Chica’s rescue was a chain reaction caused by the addition of Tasha to our family three years before.

After getting Tasha we fell in love with the Doberman breed and decided to adopt another one, preferably from a rescue or shelter

Carla was not home and was going to be out of town for at least a week. I was home manning our business and taking care of our three dogs and four cats, and I spent my time looking for a Doberman to adopt online.

On August 15 2012 at 6:52am (Cancun time) a picture of a sad doberman girl with her mouth taped shut was shared by Carole Vince on the Facebook group “Save the dobermann breed”.

I was looking in several Facebook Doberman groups to see if I could find a Doberman up for adoption when I stumbled upon the picture of Chica.

I had seen pictures of neglected dobermans before but for some reason this particular girl ripped my heart apart and I made a silent promise to the poor little dog to do everything in my power to help her

The only location information mentioned “Tepec” so I started reading posts to see if I could find the person that had shot the picture to get the exact location.

At the end of the day I had read hundreds of posts and sifted through tons of conflicting information. I was very tired and frustrated but decided to make every effort to find the dog.

Very early on I figured that the name of the town “Tepec” was a typo and that the location was in fact the city Tepic so that helped to narrow the location down to at least the city. I spent most of the day on the 16th looking for information and researching the area, trying to find local organizations, authorities, activists, veterinary clinics, in short anybody who I thought could help. I went to bed at 3am but by 4am it was clear that I was not going to get any sleep so I got up and started my research again.

At the same time some members of “Save the dobermann breed” had also been working tirelessly on their end.

In my effort to find anyone who could help I sent messages to the main Boy Scout group in the city hoping that they could be of assistance. As a Boy Scout myself I felt confident that a local group would gladly lend a hand.

Following leads from several angles I stumbled unto the name “Miguel Dibildox”... I learned that was a veterinarian that actively helped NGOs and rescuers, and volunteered his time and resources to help dogs in need, so I decided to give him a call. He was very nice and offered to find more information through his contacts and asked me to call later to see what he had found. Not wanting to put all my eggs in one basket I kept sending emails and calling anybody I could think of. I am pretty sure that I called all of the vet offices listed on the yellow pages and in Tepic.

The 17th found me frustrated and pissed off... I was home alone with the cats and dogs so I could not just travel to see what I could do on the ground. The only thing I could do was keep making phone calls, sending emails and reading posts.

It was very frustrating to read many conflicting posts from people that said they had information. Some people were saying that the dog had died and that everything was a show to get money. I decided to ignore comments like those because digging deeper I found out that these people were not even in Tepic. I can’t imagine why people would risk the life of a helpless little dog just for a bit of attention.

The name Fernanda kept popping up in posts about dog rescues in Tepic so I decided to track her down. I found her Facebook page and sent her a private message hoping she could lend a hand.

When I called Miguel Dibildox again he told me that he was the group leader of the Boy Scout group I was trying to contact, wich was pretty funny, and that he was trying to find the exact location of the dog.

On the 18th Miguel informed me that there was a girl trying to rescue the dog and that he would get me her information by Monday. That was one long weekend but all I could do was wait and hope.

On the 20th Miguel gave me the information of the girl working to rescue the dog. Her name was Fernanda Janine... the same girl I had found while researching rescue groups.

I got in touch with Fernanda and she informed me that she was paying daily visits and feeding the dog. I later learned that she had risked freeing the dog herself but she had been stopped by the owners as she tried to take the dog over the fence.

I talked to Fernanda and got her bank information to deposit funds for her to use. Some people told me that doing that was a risky thing to do because I did not know her, but after seeing what she had done in other rescues and how Miguel talked about her I felt confident that she was trustworthy.

Knowing the dog was safe for the moment was a big relief but having to wait yet another day was fraying my nerves. By now I was running on fumes having slept only a couple of hours a day and barely eating since I first saw the picture.

I spent the 21st arranging for transport in case we were successful on getting the little dog. I just had to keep myself busy because not having any control over the situation drove me nuts. At around 1pm I talked to Fernanda… SHE HAD THE DOG!.

During all of this I had kept the “Save the dobermann breed” Facebook group informed and they have been cheering me on the whole time. It is hard to understand how the support of complete strangers sometimes can be a sanity lifeline.

The members of the Facebook group and I also came with a name for the dog, Chica, that later became apparent was the perfect name for this tiny Doberman.

Chica was safe and sound and being checked by Miguel the vet. She was malnourished, had skin fungus and a very nasty scar on her chest caused by being tied by a short chain to her harness so she had to sleep hanging with all the pressure of her body weight on her chest.

Fernanda gave me an update on Chica over the phone and when she was done I thanked her, hanged up the phone, gave a deep breath and fell on the floor sobbing. I don’t know if it was the exhaustion or the fact that I always doubted we would ever be able to rescue the little dog to whom I had made a promise and that by now I loved deeply, but I couldn’t help it, I was a big mess. Talk about ugly crying.

As soon as I could I got back on the second stage of the rescue. Bringing Chica home.

There is no airport in Tepic so the only choice was to drive Chica to Guadalajara, 230 km (142 Miles) away and from there take a plane to Cancun. Fernanda, helpful as always, was willing to drive her but she was working so we had to look for somebody else.

It was just our luck that Javier Díaz, a friend of Miguel, who is also in the Scouts, was driving to Guadalajara that day so he took her along and left her under the care of Eduardo Pimienta, another Scout, for the day. In the evening my cousin Luis Armando, yet another Scout, picked Chica up and took her to the airport at the break of dawn.

It was a long wait at the airport and I felt like I imagine expectant fathers feel waiting to see their babies for the first time. We told Chica’s story to customers and workers at the terminal so they were also very excited to see her and when she finally arrived. When I opened the kennel, she jumped on my arms and everybody around us cheered.

Once Chica was out of the crate she just held on to me… she held on while I carried her to the car and she even held on on the whole drive home.

When we got home we were glad and relieved that Chica got along with everybody and she was instantly welcomed to the pack and the family.

Chica’s rescue had only been possible because there was a chain of people who cared., The person who posted the picture, the people who shared it, the person who actually got Chica out, the vet who helped find her and the people who transported her and took care of her during her journey..

Sometimes it seems that the world is full of evil people and it can be disheartening, but there are lots of people who do good every day and make the world a better place for all. The problem is that bad stuff and ugly people are featured more often in the media because that is what holds people’s attention..

Right after her rescue Chica helped a homeless man that was attacked by a crocodile in Cancun to get back home to his family Tepic

Because of Chica, we have been able to help hundreds of dogs directly and thousands indirectly and we will keep working to help those in need as long as we are able.

Chica passed away while Carla and I held her and the last thing that she saw was our faces smiling at her

There pain of losing her is deep and will surely last for a long time, but we are grateful for the opportunity of being part of Chica’s stories and for all the great people that we met because of her.

We may not have changed the world by rescuing a little neglected and abused little dog, but she sure changed our lives and made the world a better place for so many.

A little love goes a long way.