Hundreds of pets were rescued following Venezuela’s earthquakes. Now they’re looking for their families

By Anabella Gonzalez, CNN

(CNN) — Catira Alejandra couldn’t contain her excitement when she was reunited with her family. Tail wagging, frenzied leaping, and loving licks to the face marked the moment the small dog finally saw the familiar faces she didn’t know if she would see again.

But several days earlier, Catira was hunched over, head down and trembling as gloved hands examined her after she was rescued in La Guaira. She was briefly renamed by her rescuers and carried no information to trace back to the life she once knew. She was one of the hundreds of pets that flooded shelters after twin earthquakes devastated parts of Venezuela in June, killing thousands of people.

Since then, scores of residents have lost loved ones, their homes and the furry companions they shared their lives with.

Since June 24, at least 648 pets (including dogs and cats) have been rescued in La Guaira – one of the states hardest hit by the earthquakes – and the Caracas neighborhood of San Bernardino, according to Maguildas Vargas, president of Misión Nevado, a Venezuelan government project that provides shelter for homeless animals.

Awaiting a happy ending

Vargas’ team has been able to reunite at least 18 pets rescued in La Guaira with their owners.

Most of the animals found were injured and had fractures, multiple traumas, mutilations, abrasions, or cuts, said Vargas, a veterinary assistant. Those pets are receiving veterinary care and shelter until they can return to their original homes.

Vargas has called for people looking for their lost pets to create profiles for them and spread the word on social media.

Social networks have been flooded with photos and videos of dogs of all sizes, white cats, black cats, striped and multicolored cats. Each post has been circulated repeatedly with desperate pleas from bereaved owners and basic information about their beloved animals.

The shelter at Granja Los Corales, in the state of La Guaira, is one of the hubs for hundreds of rescued animals.

“We are here as a meeting point for those people who are looking for their pets so they can come and check if they are in the facilities,” Rene Cardozo, shelter coordinator in the region, told state broadcaster Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).

‘My mission is for them to find their owners’

Alongside government efforts, many independent shelters have worked to reunite the canine and feline victims of Venezuela’s earthquakes, with their loved ones.

María Cordova made her first animal rescue when she was 15 years old, in 2013. Since then, she’s made it her mission, working from Barquisimeto, in the state of Lara. Being a pastry chef who works from home has allowed her to orient her schedule around caring for her rescues.

Days after the earthquakes, she traveled to La Guaira twice, where she and her shelter, Amor Animal helped 22 animals.

“We are looking for their owners; we know that many are still hospitalized and haven’t had the chance to look for their pets,” she told CNN.

“My mission in all of this is for them to find their owners. I am in no hurry to put them up for adoption, because my mission and my satisfaction would be for them to be reunited with their owners,” Cordova said.

That mission was partially accomplished a few days ago when she saw Gus, a black cat she had rescued in Catia La Mar, in the state of La Guaira. Gus was reunited with his owner after 19 days.

“I found him by the grace of God, thanks to you,” says Rofredbelys, his owner, through tears in a video shared by the shelter.

These reunions, Cordova says, give meaning to all of her work. “That girl really cried,” she says.

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