Rescue Guidelines
Baja Dogs La Paz, Inc. operates an Adoption Support System for those who rescue dogs.
We do not have a shelter or refuge so we are unable to take dogs in that people bring to us. We also do not take in dogs that one person rescues and assign them to another person to foster and care for. We are all volunteers and rescue dogs (called rescatistas) that we feel they can handle in our home with our existing dogs, children, and families. Anyone can be a rescatista – all it takes is a desire to help a stray/abandoned dog and the commitment to help it get ready for adoption. Many first timers become recurring rescatistas because of the satisfaction they get from seeing the transformation in a dog they rescued and from being a part of the solution to solve the overpopulation of dogs in La Paz. Please read the guidelines on this page and make sure you can comply with them before submitting an intake form.
It is very important, when rescuing, that you do not endanger yourself, your family, other dogs in your home, or further endanger the dog you are rescuing. You need to read How to rescue and Ten Best Practices for Rescuing.
- ALWAYS have food, water, and a leash in your car.
- Ask people in the neighborhood if the dog has an owner and proceed accordingly.
- Take it to a vet right away. Baja Dogs does not have funds to pay for all veterinary costs. But once your dog is in our system, we can help with food, vaccines, deworming, and sterilization of females.
- If you can’t take the dog into your home, go to his/her place every day to feed him and give him water until you can take him/her in – remember that removing a dog from an environment that s/he knows well without a solution, can actually be worse in the long run.
- IN ANY CASE DO NOT RESCUE THE DOG IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE TO TAKE IT AFTERWARDS. Dogs learn food sources, where shelter is, etc. Until you have a complete solution for the dog, leave it alone and help it along in the environment it knows unless you can take it in and care for it. Again read Ten Best Practices for Rescuing and proceed accordingly.
If you want to rescue a dog, foster it, and are committed to helping it become adoptable, then the rewards are beyond words as you watch a rescue dog blossom under your loving care and, as a result, be selected for adoption by someone here in La Paz, the US, or Canada. Just visit our Happy Tails page to see the hundreds of dogs people in the community have helped to rehabilitate. You will not be alone in this endeavor.
You can read more about our Adoption System here and how you can enter your rescued dog in our program.