What should have been an ordinary vacation turned into a rescue operation when the Halls visited Baja Mexico.
The couple, Jeff and Diana Hall, from Burnsville, Minnesota, were the rescuers in this story; and a motley band of unlikely animals were the ones that needed saving. They were homeless, hungry, and living on a beach in La Paz, Mexico.
The Halls are no strangers to caring for stray animals, as they run their own doggy daycare and boarding service Camp Bow Wow back in the States. Even though they were under no obligation to do anything, when they came across this particular bunch of dogs and cats, they wanted to help.
“We knew immediately that we needed to help these dogs and cats as best we could,” the Halls later recounted via their GoFundMe page.
“We discovered on our trip there was no way to bring any of them back with us due to regulations and requirements. We provided food and water for them daily, but felt helpless not being able to do more.
“We counted 34 in total: 8 puppies about 3-4 weeks old, 5 puppies about 14 weeks old, 14 adult dogs and 7 cats.”
It had appeared that the ragtag bunch had banded together out of necessity in order to survive the rough life of being a stray. They were malnourished and skinny, but they were all surprisingly well tempered.
“We couldn’t believe how they all got along! They were well behaved and very friendly.”
It took a little while to gain their trust, but eventually the couple had them eating out of their hands.
“[E]ven the toughest little guy finally came around,” they wrote.
In order to save these dogs from the streets, the Halls needed to get them back to the States somehow. However, with all the regulations, it wouldn’t be that simple. So, they started a Facebook and GoFundMe page, which would be able to collect donations, for the group, which they dubbed “Baja 34 Pack,” in reference to the number of their members.
Not long after, they were able to raise over $50,000, which would be used to transport, rehabilitate, and prep the animals for adoption.
By the end of July, they had already brought the first animals stateside. The Halls worked with local animal rescue Last Hope Inc to help the dogs and cats adapt to their new surroundings. They would be spayed, neutered, and vaccinated.
So far, three of the pups that recently arrived have been adopted to their new forever homes. Now, they are working hard to ensure that the rest of the Baja 34 Pack find loving homes.
They wrote, “Each and every one of these dogs and cats are well behaved and would make wonderful family pets. Although they are starving for food, it was apparent they are also starving for love.”
