ENSENADA, Baja California — A La Mesa rescue group found hundreds of dogs in dire condition at a shelter in Mexico last month. Animal Pad is making progress in bringing them to the U.S. but is still in desperate need of fosters and volunteers.
"We're still in the thick of it even though we've moved a decent number of dogs from the property," said Lauren Botticelli, the executive director of Animal Pad.
Animal Pad found more than 400 dogs, many malnourished and in filthy conditions, last month at the shelter in Ensenada.
"If we don't have fosters we have nowhere for these dogs to go," said Stephanie Nisan, the founder of Animal Pad.
Botticelli has been living in Ensenada to help care for more than 100 dogs that are still at the shelter waiting.
"All of the rescues and people willing to help at this point have helped. We need a whole new wave of people who are seeing these dogs and caring," Botticelli said.
Animal Pad is organizing volunteer trips to the shelter. Volunteers walk across the border and take a bus from Tijuana to Ensenada. They get to help feed, clean and spend time with the dogs. Animal Pad is hopeful more people will help or even open their homes to fostering.
"When I tell you it's the most rewarding thing that so many of us have ever done it's absolutely true. To take these dogs from the conditions they come from, bring them into your house and showing them love and affection for the first time is beyond," she said.
Many dogs have been taken by rescues, eighty-two dogs are with fosters and 20 of them will be medically cleared for adoption this week.
Fostering is completely free. Learn more about fostering, volunteering and the dogs available for adoption, here.
Contact Animal Pad at contact@theanimalpad.com.
WATCH RELATED: Rescue efforts continue to save hundreds of dogs found in deplorable conditions in Ensenada (June 2023).