Dog tales

Kena stands trembling on the surgery table as two vets carefully tend to the multiple burns and scabs on her body, covering them with ointment and gauze and then bandaging her carefully. When they are finished she looks more bandage than dog, but she never cries or complains.

Image:Luz Montero

Presencia Animal keeps photographic records of all its animals that are up for adoption, as well as those that have found new homes.

Kena was brought to the Presencia Animal pet shelter in January after a reporter who was called to a warehouse fire found her tied up inside the burning building. She is just one of 75 dogs and 34 cats that, after being abandoned, lost or mistreated, currently live at this haven run by Dr. Jose Luis Genis.

“I like this work because it is more varied than simply working in a veterinary clinic,” says Dr. Genis, a soft spoken man who has worked at the shelter for 10 years. As we go from room to room in this house that serves as a pet orphanage, he talks to the animals, strokes one, and then picks up another for a cuddle.

“Not all the animals that arrive here are mistreated, but many of them are. We also get dogs and cats that have been rescued from the street. Some have been abandoned and some are merely lost,” Dr. Genis explains.

Presencia Animal opened its doors to the waifs and strays of the animal kingdom 20 years ago. Since then it has worked not only to care for these abandoned creatures, but to educate people on how to be better pet owners.

From the street, the shelter looks like just another house. There’s no sign and it doesn’t publicise the address so that people don’t abandon animals on the doorstep. Instead, there’s an answering service where people can leave questions about adopting a pet, or information about a rescued animal. The staff return all calls, and will arrange to pick up an animal if necessary.

From the moment I walk in, the Presencia Animal shelter feels more like a home than a shelter. In the kitchen, small dogs romp freely, while others sun themselves on the front and back patios. Dr. Genis explains that where each dog is kept depends largely on size, temperament and the type of attention required.

“For example, the dogs that are here [on the back patio within sight of the surgery] tend to be the more timid animals. They need attention because most of them have been mistreated, and here they have more direct contact with us throughout the day,” he says.