Laura Sandavol, who runs Animal Advocates in Southern California and periodically crosses the border into Tijuana, Mexico – an extremely poverty-ridden town – and sometimes ventures to a private homes of a hoarders.

Hoarders believe they are helping dogs by taking them in, but the truth is that hoarding is a personality disorder and results in the severe negligence of the animals.

Dogs taken in by hoarders are often tied up, not fed, and water is not made readily available to them despite extreme heat. In many cases, they are starved to death. They are given nothing but concrete, filthy dirt or plastic kennels to sleep in but are offered no protection from the elements. Their lowered immune system trigger terrible cases of mange. They try to find some comfort with each other, and huddle together. Shock, due to Post Traumatic Stress sets in. The hoarders rarely, if ever, allows Laura to take any of the dogs. During her most recent trip, she was lucky to be allowed to bring in a small team and humanely euthanize the dogs in the worst conditions.

We wish we could save more of these animals – who have not known a good day in their life. We just need more financial support to build a temporary shelter that they can be transferred to. We need financial support to get them across the boarder and vetted. We need foster homes to help nurture them back into the dogs they are meant to be.

If you would like to help, please donate to our Mexican program here.