Ricardo Pimentel had few alternatives as Hurricane Delta barreled into the Mexican resort town of Cancun in the early days of October.
Pimentel is the director of Tierra de Animales, a jungle-enclosed animal refuge outside of Cancun. Over 500 animals, including stray cats, dogs, birds, turkeys, horses, lambs, pigs, cows, and donkeys, have been under his care for nine years.
He asked the puppies to spend the night at his house since he was aware that the dog shelters wouldn’t be able to withstand a Category 4 hurricane.
For volunteers who want to come and stay with us to help us with all the things we have to do, we have two bedrooms, one kitchen, and one bathroom available, Pimentel told The Dodo. We made the decision to house virtually all of the dogs because we were unsure about the present shelters’ ability to withstand a hurricane.
But it was no little task to get 300 dogs inside. Before the cyclone hit, Pimentel and his helpers spent five hours gathering the puppies and assisting them inside.
Pimentel recalled, “We had to lead them in two by two. We had to carry several of them to the home since they couldn’t walk on a leash or were terrified of it, but in the end it was worth it because they are all secure.
With so many animals in such a small house, Pimentel expected that they’d make a bit of a mess. But he was pleased when everyone seemed to get along.
“They were actually very well-behaved all night,” he said.
Fortunately, the hurricane was just a Category 2 storm when it made landfall at the sanctuary, albeit the powerful winds nonetheless caused damage to the building.
“When the hurricane passed the next morning, we had to do a lot of repairs and clean all the places where the animals lived of trees and branches, “added Pimentel. “The next day, they remained at the house until around 5 or 6 p.m.
Despite the fact that the house smelled awful and several items were broken, there is nothing to be regretful about “Added he. “If required, I would repeat it a million times.
On his 10-acre farm, Pimentel is currently attempting to construct hurricane-proof shelters so that all the animals can have sufficient safety. In order to prevent anyone from having to spend another night on the streets, he also aims to take in additional animals.
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