Recently we adopted Paqcho, a beautiful male dog to keep our Dolma company at the Lodge in Limatambo. Paqcho was rescued by Mila Romero from the Paqcha (Quechua: fountain) in Cusco. He is a fantastic guardian with a deep bass voice. During the day he loves to curl up at our feet in the office, keeping us amused with his contented snoring. He has already become an indispensable member of our family, we are completely in love with him!
We are full of praises for the wonderful work of Mila Romero and the NGO Cusco Protección de Animales that she founded in 2010 and has directed since in order to help our four-legged friends. Cusco Protección de Animales has created a shelter for abandoned dogs (and some cats, too!) as well as a mobile veterinary care service. Over the years the organization has rescued, treated, healed and rehomed thousands of abandoned and injured dogs. Mila and her supporters have also instigated a great number of sterilization campaigns, as well as educational events to teach the general public about the humane treatment of animals. Thanks to the efforts of Mila and other enlightened animal campaigners there is now a law in Peru that makes cruelty to animals a criminal offense. This is the first step, but Peru is still a long way from actively enforcing this law.
Cusco Protección de Animales takes on volunteers to help with the endless work of maintaining and cleaning the shelter, preparing the food for the animals, grooming them and assisting with their care, taking the dogs for walks, campaigning and many other tasks.
You may contact the organization directly if you are interested. Vets are especially needed, but everyone is welcome. A minimum donation of two 25 kg sacks of dog food is required from each volunteer (if you can manage more that would be great!). A command of Spanish is helpful, but not indispensable as Mila speaks English. If you need somewhere to stay whilst doing your volunteering work you might be interested in our Vacation Rentals. We would also be happy to help you with any tour arrangements you might require during your volunteering experience.
We are planning an interview with Mila and some of her volunteers for our next blog. Meanwhile, you may like to watch a previous interview we conducted at the shelter: