Immigrants entering the US, some after months-long and arduous journeys with their pets, have to leave their pets behind at the border. However, two volunteer groups are helping to reunite them and keep them together.
The non-profit organization Mascotas Para Migrantes (Pets for Migrants), works with immigrants and asylum seekers to help get their dogs (and other pets, including a duck) into the US. The program is new, but already the UN’s refugee agency is telling pet parents at the border to seek out Mascotas Para Migrantes, according to BuzzFeed. Pets for Migrants has teamed up with The Buddy Foundation, another volunteer group.
Reporting Success on Social Media
Here is a Pets for Migrants post: Update! Remember Lucy and Coco — two dogs separated from their asylum-seeking families? We have great news — thanks to you, we’ve raised enough that both of these pups have flights to reunite with their families! However, The Buddy Foundation needs more support — they’re driving four hours round-trip to reunite another family! Can you help with gas, travel costs, and this happy reunion?
And another Facebook post: These three dogs traveled so far with their asylum-seeking families and are now looking for temporary foster families while they wait to be reunited with their humans. If you are in San Antonio or Austin and can help please let us know — just look at these faces!
Crossing the Border
Two heart-wrenching stories reported by Buzzfeed have happy endings. Erisema was sent back by US border officers to Ciudad Juárez, Mexico in 2019. The 20-year-old was alone until another asylum seeker gave her a puppy. Erisema and her dog Kandi lived together for two years. But then she received news that she could immigrate to the U.S. But she had to leave Kandi behind – or so she thought. She was able to bring Kandi into the U.S. with help from Pets for Migrants.
Little Choco and his family crossed the Rio Grande in July. They traveled through six countries, swum across a dozen rivers, and walked through one of the most dangerous jungles in the Western Hemisphere, reported BuzzFeed. At the border in Eagle Pass, Texas, Choco and his family became separated.
The family spent three days in custody, not knowing where Choco was. They were in bad shape. But during this time, the Buddy Foundation, an animal rescue in Eagle Pass, and a Border Patrol supervisor in the area work together: dogs are dropped off at the Buddy Foundation, where contact information is exchanged so a reunification could take place at a later time. Choco and his family reunited in Miami.
