The angry Hurricane Delta closed in on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula but one man opened his house to 300 dogs and other animals.
In a move that is nothing less than extraordinary, Richard Pimentel gave 300 dogs shelter in his own house. It can only be imagined what would have happened if they were left at the mercy of the Hurricane.
Not only dogs, a number of cats, chicks, bunnies and also sheep were invited into the house with a warm smile.
Obviously it was taxing to have so many animals in a small place. But as Pimentel says, it was all worth it.
It doesn’t matter if the house is dirty, it can be cleaned,” he says. “The things they broke can be fixed or bought again, but what’s beautiful is to see them happy, healthy and safe, without wounds and with the possibility of being adopted.”
Pimentel, who owns an animal shelter Tierra de Animales (Land of Animals), cautioned about the monumental power of the Hurricane.
He has been running the shelter for close to a decade now.
On the 6th of October, Pimentel informed his friends about all the precautions he is taking in respect to the shelter. He cut branches and covered up the windows.
He was worried about the possibility that the stores may be closed so he requested for donations. There could be food shortage which wont do.
“If I lived with just 10 or 20 dogs, I wouldn’t worry much, but here we have hundreds of animals and we can’t afford the luxury of not having enough food.”
He moved all the dogs, around 300, inside in fear of the oncoming storm. This took hours as it is difficult leading dogs indoors with a leash.
#300 Dogs On Twitter
The online post with him and his dogs went viral and Pimentel did not even realise. So busy was he with his animals that he did not know he had become internet famous.
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Pimentel always preferred the company of animals over humans. When he felt overwhelmed or in need of inspiration, he would look at photos of rescue dogs who found a new home
“We would like to think that thanks to all this attention, somebody would like to be part of the story and say: ‘I adopted a dog saved from that famous Hurricane Delta.”