1. REELS ON WHEELS

Daniela Ortiz is a veterinarian living in Futaleufú, Chile. At 30 years old, she considers herself part of a new generation of vets – during her studies, it was she and her classmates who insisted on more adequate training for companion animals. Historically, the focus in Chile and other South American countries has been, and still is, on agriculture and the monetary value of farm animals.

Daniela owns the only vet clinic in Futaleufú, a town of just over a thousand people and a rafting Mecca of Patagonia. When her friends took off for the river, she took it upon herself to sterilize every female dog in Futaleufú over the course of one summer. Zero population growth, and a drastic reduction in the all-too common practice of drowning puppies.

Daniela’s helpers in the clinic are three young boys, ages between 7 and 14. They started as volunteers, taking care of the puppies and sick animals while Daniela was on call-out. Having proven themselves as trustworthy volunteers with initiative – building shelves, making repairs, cleaning – the boys negotiated their own salaries and became official employees of the clinic.

This influence on her community, and her tireless work as a healer, make Daniela a saint.

Daniela Ortiz was the chief veterinarian during the last rescue attempt in Chaitén, making her one of the main characters in Lost Dogs. Without transport, she would hitchhike from Chaitén back to Futaleufú to restock food and medical supplies. Given that there were already fifteen confined dogs and cats in need of constant care (medical and otherwise), plus the rigorous hours Daniela put in day after day, hitchhiking through the Andes was not only enormously impractical, it literally cost lives.

One of the outreach objectives of Lost Dogs is to fortify and increase Daniela’s impact as a veterinarian by providing her with transport. We would like to donate a four wheel drive capable of showing video on an exterior screen – different educational versions of Lost Dogs aimed at specific Spanish-speaking audiences – for pet owners in rural areas to view while their dogs and cats are being treated and sterilized. Reels on wheels!

Examples of AVA (Audio-visual automobiles) –

Tiger Truck: http://www.sharkonline.org/?P=0000000398

Black Beauty: http://network.bestfriends.org/golocal/utah/13783/news.aspx

The cost of the campaign is $120,000. To help sponsor Reels on Wheels, please contact Lost Dogs Producer, Vanessa Schulz at Vanessa@21paradigm.com

If you would like to use any of the images or purchase the print, please contact us.

2. THE RINCONADA FUND

Rinconada is a ten-mile stretch of road on the north-west outskirts of Santiago, where the poor live; where the city dumps its trash, sewage and unwanted dogs.

It is here that Gabriela Jarpa comes twice weekly to feed approximately fifty dogs. She bonds with them, assists them through illnesses and injuries, endures their inexplicable disappearances, the deplorable acts of cruelty by local residents who resent the dogs’ presence, and municipality workers who poison them periodically. Through it all, Gabriela endeavors to adopt the dogs to good homes, but as fast as she succeeds, more dogs are abandoned. It’s a thankless, endless task.

In the past four years, Gabriela has single-handedly impacted her entire neighborhood by having more than 120 street dogs adopted and over 200 sterilized. Despite her obvious commitment, her success, and the enormous obstacles she faces, companies that make dog food have as yet refused aid because Gabriela is not set up as an organization. So Gabriela’s recourse is to work a full-time job and offer up her free time and income to the cause.

One of the outreach objectives of Lost Dogs is to set up a system whereby Gabriela receives the support she needs through a community that donates funds, goods and services. The local municipality already provides her with eight free sterilizations per month, but she must bring in the dogs and return them to the streets herself. Whenever Gabriela is at the municipality, she encounters more dogs that need her help.

We would like to help Gabriela receive the following for the dogs in Rinconada:

Dog food – donations on a monthly/weekly basis;
Funds for dog food, veterinary care, medical supplies; gasoline/automobile maintenance and repair.

To help sponsor The Rinconada Fund, please contact Production Assistant, Carol Linacre at Carol@lostdogsfilm.org
To help foster or adopt dogs from Rinconada, please visit http://www.lostdogsfilm.org/adoption

If you would like to use any of the images or purchase the print, please contact us.