The perfect dog???? Whoever said that the perfect dog does not exist - has sure not met Carmen. Just over a month ago - prior to my parent’s arrival - I was walking along the 'back roads' of Playa Del Carmen. What I mean by the back roads is that - I wasn't in tourist central - where their now seems to be a wipe out of street animals (you can guess what I mean by that). Now that I live in Mexico, wasting food does not happen - when my belly gets full then I pack up all my left over’s and hit the streets to find all the hungry animals.
One afternoon when I was carrying a bowl full rice and chicken and had seemed to be lost at the time - I came across this large dirt pile next to a car shop - with a dog on top. I immediately went over to the dog and cautiously put out my hand so she could sniff it before I went in for the pat. 'Carmen' started wagging her tail slowly and began licking my hand. I put down the food beside the dirt pile so she could have her meal -however when I noticed her getting up I saw how much distress her front left paw was in and how evidently swollen her leg was. Only looking at it briefly at the time - I could see that the pads of that paw had been completely sanded down and her nails were curling and growing into her skin. It was almost too terrible to look at. As she hopped, it was very evident that the paw was broken and most likely had been for a very long time. I was lucky to find a man who was waiting for his car to be fixed that spoke both English and Spanish - so he could be my translator and find out 'Carmen's' story. We spoke to the people who owned the shop as well as the village people around - and they all said the same thing - she was a street dog that they occasionally fed when they had some scraps. They pointed to both the dirt pile and the street corner and said that is where she spends most of her time - but she prefers the dirt pile to be her bed (maybe because its a little more comfortable then the concrete road). I was devastated to see a dog in this condition and was even more devastated that I could not take her at that time - as I was living in a hostel and there were NO dogs allowed. I called the Peanut Pet Shelter and Jen told me to keep track of the street names/numbers so we could go back and see what we could do.
Everyday after that for 3 days I went back to the same spot with food and water. Carmen was always there waiting for me - and even piddled a little bit with excitement when I came back the 3rd time. Sometimes she was forced to share her rice with the area roosters as they would all come running when I put down the food - Carmen didn't seem to mind though. As soon as my parents I arrived - I couldn't stop talking about her - and took them to see her. I knew I couldn't let her stay there any longer and she needed Vet care asap. Since we were then staying at a villa - we were be able to smuggle her in.
As soon as we got her to the villa - it was BATH TIME!!!!! Carmen stunk!!!!!!!! My boyfriend and I got our bathing suits on and jumped in the bathtub so we could get her clean. WOW - was she ever amazing in the tub. Of coarse she was scared, but she just sat there and let us scrub her. While scrubbing her I came across hundreds of ticks all over her body - coming from Canada and never really seeing ticks on dogs - I was shocked!!!!! She had them crawling all over especially in her ears - as well had the ones that were already blown up with blood and were just sticking in her skin. She as well was infested with fleas. That night, Justin and I sat beside her and picked out some of the ticks however hardly managed to hit the tip of the infestation. The first night - Carmen did not make a sound. She curled up on her blankets and didn't make a peep the whole night.
The next morning she had her vet appointment finally!! The vet examined her paw and said that it was a clean break that it must have happened awhile ago - as she didn't have anymore feeling in the lower part of that leg. The 'clean break' meant that it was most likely done intentionally - so for example: it was snapped or stepped on. By looking at her teeth he predicted that she was just over 2 years old. He listened to her heart and weighed her - and said that surprisingly apart from her leg/tick issue she seemed to be in somewhat good shape. I had her tested for heartworm and other diseases caused by ticks however she was negative for all. He kept her for the day to examine her paw fully and clean up the wounded area. Later that afternoon when I went to pick her up - the vet went over my options. He said that at this point there is not too much that can be done with that limb. He figured the break happened over a year ago and she has just been dragging it around since (eventually Carmen was probably numbed by the pain and eventually lost all the feeling). He recommended that she has it removed - but to wait a bit until she has settled into her new environment.
Over the last month I have witnessed first hand how much of a survivor Carmen really is (We named her Carmen after 'Playa Del Carmen'). Although she must have experienced such pain in her past life (previous to me) she is the sweetest most loving animal you could stumble upon. Somehow she was fully housetrained and even to this day she has yet to have an accident in the house - she never makes a sound (I think I have heard her 'bark' three times and it was a little ruff) - she is completely street smart and knows when to cross the street - she loves everybody (including all animals/children/men and women). Carmen lovesss to give kisses and just lay by my feet. This little dog has already brought me so much joy in my life. Below are a few pictures of how she has been doing over the last month.
Carmen cuddling with a Mexican boy. Education
on the proper treatment of animals is key for
children of this age as they are the generation of
the future. 
Carmen with Betsa (foster mommy for a couple of days)
Carmen's new bed!!! Much better than a dirt pile :)
This dog is extremely special and came in my life for a reason. The only problem is my parents warned me that I was not to bring anymore dogs home after this year of travelling. My parents have been extremely amazing and are currently looking after two of my doggies at home (one of which I brought home from Toyko) while I'm embarking on this journey around Central America - however it would not be fair of me to send Carmen home to them while I continue my travels. I will be heading home in June for my girlfriend's wedding (and then continue my backpacking around other parts of Central America in July) and will be bringing Carmen with me (as I will NOT leave her here in Mexico) - I will be covering the costs of everything for her including the flight home - with the hope that I will have a wonderful home waiting for her when we arrive. Anyone who has the opportunity to have this girl as a member of their family will be blessed as she is one special animal. Currently she is at the Vet's undergoing surgery to have her leg removed. I'm praying that everything will be okay with the surgery and Im anxiously awaiting the doctor's call. I'm anticipating a long road to recovery - however I will be there right by her side the whole way. Please stayed tuned on Carmen's progress......
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