Dear Sir,
This is to say “Thank You” to the police officers of Chapala – you are heroes in my eyes.
We live at the top of the mountain above the Monte Carlo Hotel and around 1 a.m. on Saturday, September 24 my husband and I were awakened by crying puppies. We knew our neighbors had puppies and also that the family had gone to Guadalajara. We got up and tried to coax the puppies and the mother back home, but to no avail. My husband jumped in the car and ran down the mountain to the Farmacias Guadalajara to get a bag of dog food as enticement. After he left I heard the puppies going back towards their home, except for one … and it dawned on me he was in big trouble. He had been crying loudly for almost an hour by this time, but because of the din of noise from the other three puppies I didn’t know where he actually was and when I finally figured it out, my hearing went cold. He was in the neighbor’s yard – the neighbor who I have seen twice in three years, the neighbor with a pool. I ran to the locked 12-foot gate and listened to make sure that what I thought I knew was true and hoping with all my heart that I was wrong. But I could hear his whines and his struggle to get out of the water. He was paddling for his life.
I am too old to climb the wall or fence and knocking the log chain and lock off the iron gate was out of the question. In an absolute panic, I called Chapala’s finest. They were there in five minutes. Between my tears and broken Spanish I was able to communicate that “un perro esta en el agua.” The puppy had been whimpering the whole time, but I could tell that he was getting weaker and weaker with each passing second and then he went silent – until that is one policeman realized what was going on. He scaled that iron gate with spikes on the top like a mountain goat. He dropped to the ground and I passed my flashlight through the bars. His partner and I then heard the yelp come from behind the walls. What a magical moment to see this poor little, wet black and brown puppy being thrust through those cold bars.
The “little one” who went for the swim, shook, shivered and hiccupped for two hours and finally feel asleep and slept in my lap the rest of the night. The owner and my husband found the other puppies and their mother the next morning. They were all safe.
The puppies are going to new homes and Mama Maya is paying a visit to the vet, thanks to Gudrun Jones. So a big thanks to Gudrun and to Chapala’s finest. You are life savers in more ways than one.
Post note: Perhaps the many pools that are left unattended for months that provide a haven for the dengue mosquito and a hell for unsuspecting animals should be addressed by the authorities.
Pat McQueen