Interested in Adopting or More Information?

To inquire on adopting please click on the photo of the animal you are interested in and find the contact information and/or email us at DefensaRincon@gmail.com. If you need our help marketing your rescued animal for adoption & to understand our adoption process please read all this page including information after animal photos.

If you don’t see the pet you are looking for here please consider Villa Michelle /787-834-4510 & Adopcion de Mascotas Puerto Rico for dog and cats. For horses, Clasificadosonline & Facebook has several groups here, here & here and here are horses

Our animals are normally rescued off the streets of Puerto Rico, after being dumped by an owner. Therefore some horses may be lame, dogs may test positive for heartworms and cats may have FIV or FeLV. We do not want you to overlook an animal just because they have issues. Please know horses offer much more than the ability to carry us around on their backs and dogs that test positive for heartworms or cats with FIV or FeLV may live a normal unaffected life. Please ask if tests have been run on your dog or cat of choice. Please do not assume all tests are run on all cats and dogs.

We ask all rescuers to make certain your rescued animal is sterilized, vaccinated, de-wormed, de-ticked & de-fleaed prior to adopting out! We have programs to help with both. If your animal of choice needs to fly to you and the animal’s rescuer is willing to help you with logistics, you can network here with travelers willing to take a carry on animal (you will need to pay all fees).

Help with Marketing for Adoption

If your rescued animal is for adoption, please you or a friend make a PUBLIC post to FB and include all the information and photos about your animal – it’s personality – the type of home you are looking for, etc. Include the rescue story and the ideal home for your animal & are you willing to accept adoption inquires that require airline travel (knowing logistics and costs will be handled by you and/or the adopter). Finally, in that FB Public post include a ‘Donate’ to Defensa button & let people know donations are always welcome and needed to help Defensa continue it’s mission. After making the post – send us the link to that post and all the information and photos in the email too please. Note, FB error has us in ‘Largo, FL’ – we are working with FB trying to fix that. Please understand YOU will communicate with and decide on the best home. Your adoptable animal will show up on this page as well as sites such as AdoptAPet, PetFinder, AllPaws, etc

Questions for Adoptive Families / Things for Rescuer to Consider Before Adopting Out Their Rescue

Note to all parties – Defensa helps with Vet services and Marketing for Adoption but Defensa never takes responsibility for dogs or cats beyond Vet services and marketing for adoption. The dog and cat adoption process is between rescuer/foster and adopter – not Defensa because we believe the person who rescued and is caring daily for an animal knows best on where that animal should go. That said, should you encounter any problems reaching the rescuer/foster please let us know at defensarincon@gmail.com – we are here to help.

Defensa does not require adoption fees Donations are always welcome & always needed. A rescuer may certainly ask for money to compensate their costs in rescuing an animal and/or if they feel money gives the adoption more value.

*BE CLEAR* once communications start you are ‘in the running’ for adopting the animal. DO not assume just because it seems like a good match that it is a done deal. We recommend to all rescuers to continue to accept adoption inquiries/applications until the animal is officially adopted and in it’s new home.

General Information on Rescued Animals

Some information on FIV/FeLV test for cats from petmd“the incidence of feline leukemia is on the decline in many parts of the US. It’s also because these killer diseases have become less virulent…and their effects more treatable. Moreover, the prevalence of “false positives,” particularly in feline leukemia testing, has given some shelter docs confidence that as many as 50% of cats that test positive on test #1 will test negative on test #2.” – end quote.
Some information on HW+ dogs, depending on the severity, if you keep them on the preventative monthly heart-guard/ivermectin treatment that most all dogs should be on anyway, the worms will die slowly and over time. Or if rescuer/adopter/foster is willing to care for the dog while doing aggressive treatment with one of our Vets, Defensa will fundraise to fund that treatment also. For more information you can Google ‘heartworms in dogs’ or speak with a few Vets to get various opinions. Here is a WebMD resource. And thoughts from 2ndChance.info website … “Because of the expense of melarsomine treatment as well as the risks involved , some owners and humane groups decide to simply place heartworm-positive dogs that are not showing symptoms on ivermectin and doxycycline antibiotic. The hope was that this will weaken and shrivel the heartworms and improve the dog’s general condition, while we waits for the heartworms to die naturally.” **Pre-Treatment / AKA “Slow Kill” or “Soft Kill” – doxycycline daily for 30 days and ivermectin every 15 days for six months. A study published in 2010, 11 heartworm-infected dogs were given doxycycline daily for 30 days and ivermectin every 15 days for six months, with the following result:”One hundred percent of dogs became negative for circulating microfilariae by day 90, while 8/11 (72.7%) of dogs became antigen-negative by day 300. Of the 7 dogs that were positive for visualization of parasites at echocardiography, 6 (85.7%) became negative by day 300. Treatment was well-tolerated by all dogs. These results suggest that a combination of doxycycline and ivermectin is adulticide in dogs with D. immitis. Using this therapy, the gradual death of adult heartworms dramatically reduces the risk of pulmonary thrombosis — blood clots in the lungs that pose a serious adverse effect associated with other adulticides. This is the protocol I have used in my practice with 100 percent success.” Dr. Becker
Some information on horses – Check out Top 10 Health Benefits of Owning a Horse. & following is an edited column by: Viont Strad Vga. When we talk about horses, many people think that they are large animals ‘that eat anything green’. However, they are more complicated than that. When we decide to have a horse as a pet, we have to be clear in several points. (1) nutrition, (2) care and management, (3) veterinary needs, (4) hoof care and (5) time and dedication. Nutrition: A horse is not an animal that we can simply place in a fence to eat green grass. Of course, part of their nutrition is forage. But we have to be aware of providing water daily in the morning and in the afternoon. Evaluate the forage that exists in the place where we will place it to consume grass. In addition, we must have the fence divided to rotate the animal and rest the forage. If we have the animal in a stall (which Defensa never recommends), we should know that we have to combine the food with hay and water daily in the morning and in the afternoon. Keep the stall clean daily and feed regularly, throughout the day. Horses are not animals you feed once a day and keep enclosed. Care and Management: Caring for a horse is one of the biggest responsibilities we can choose. Since these are prone to diseases such as laminitis (disabling feet issues), colic and tetanus. We can not leave the stall wet, nor projectiles in which the animal can be cut and have open wounds. For no reason leave anything that is plastic, ropes, or objects that are not in their diet. An equine should be brushed, bathed, fumigated, exercised and above all give a lot of dedication. When we choose an equine as our companion we have to know his personality to know how to handle it. Know how to handle it as to not hurt yourself or the horse. If you do not have this knowledge you can start learning horsemanship from scratch to gain knowledge before you have an equine. Needs of veterinarians and Hoofcare: Like all animals, the equine also needs veterinary care such as Vaccination, Dental and a medical review. Time and dedication: The most important thing is that when we make the decision we are aware of the time consumed by the animal and the dedication it needs. A horse is much more than a large animal that we can ride on its back. The horse needs our time and dedication daily. I hope the information will help you understand a little more about what an equine composes. When you are going to adopt or get an equine, remember that it is an animal that consumes time and money but if done correctly can give back the most pleasure, life lessons and joy one might ever experience. If you are looking for more physical activity in your life, not just riding, having a horse can give that too. Check out Top 10 Health Benefits of Owning a Horse.