Erick Ortega / La Paz
Canelita arrived a little shaky at the El Alto International Airport. She is a four-legged survivor whom no one wanted to adopt, she lived in La Paz with a family that loves her and yesterday she flew to Santa Cruz. Like her, 10 other pets flew to their new home. It is expected that the 24 animals of this herd will be in the Santa Cruz land until tomorrow.
On their four legs they have stories of sadness, but with a happy ending. Cinnamon, for example, survived the landslide, but her young died; Coquito is a furry white guy who has a delicate heart and needs a lot of constant medication and a lot of patience; Amelie has trouble eating; El Chango drags a rowdy past… and so they were abandoned and forgotten by everyone, almost everyone… Gabriela Ayoroa and her mother Mercedes Quintana rescued them and since no one adopted them, they took charge.
They all form a family and one of its premises is: “The family is not abandoned”.
Because Coquito and Emilia have heart problems, the entire herd will change cities. Yesterday the flights began from the city of Illimani to the City of the Rings.
Photo: Fredd Ramos / Page Seven
This operation is not easy at all. “Some puppies that have marked their behavior did not leave their essence, El Chango, one of the largest and heaviest puppies, had to be contained with a lot of patience and love so that he can enter the canil (a kind of cage to transport animals), the hustle and bustle of having the copies of the original documents ready, the weighing, the coordination between everyone and the time that flies by made our adrenaline go through the roof”, explains Ana Serrano, director of Aplab. She was one of the defenders of the Lion Fido (who died locked up in a cruel zoo in Oruro, in 2006) and usually stands up for any animal that needs a little love and attention.
Aplab volunteers: Lorena Salmón, José Basco, Nemesio Huanca, Antonio Cajias and Vania Gómez were key in the operation. They arrived at the airport before sunrise and helped load the dogs and fill out the documentation needed for these flights. The BOA company made its flights available, the airline has its four-legged program on board
Canelita traveled yesterday, she was accompanied by the three cats that make up the herd.
She looked shaky, but was reported in the evening to have arrived in good health.
Photo: Ana Serrano
The transfer operation continues today and will end tomorrow, with between three and four animals traveling on each flight. Soon the whole family will be in Santa Cruz.
