Cristina Zenato

Cristina Zenato Instagram – In 2013, Mia showed up at my door and asked to come in; that moment started a transformative journey that would change my life and the lives of many animals.
I became more aware of the dire situation of bully breeds, how maligned they are, the issues with dogs and rescues on the island and other places, the displaced, the abandoned, the abused, used, and discarded.
In three years, I would end up with three dogs: two bully breeds and one giant rottweiler mix, black like the darkest of cave tunnels. These are another kind of dog maligned because of fur color.
After Mia’s passing, we would still end up with three, two black, and one bully breed. In between, @kewinlorenzen and I would start rescuing dogs as we found them. I jokingly remember many of them being in the most inopportune moments, from holidays or weekends when the shelter is closed and we kept them on our balcony until the shelter opened again to being nicely dressed for dinner and having the incorrect shoes on to making us late to a boat or picking up a guest. No matter what, we stop and try to rescue them.
There are successful stories, stories of loss, stories that break my heart, and some that put a smile on my face; the fact is, these dogs are cutely yet aptly named land sharks because of the incorrect perception about their breed, attitude, and the stigma that bad owners, not bad dogs, have given them.
I believe it’s not a coincidence that after obtaining the full protection of sharks in The Bahamas in 2011, a cause I was deeply involved in, I would expand the efforts to other animals so inaccurately portrayed by the media and so maligned against. Just as we worked to change the negative perception of sharks, we are now working to do the same for these misunderstood dogs, advocating for their rescue and protection. | Posted on 05/Sep/2024 17:22:27