On Patrol at Dead Dog Beach Puerto Rico
Ralph Quinonez | Puerto Rico, United States
Photographer: Ralph Quinonez
Exhibit Title: On Patrol at Dead Dog Beach Puerto Rico
Location: Puerto Rico, United States
An estimated 600,000 stray dogs roam the streets of Puerto Rico. "Dead Dog Beach" (officially Playa Lucia), lies on the southeastern coast, and derives it’s name by notoriously being a dumping ground for abused and abandoned dogs. In Puerto Rican slang these homeless dogs are known as Satos.
Since it’s founding in 2011 by Chrissy Beckles, the Sato Project has been rescuing, rehabilitating, and adopting out stray and abandoned dogs from Dead Dog Beach and the surrounding area. Through the organization’s many years of rescue work here, the beach has been mostly cleared of the many packs of dogs that previously roamed the area.
Although less frequent, the dumping of sick and abandoned dogs still occurs. And so on a daily basis, the Sato Project’s rescue team of Natalia Rivera Alejandro and Samuel D. Prieto Pulido patrol the beach. Once a stray is successfully rescued, the dog is taken to a veterinarian that works in corroboration with the Sato Project. The dog is treated for any health issues, vaccinated, microchipped, spayed or neutered, and eventually put up for adoption.
Although the homeless dog overpopulation is a global phenomenon, the United States Commonwealth of Puerto Rico harbors this problem to an extreme degree. Indeed, it is estimated that 600,000 stray dogs roam the streets and beaches of the Caribbean island at any given time.
Many factors contribute to the problem, including economic, cultural and environmental.
Historically, Puerto Rico has suffered from extreme poverty, and thus many people cannot afford to spay and neuter their pets. Cultural factors also play a role here as neutering a male dog is considered emasculating.
With an already unstable economy, the hurricanes of Maria in 2017 and Fiona in 2022 only exacerbated the problem, as the storms forced many people to relocate to the mainland United States and leave their dogs behind. With only five municipal shelters available on the island, the euthanasia rate is near 100%.
As a documentary photographer, I have worked with stray dog rescue groups locally in Los Angeles, and internationally in places as Cuba, Colombia, Guatemala, India, Myanmar and others. But much of my work spans multiple trips to Puerto Rico. My interest is in the fact of the island being a commonwealth of the U.S., but harboring such a substantial problem with homeless dogs.
With little government support, the only resources to deal with this problem are the multiple non-profit organizations on the island. By working with these organizations, I hope to bring them publicity and much needed support in finding their rescued dogs forever homes.
The Sato Project
Make Comment/View Comments
