl at it politely to say good evening and sometimes it gets bigger and sometimes it gets smaller but it always comes back. This is very comforting. During the day the mountains are green and dramatic and I walk through the valley and feel very much part of the landscape. The rain here falls warm and heavy from those mountains and smells like everything alive at once. I have a frog friend who lives by the water barrel and she sings every night and I have named her Luna Two because she only comes out when the moon is up, and we are companions under the same sky.

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Rubio — photo 1 of 3

In our care1 / 3

Rubio

My name is Rubio and I live at Casa de Delio in El Valle and I want to say something. I have been waiting for the right girlfriend for a while now. She should be calm, because I am calm. She should appreciate the mountain view, because I appreciate it daily and I want to share it. She should like the river because the river at Casa de Delio is lovely and peaceful and good for sitting by. She should not mind that I have ticks and gut worms right now because those are temporary situations that will be solved with medicine and care, and in the meantime I am still a good, golden-furred, steady dog with a lot to offer. I am patient. I am not in a rush. The mountains have been here for millions of years. I can wait a little longer. But not too much longer. The mountains have been here longer than me.

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Tommy — photo 1 of 3

In our care1 / 3

Tommy

My name is Tommy and I live in El Valle, which has the most beautiful views of mountains you have ever seen in your entire life. I see those mountains every single day and I appreciate them from a lying-down position because I am a very relaxed dog. My hobbies include napping in the morning, napping at noon, a light stretch around three in the afternoon, and then a serious nap until dinner. Some dogs run. Some dogs chase things. I personally do not understand the appeal. One time a rat from the jungle came into the yard. He looked at me. I looked at him. We both went back to sleep. He visits on Tuesdays now and I consider him a friend. The sun here in El Valle is incredibly warm and perfect for lying in, which I do professionally. I am not lazy. I am conserving energy for something very important that has not happened yet.

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Brownie — photo 1 of 2

In our care1 / 2

Brownie

My name is Brownie and I live at Casa de Delio in El Valle and I am a shy dog who has been working very hard on being brave. I came here shy and small and nervous about everything and I have grown into being shy and slightly bigger and nervous about most things but not ALL things anymore. I am making progress. The mountains around El Valle are very comforting to look at because they have been there for millions of years and they are not nervous about anything and I think if I look at them enough some of that will transfer to me. I have ticks and gut worms and I need medicine and food and gentle care. Very gentle. I respond well to gentle. I am a brown, soft, floppy-eared dog who wants to be brave and healthy and loved and is asking very quietly if that is possible.

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Rubio — photo 1 of 2

In our care1 / 2

Rubio

My name is Rubio because I am blond and magnificent and I live at El Valle Don Pirón which is a very specific and excellent address. Don Pirón has a particular feel — it is quiet and green and the mountains here are extremely close and dramatic, like they decided to stand right next to you personally. I have a blond coat that catches the afternoon light in a very cinematic way and I walk through it knowing this. The frogs here are especially good singers — I believe the acoustics of the valley make their songs extra resonant — and after a big rain they perform a concert that goes on for hours. I listen to all of it from my spot under the guava tree. There is a second Rubio somewhere in El Valle. We are both excellent. This is a fact.

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Omar — photo 1 of 1

In our care

Omar

My name is Omar and I am a girl and yes I know Omar is usually a boy's name and I want you to know that I have heard this my entire life and it has never once slowed me down. I live at Playa El Valle where the waves come in warm and steady and the sand is white and soft and the mountains make the most dramatic backdrop you have ever seen for a beach. I run that beach every day. I run it as Omar. A girl. On the beach. And it is perfect and I recommend it. I have ticks which need addressing and gut worms which need medicine and I need food reliably because a girl named Omar who runs the beach daily requires fuel. Omar is fine. Omar is good. Omar needs help and is asking for it without any complicated feelings about the name situation.

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Photo of Amarilla coming soon

In our care

Amarilla

My name is Amarilla and I live at Playa El Valle and I am very proud of being golden yellow. My fur catches the afternoon light and I glow. I am aware of this. I lean into it. The beach at El Valle is gorgeous and the sea is warm and the mountains behind the beach are very tall and dramatic and I run between all of this glory every single day feeling like I belong in a painting. There is a tarantula who lives in the rocks near the path to the beach and she is a deep auburn red and when the afternoon light hits her she also glows and I think we are sisters in this way — two golden-red creatures who catch the light and make the most of it. The frogs after the rain are ridiculous with their singing but I enjoy it. Everything that sings is okay with me.

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Photo of Amarillo coming soon

In our care

Amarillo

Rio San Juan, DR

My name is Amarillo because I am yellow and the best color. I live in Rio San Juan and the afternoon light hits my fur and I glow like a small friendly sun in the middle of the street. Bingo is my best friend and he has been very grumpy lately and I do not take it personally because Bingo has ticks on his back that are bothering him greatly and I understand that ticks affect personality. I also have ticks, for the record, and I am choosing cheerfulness in the face of them because I am a yellow dog and yellow dogs are optimistic by nature. The river here turns golden in the light just like I do and I feel a kinship with it. Some days I wag my tail so hard my whole back end goes with it and people laugh and I wag harder. This is my talent.

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Photo of Amarillo coming soon

In our care

Amarillo

My name is Amarillo and I am the La Laguna one and I am aware there is also an Amarillo in Rio San Juan. He is the RSJ Amarillo. I am the lagoon Amarillo. We are different yellows. His yellow is a street yellow, warm afternoon town light yellow. Mine is a lagoon morning yellow, the kind the light makes on the water when it comes through the trees at a low angle and everything turns gold. I sit beside the lagoon at that specific time every morning and I am exactly the color of the light and I feel that we were made for each other, the lagoon morning and me. I have ticks and gut worms and I need medicine and food and I am asking from my golden morning spot by the lagoon. The light is still there every morning. I want to be healthy enough to match it properly.

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Photo of Ben coming soon

In our care

Ben

My name is Ben. I am a quiet dog who lives by La Laguna and I do not need much. I need food, medicine for the ticks and gut worms which I have been carrying for a while now and which are affecting my energy, and I need someone to sit near once in a while. Not to talk. Just to sit near. The lagoon is very calming and I sit beside it in the mornings and I feel the quiet of it and it is good. My ears are floppy and they sometimes fall in front of my face and I have to shake them back. The rain here is heavy and warm and when it comes I find a dry spot and wait and listen to it. I am a simple dog. I have simple needs. Ben would like to feel well and be near something beautiful. That is all.

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Photo of Benji coming soon

In our care

Benji

Las Terrenas, DR

My name is Benji and I live in Las Terrenas and I am the only dog from Mud and Mercy here, which makes me an ambassador. A one-dog ambassador. I take this seriously. Las Terrenas has a beautiful long beach and I walk every inch of it representing the organization. I find things on the beach and examine them thoroughly in a professional manner. I greet everyone who comes through as though I am the official welcome committee, which I am, because I am the only one here. The beach here is wide and long and the mountains are behind the town and the whole picture is extraordinary and I have it all to myself most mornings. I have ticks and gut worms and I need medicine and food and the kind of regular care that only comes with sponsorship. Las Terrenas deserves a healthy ambassador. I am working on being that dog.

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Photo of Bingo coming soon

In our care

Bingo

Rio San Juan, DR

My name is Bingo and I live in Rio San Juan and I want to be very clear about something: I did not choose this name. Someone decided I was a Bingo and now I have to live with it forever. Fine. Whatever. I am a serious dog with a serious life and the name Bingo does not help my reputation one bit. The streets here are busy and loud and everyone always wants to pet me and say awww and I allow it because the scratching behind the ears is genuinely good, which I will deny if you tell anyone. I have ticks. Several. They are annoying and itchy and one day someone is going to get rid of them and that day cannot come soon enough. I also have the gut worms that every dog around here has, which is unpleasant and something I would like addressed. The river nearby is the one good thing. I sit there alone and watch it and it does not expect anything from me. Good river. Bad name. Still alive.

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Photo of Blanca coming soon

In our care

Blanca

My name is Blanca because I am white. Extremely white. La Laguna chose me specifically for this reason because my reflection in the lagoon water improves the scenery, which is civic service. I keep myself clean, which is a full-time job in a humid environment with interesting mud, interesting dirt, and interesting things to roll in. I do not roll in them. I am a dignified dog. I do have ticks, which is deeply ironic for a white dog because I can see every single one of them in great detail, and I am waiting for treatment with the quiet fury of someone who has to spot every problem clearly and up close. After the rains the lagoon fills and the frogs celebrate loudly and I watch from an elevated position, very white, very clean, very composed. Also I want a boyfriend. I have been very composed for a long time and I would like someone to be composed with.

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Photo of Blanco coming soon

In our care

Blanco

Rio San Juan, DR

My name is Blanco and I am white and I am a very clean dog who lives in Rio San Juan and I want to make something clear: I was born white and I intend to stay white and the river mud is extremely interesting to me and I absolutely do not go into it. I do not. I definitely do not investigate the muddy bank after the rain. I do not come home with brown paws and then clean them quietly before anyone notices. None of that is happening. My coat is pristine. I am Blanco. I have ticks, which show up on my white fur like little announcements, and gut worms, and I am waiting for proper treatment and proper food because a white dog with ticks is a dog who needs help and I am asking for it with my whole white chest puffed out as much as it can be for a dog who is definitely not muddy.

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Photo of Blanquito coming soon

In our care

Blanquito

Rio San Juan, DR

My name is Blanquito which means little white one and I live in Rio San Juan and I am a very innocent and trusting dog who genuinely did not know until recently that ticks were a bad thing. I thought they were just small friends who lived in my fur. I have since been informed this is not correct and that they need to be removed and treated and that the gut worms I have also need medicine and I am processing this information slowly. The world is more complicated than I understood. The river here is beautiful and the rain makes it exciting and the frogs at night are very friendly. I have many friends. I trust everyone. One of the neighborhood cats told me cats and dogs are natural enemies and I chose not to believe that and now that cat and I eat near each other sometimes. Blanquito believes in the good version of everything.

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Photo of Blay coming soon

In our care

Blay

My name is Blay. I live in El Valle. That is essentially everything. I am not a complicated dog. I eat when there is food. I sleep when I am tired. The mountains are there, I look at them. The river is there, I drink from it. The rain comes, I get wet. The sun comes, I dry off. I have ticks and gut worms that need medicine and I would like food more consistently than I have been getting it, and those are my three main requests: fix the ticks, fix the worms, more food. That's it. I am not asking for much. I am a simple dog with simple needs and a simple name and if you sponsor me I promise I will continue to exist in El Valle in a simple and functional manner and will require no drama from you whatsoever.

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Photo of Bobi coming soon

In our care

Bobi

Rio San Juan, DR

My name is Bobi and I live in Rio San Juan and I am what you might call a lot. I run into things. I get excited about everything. I once barked at my own reflection in a puddle for twenty minutes. I have woken up and already forgotten what I was just doing approximately six times today and it is only noon. I am a lovable dog and everyone agrees on this, even the neighbors who I have definitely accidentally knocked over. I have ticks and gut worms and a very generous heart that compensates for many things. I love the river in RSJ. I tried to eat part of it once. That was a mistake. The frogs at night are my FRIENDS even though they do not know this. I am going to introduce myself to all of them eventually. Tonight maybe. Or maybe tomorrow. Bobi has many plans.

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Photo of Boca Negra coming soon

In our care

Boca Negra

Rio San Juan, DR

My name is Boca Negra which means Black Mouth and I have the most spectacular black mouth you have ever seen on a dog. It is very black and very distinctive and people always notice it first and comment on it and I respond by showing them more of it, which I think makes the point. I live in Rio San Juan and I use my mouth professionally: for eating (not enough), for barking (at the right things), for yawning in the afternoons by the river in a way that shows everyone within range exactly how black it is. I have ticks and gut worms and I need care. I am not embarrassed to need care. A dog with a mouth this distinctive deserves to be healthy. Sponsor me and you will have a very unique-looking, well-cared-for dog with an exceptional mouth.

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Photo of Bolo coming soon

In our care

Bolo

My name is Bolo and I am a round dog. This is a fact and I embrace it. I have a round face, a round body, and I roll slightly when I run which gives everything a pleasant momentum. I live by La Laguna and the lagoon in the mornings is very calm and I sit beside it and we are both round and still and content. I have ticks and gut worms and I need food and medicine and I am making this request in the most pleasant and non-dramatic way possible, which is my style. Round, calm, present. The frogs here are very enthusiastic singers and I listen to them every night without complaint. The jungle rats have a whole operation going by the big tree and I watch it sometimes with great appreciation for their industry. Bolo has very few complaints. Bolo has a few requests.

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Photo of Bosito coming soon

In our care

Bosito

My name is Bosito and I live by La Laguna and I want to be very clear: I am the boss here. Not of the humans, they have their own thing going on. Boss of the lagoon shore. Boss of the path between the trees. Boss of decisions about which direction we should all walk. My friends Toby and Toby (yes, two Tobys, don't ask) don't always agree with my leadership decisions but they follow along eventually because I am very decisive and going somewhere with confidence is half of what makes a good plan. The lagoon is beautiful and I oversee it with great responsibility. The frogs respect the boss. The jungle rats give me a wide berth. The tarantulas and I have a mutual non-interference agreement. I am a just and fair boss. The laguna is in good hands.

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Photo of Brunco coming soon

In our care

Brunco

My name is Brunco and I live at Playa El Valle and I am the strong one. I am built for the beach — strong legs, strong chest, strong tail that clears entire tables when it wags. I run into the waves every morning with full commitment and they try to push me back and I am mostly not pushed back. I have scratched my own tick situation significantly worse by rubbing against every available surface but I feel I have made progress and I remain optimistic about it. The gut worms are slowing me down and I need medicine urgently because I have beach to cover and waves to challenge and mountains to admire and I would like to do all of this at full health. I am not a delicate dog. But even strong dogs need care. Even Brunco needs care.

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Photo of Caifulleri coming soon

In our care

Caifulleri

My name is Caifulleri and I cannot explain it either. I live by La Laguna and I have been hearing my name my whole life and every time someone says it, it sounds like a completely different word. Caifulleri. Caifoo-yeri. Kai-foo-yeh-ree. It has many syllables and people slow down to say it and then look at me like I should help them and I look back like this is as much of a surprise to me as it is to them. I am a chaotic dog in the best possible way. I make decisions quickly and without research. I ran toward a tarantula once because she was there. I jumped into the lagoon because it was in front of me. I have ticks and gut worms and various needs that I have not thought about strategically. Life is happening and I am in it at full speed. Caifulleri. Whatever it means. That's me.

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