22 images Created 4 Apr 2017
Milagros Perrunos
Milagros Perrunos is a dog shelter in Lima, Peru. What’s special about this shelter however, is that it is the only one caring for disabled dogs in the entire city.
Founded eight years ago by Sara Moran, the shelter is safe haven to about sixty rescued dogs, eight of which are wheelchair bound. Others are able to walk on their own but are either missing a leg or have sustained another devastating injury. Able bodied dogs are also harbored at the shelter, and all have been rescued after being abandoned in the streets.
The shelter is actually a converted home in Chorrillos, a southern district of Lima. Located in a quiet residential street, the shelter is hard to find, as their are no signs or other indications that anything about the home is special. But as I knocked on the front door, a cacophony of loud barking was immediately unleashed, and thus I was assured I had reached the right place.
As I entered the shelter and stepped into the converted living area, Sara was busy fitting one of the paralyzed dogs into his wheelchair. “I started the shelter eight years ago,” she told me, looking up to point to a dog clad in a diaper and resting in his crib, “Bruno has been here for eight years, the first dog I brought into the shelter.”
The living room of the home is lined on either side by baby cribs that function as beds for the paralyzed dogs. “We only have one female in the shelter,” Sara told me. “Because when people report that a dog is run over, it’s usually more males than females, because male are more callejeros.” (street dogs)
Sara hopes one day to be able to fit some of the dogs with prosthesis, but has been unable to afford the high cost. She pointed to Osito, who was limping around on his right front leg. “He is able to walk but needs a prosthesis,” she told me. “I can help him with a wheelchair but he wants to walk.”
The shelter is funded mostly by donations, but Sara has one renter who helps pay some bills. “Food is very expensive,” she explained. “I also can’t run the air conditioner very long, it’s too expensive.”
As we toured the shelter I was surprised by the number of dogs in the two story, albeit small house. They were everywhere, sleeping on the floor, in the stairs, or otherwise just roaming around. The dogs were very friendly and for the most part, seemed to get along well. All of the dogs of course, are up for adoption.
“It’s hard work, but it makes me happy,” Sara said as she described the daily work of running the shelter. “I’m here everyday, ….at Christmas, New Years, Mothers Day, Birthdays, I’m always here.”
“It’s very sad,” Sara continued, “In the beginning I would always cry, for many years it was very hard. When the dogs get sick they want to live, not like us. When we get hit in the head we cry, the dogs, no, they are very strong. I feel like the dogs love to live.”
“They teach me a lot,” Sara told me, “They help me.”
Founded eight years ago by Sara Moran, the shelter is safe haven to about sixty rescued dogs, eight of which are wheelchair bound. Others are able to walk on their own but are either missing a leg or have sustained another devastating injury. Able bodied dogs are also harbored at the shelter, and all have been rescued after being abandoned in the streets.
The shelter is actually a converted home in Chorrillos, a southern district of Lima. Located in a quiet residential street, the shelter is hard to find, as their are no signs or other indications that anything about the home is special. But as I knocked on the front door, a cacophony of loud barking was immediately unleashed, and thus I was assured I had reached the right place.
As I entered the shelter and stepped into the converted living area, Sara was busy fitting one of the paralyzed dogs into his wheelchair. “I started the shelter eight years ago,” she told me, looking up to point to a dog clad in a diaper and resting in his crib, “Bruno has been here for eight years, the first dog I brought into the shelter.”
The living room of the home is lined on either side by baby cribs that function as beds for the paralyzed dogs. “We only have one female in the shelter,” Sara told me. “Because when people report that a dog is run over, it’s usually more males than females, because male are more callejeros.” (street dogs)
Sara hopes one day to be able to fit some of the dogs with prosthesis, but has been unable to afford the high cost. She pointed to Osito, who was limping around on his right front leg. “He is able to walk but needs a prosthesis,” she told me. “I can help him with a wheelchair but he wants to walk.”
The shelter is funded mostly by donations, but Sara has one renter who helps pay some bills. “Food is very expensive,” she explained. “I also can’t run the air conditioner very long, it’s too expensive.”
As we toured the shelter I was surprised by the number of dogs in the two story, albeit small house. They were everywhere, sleeping on the floor, in the stairs, or otherwise just roaming around. The dogs were very friendly and for the most part, seemed to get along well. All of the dogs of course, are up for adoption.
“It’s hard work, but it makes me happy,” Sara said as she described the daily work of running the shelter. “I’m here everyday, ….at Christmas, New Years, Mothers Day, Birthdays, I’m always here.”
“It’s very sad,” Sara continued, “In the beginning I would always cry, for many years it was very hard. When the dogs get sick they want to live, not like us. When we get hit in the head we cry, the dogs, no, they are very strong. I feel like the dogs love to live.”
“They teach me a lot,” Sara told me, “They help me.”
