When our best friend is in pain, we must come to the rescue.

Good morning everyone, although I am new I want to expose a rather delicate subject, perhaps even sad. Well, we all like to have animals, to pamper them and give them lots of love. Some people even adapt a pet and love it like a child. But the thing is, that's not what I'm here to talk about.... My subject is a bit more distressing and unfortunately tragic.

Venezuela is a beautiful country that unfortunately is going through very distressing and delicate times. As many already know, this country has one of the highest inflation rates on the planet. Perhaps many think that this is not so, but those of us who live in Venezuela know the reality.

The sad thing about all this is that we have all had to suffer. Even the pets have had to feel the cold pavement and days and nights without food, my heart is in mourning today. Not because of the death of a family member, but because of the death of a beautiful dog nicknamed "Gorda". Dogs have always been said to be man's best friend, but I ask myself a question: Is man the dog's best friend? I don't want to seem prejudiced, perhaps it is not the right thing to do, the situation is much more critical, it seems that in Venezuela the concerns are others and not to take care of a pet. Gorda, a beautiful dog, had to leave today for a better place, I don't think it was her turn to leave, but the situation was very delicate. Yesterday I found Gorda, a stray dog, in a convulsive state, completely anaemic and on the verge of death. You don't know how I felt to see a poor dog suffer so much. In all my years of life, I had never felt so much the departure of a pet and even more so if it was not directly mine. Every day I used to take food to gorda, a very noble dog, who had been living in the street for several years, although I always took care of her vaccinations and worming. It is not the same to have a dog in the safety of our homes and free from so many diseases.

Gorda. She will be remembered as a very affectionate and friendly dog. My story with her is a little brief, the first time I had the opportunity to meet Gorda, she was in a church where she slept and also waited for someone to decide to bring her something to eat. Every day gorda went on a tour of different places in my village. Perhaps like a person she had formed a habit. She knew where to go and where to get something to eat, but with the crisis much more acute, gorda was no longer given food, she became malnourished and unfortunately could not get out of the situation. I loved and will always love this beautiful dog.

You may wonder why I didn't take her home? The truth is that I can't have more than 12 dogs there, it would be much more difficult to control all the dogs, plus she was a female and most of the dogs I have are male. For that simple reason I also took food to gorda every day. Today I am a bit sad, maybe she would be alive, some people didn't do their job as they should and well everything was very slow. Unfortunately gorda didn't last that long and passed away.

Mancha, is another stray dog, perhaps one of the most affectionate I know, every day I find him in different areas of the centre, although every day I feed him, he is always hungry, I would like to be able to give him more treatment but my economy is not the best either.

At times it gives me a lot of frustration that these animals are the first to be affected after the children in this whole crisis, people seem to be unconscious of not wanting to continue having a pet and release them onto the streets, since a few months ago this has been growing, every day the number of abandoned pets is increasing, some because they have no way to feed them, others have left the country and leave them to fend for themselves on the streets.

Although we all know that life on the streets is not exactly good. We still prefer to throw them away than give them up for adoption or whatever. Leave them to a companion who really cares for them.

I would like to send a message to the whole Venezuelan community, we must put our hand on our chest, swear to ourselves that although our economy is not the best, we must take care and watch over the safety of these living beings. Even if they are not people, these cute pets just want to be loved. Because if not, what is the point of having a pet? Then a lot of work has to be done. We need to think again. I have several friends who, like me, take care of many pets they find on the street. And you can't imagine what we get in many cases. It is quite painful that this is happening and that especially man's best friend is the one who pays the consequences.

When I talk about a faithful dog, then I am talking about "Roco". A yellow dog that more than a street dog is a complete bandit, not all dogs learn how to live in the street, Roco knows how to move around and always get food, I have also seen how he goes from house to house looking for something to eat. Looking for what for many is rubbish, for him, is food. That's how sad the reality is.

When I met Roco, he was quite thin, he didn't weigh 25 kg. He was quite malnourished and lacked affection and love. Roco knew how to be a good pet, maybe he was at the time. He knew how to earn rewards and to be loved easily. A real dog lover, in the first days I had to take Roco to a clinic, he had several cuts and injuries from fights with other dogs of the same species. He didn't seem to be a bad dog and being in that condition was not something he deserved.

Roco was quickly back on the streets, as he was already recovered and his weight was already 32 kg and in less than two months he had managed to recover a lot. With good food every day Roco became what he is today. A dog with the vitality of a child and the strength of a man. Quite affectionate and a real sweetheart with his own kind.

I would like him to be able to maintain the life he is living at the moment, because the life he had before is not really living. On the other hand, I would like to mention. That Roco does live in my house, only that every day he escapes to visit all his girlfriends and marks his territory. I always try not to let him escape, but it's almost impossible, he always knows how to manage.

Although each dog has had to live different situations, they are all similar to each other. They all live a life that is not at all comfortable. They don't have the affection of a family. Nor do they have the food they need. As if that wasn't enough, they are animals destined to a decadent life full of diseases, that if they really meet good-hearted people, maybe their agony won't be so bad but, in the end, the bad things always happen.

I wish my country would come to its senses, animals are fantastic beings unlike us, they are not malicious and not full of evil. They are much nobler than any human being and they are also loving. To be able to have a pet we must know what our economic possibilities are in the short and long term. Because there is nothing good about having a pet and then throwing it away because you don't know what to do with it. Dogs are excellent, so much so that any of the owners of the dogs that I have right now, arrives from somewhere, this dog will be so happy that perhaps it will cry like a child. Animals also feel and know a lot. To believe that they are beings that don't think is stupid. They are very intelligent animals.

Well guys, until tomorrow I hope you like what I have brought you today. If you can keep in touch with me, go ahead. I will always keep you informed. Take care.