With the adoption of my last rescue dog, I came across an extraordinary group of women at Dog Rescue Without Borders who have devoted their lives to locating dogs in crisis in Tijuana, Mexico then providing foster care and eventual homes for these loveable, grateful souls.
Part of the process includes dog transport to another area, or even another country. Most of the Dog Rescue Without Borders discovery dogs are transported to the United States for medical care and foster placement until forever families can be found. Other times, dogs will be transferred to other counties for placement at sister agencies.
The heart it requires to care for, provide love, shelter, food and security by fostering these animals, is a concept I cannot begin to wrap my head around. Imagine the responsibility it requires to ensure your charge is safe during this stressful process. Further still, imagine the bond formed between the rescuer, foster mom and the animal.
Once bonded, the dogs move on to other families, and you open your home again and again and repeat the process, one after the other, never running out of love, patience and loyalty. I envision a gaping hole in the heart of these Saints who tirelessly repeat this process on a consistent basis.
Can you imagine???
Cynthia Espana Palacio is one such hero. Teco, one of Cynthia's beloved rescue & foster dogs, was part of a transfer with 6 other dogs from Tijuana, Mexico to Riverside, California on December 4th 2014, when 3-year old Teco wiggled out of his collar. The paid transporter, Mario, didn't notify Cynthia of Teco's disappearance until the next day and told her that Teco ran off on Beyer Boulevard in San Ysidro - one of the busiest streets in the enormous port-of-entry city!The entire dog rescue community went a-buzz with action. Flyers were posted all over the area, and social media lit up with concern for poor, lost Teco. Volunteers lined the streets looking for Teco.
Donde Esta Teco???
To make matters worse, it was winter and bad weather had set in. Temperatures were freezing, and rain poured, hampering rescue efforts.
Everyone feared the worst for Teco. His survival, lost and alone in a strange country in foul weather didn't bode well for him. Cynthia, who had formed a very strong attachment to Teco, was so distraught over his disappearance she was taken to the emergency room showing signs of a nervous breakdown. How could this happen???Days pass, and there was no sign of Teco anywhere! The transporter Mario, was peppered with questions and inconsistencies began to arise in his story. Cynthia and others in the rescue community concluded after several days, that Teco did not go missing in San Ysidro, the United States, but in Tijuana, Mexico. This detail was of great importance because valuable time and energy had been lost looking for Teco in the wrong country!
The search shifted to Tijuana and posters in Spanish went up everywhere. Shelters were searched, streets scoured, but no sign of Teco.
Christmas loomed just around the corner and it seemed the Holiday must go on despite Teco's disappearance. Cynthia couldn't shake the thought of her poor lost baby, and never gave up hope. Although the Christmas spirit was far from her mind, she robotically went through the motions of Holiday preparation.
Cynthia drove to Costco in Tijuana to purchase her Christmas tree and asked a Costco employee to put the decorative white snow on it. The employee agreed to do it, but explained it would take some time. Instead of waiting around, allowing the visions of a Teco-less Christmas to invade her thoughts, she, being a woman of great faith, went instead to a local church. While there, she lit a candle for Teco and cried out to God, praying to the Virgin of Guadalupe for mercy and protection over Teco, begging in earnest to please bring her sweet Teco home.
Now here's where the story takes a suspicious turn, where many readers might stop reading and say to themselves "no way did this happen'', but it's true, I tell you with tears streaming down my face, it really is true!
Cynthia returned to Costco to pick up her Christmas tree and sitting beside the very tree she had bought, paid for and had decorated with snow, was TECO! It's as if he was placed directly beneath that exact tree at the precise time she would return as if to say " I'm home, Mama, I am home."
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| Teco Before |
She proceeded to scream and shout "Gloria a Dios" and didn't care about the glances the other shoppers were giving her, she was just happy her Teco was found. Teco was a lot skinnier, hungry, dehydrated and full of cuts, most likely a result of a dog-fight. She took him home to bathe him, dress his wounds and make him a very special dinner.Teco's been recuperating at Cynthia's ever since, and has been patiently awaiting a forever family to adopt him.
Of course Cynthia would love nothing more than to keep him, but part of being a phenomenal rescuer and foster mom is the ability to release the dogs to awaiting families, so more lives can be saved.
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| Teco Now |
He's 3 years old, weighs about 62 pounds, has medium energy level and is great with other dogs and cats. He's loyal, social and would be so incredibly grateful if you could take him home with you.
If you are interested in completing Teco's story, please contact Dog Rescue Without Borders at info@drwb.org
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| Take Me Home |
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| Cynthia & Teco |
