Ana Luisa Tenorio Martínez, or as many affectionately know her, Ana de los Perros, is well known around the historic neighborhood of Analco and throughout Guadalajara, where she can be found with her shopping cart full of recyclables and her furry friends. Ana has dedicated her life to taking care of street dogs. She goes from door to door collecting recyclables, which she cashes in to purchase dog food and medicines, but it falls far short of the tremendous need she finds every time she steps outside her door, so she collects donations every way that she can.
Recently, for example, she rescued Milo, a Chihuahua who was run over by a car a little over a month ago and suffered a fractured pelvic bone; she took him in and is nursing him until he can walk again. Meanwhile she cares for about 24 dogs every day, some of them in her home, some in safe spaces that people have given her access to in other neighborhoods. She gives every penny of what she can collect by buying dog food and medicines and taking animals with urgencies to the vet. She is an extraordinary woman. Any investment in the work of Ana de los Perros will do a lot of good to alleviate the suffering of these creatures.
Her last message for Us:
And then she said: "You know, sometimes I think about what people tell me — that I should think more about myself, that I should leave all the dogs behind, that I’m too old and not healthy enough to be in this situation. But honestly, I enjoy it very much. Yes, I get tired. Yes, my hands hurt — dragging my little cart, going up and down, collecting cans, making bracelets, finding someone to buy them — all of that. But it fills me up. It fills me when I leave food in the morning for as many as I can, and sometimes, when I manage to feed most of them and leave something in their bellies, I feel good all day. Because I also know what it’s like to feel hunger, what it’s like to be in pain or sick and to have little or a lot to get through it. But they — if they’re hungry, I hope they find something. But if something hurts them, or they get sick — what happens to them? What happens to their pain?
That’s why I love what I do — and even more when I meet people like you, like Marek, and like so many unhoused people who walk with their dog companions and provide for them. I always try to keep a warrior’s mindset — not to let ourselves be defeated. I hope we can improve the lives of those living on the streets and help make their numbers fewer. 💞🤝💓👊🙏🙏🐾
Thank you Tracy for bringing Ana to our attention
We will help Ana through our PawPal initiative, membership and donations.
For The Love of Dog
Marek