PARENTAL ADVISORY: This article is NOT suitable for children.

As humans, most of us have the gift of language and the voice to speak it, yet our animal friends do not have that luxury. An animal will never be able to recount to us the details of their experience. Even if we watch them have an experience first hand, we can only speculate as to what might be going through their minds. Imagine for a moment that animals could speak. What might “Yoli” the dog, one of the few survivors of the Barceloneta, Puerto Rico pet massacre tell us about her experience?

Yoli the Dog (Center) is adjusting to life with her new family, despite being thrown to her death over a 50 foot bridge in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico (Image source)

An Interview with Yoli:

SAFAPR: Yoli – we know much of what happened in Barceloneta and we are horrified. Please tell us, if you can, what happened in your own words.

YOLI:

It makes me very scared to think about it. Please forgive me if I shake while I speak, or have to stop for a moment. I still have nightmares about that day… but I understand that my human friends need to know what happened… My hope is that you will never, never, never let something like this happen again… I do not have the strength to make it through the next time.

I remember the day it happened much too clearly. I wish I could forget it, but I cannot. Many of the animals in Barceloneta were extremely stressed. We have a very keen sense of hearing… I know you know that. What you might not realize is that we pets are also very intuitive and deeply sensitive to our environment. So while we do not share all the gifts God granted to you humans, he does not leave any of the lifeforms he creates without something unique and special to their species.

Sometimes I actually feel sorry for humans. In gaining all of your technologies like those loud flat picture boxes you call TVs, you seem to have lost your connection to the pulse of the environment itself.

I actually feel sorry for humans. … you seem to have lost your connection to the pulse of the environment itself.

So, you must understand, that we were not completely oblivious that something was wrong. I heard distressed barking throughout the neighborhood a day or so prior to my kidnapping by the terrorists. To most humans, one of our barks is really not much different than another. But to us, it is our language. You might think of it more like musical notes than letters and words. So, yes, we knew something was happening. I knew from the sounds that others were being threatened in some way. I heard some anger but mostly fear in the echoes of barks. And I heard so many different voices that the hair raised along my upper back.

I heard distressed barking throughout the neighborhood a day or so prior to my kidnapping by the terrorists.

Looking back now, I feel stupid. I talk about being sensitive and intuitive, and I tell you that I knew something was not right, yet somehow I was able to convince myself that I was safe. I started making excuses. Oh that must just be a few litters of puppies being taken to a shelter to be “put to sleep“, whatever that really means. Or maybe its just those people who go door to door, that always gets many of us barking just in case it is someone bad who might hurt our family. Or maybe it’s just a full moon… The younger of us get spooked by the strong force of changing tides or when the night sky is brighter for some reason, or even when a tremor in the Earth goes unnoticed by humans.

somehow I was able to convince myself that I was safe

I wanted it to be 100 different things. Through fear I simply convinced myself to ignore my instincts. But when an unexpected knock came on the front door of our house, I just knew it was going to be bad. My heart rate rose very quickly, my eyes started to water heavily, and I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom even though I did not want to go anywhere near the door to get out. My guardian answered the door to a man who started to speak to her. I did not understand what was being said in human language, but I detected that my owner was angry and very sad at the same time. She kept looking back at me and then saying more stuff to the man. When she looked back at me again, I saw a tear roll down her face. Usually when she is sad, she calls me to join her on the sofa to be with her. That seems to help her get better. But this time I knew her sadness was about me.

When she looked back at me again, I saw a tear roll down her face.

“Come her Yoli“. I obeyed. I knew what that meant even in human language. She knelt down to me on the floor and started to pet and kiss me a lot. More of her tears flowed and were wetting my fur around my ears. The man waited impatiently by the door, and said something to her that made my guardian snap back angrily. My heart felt a pain in it like I’ve never felt before. I did not know where I was going, but I knew my guardian was saying goodbye. I remember my owner said “Go with her now, but keep her safe.” and then she fled into the kitchen crying.

My heart felt a pain in it like I’ve never felt before.

The man snapped a leash onto my collar very abruptly, and yanked on the rope to start pulling me out the door. At that moment my fight or flight instinct kicked in and I tried my best to yelp for my guardian’s help and to pull as much as I could. But I had no strength against a human man. He pulled the rope so hard, I completely lost my air and I had to move forward or die right there with the collar around my neck. I knew he would not have stopped pulling and choking.

I knew he would not have stopped pulling and choking.

So many emotions were going through my mind, but it was all happening so fast. I’ll be honest… much of my feelings at that exact moment are a blur to me now. All I can do to describe the combinations of feelings is to ask you to imagine someone reaching into your chest, holding your heart in their hand, and then squeezing. You feel the pain, and you are almost afraid to try to breath again. Your only chance is to beg for mercy. You keep trying to wake up, hoping it is just a nightmare that will be over soon.

Your only chance is to beg for mercy.

So many animals were in that truck. Why were so many of us there? I did not know at the time, but I did see all kinds of familiar faces from the neighborhood. Most were barking like crazy, trying to be loud enough that their families could hear them outside the truck & come and get them. I knew from the way my human Mother had fled crying that they would not be coming to save us. Something, whatever it was, had left her feeling helpless too. I don’t know… maybe another truck came for the people. I hope not! Do you know if that happened? I hope they did not hurt her neck when they pulled her out the door. Is she ok?

I don’t know… maybe another truck came for the people

SAFAPR: Your guardian is ok. While humans too are killed throughout the world in mass genocide even today, this did not happen in your neighborhood. Only the pets were taken.

YOLI:

Oh thank God. Thank God… thank God. I’m sorry for getting upset. It had not occurred to me until now that our human families might have been massacred too. I am glad she is safe. Well back in the truck, with the other dogs, it was insane. At first I barked with them, but then I saw a few of the older dogs just laying sadly and not making much of a sound at all. That is when I stopped barking and just laid down in the cage. I understood from the way they were acting that we were in a lot of trouble, but our barking would not help us.

I remember thinking… maybe we are going to a shelter. When I was a puppy I remembered being taken very young from my mother and delivered to a shelter. There were hundreds of dogs there. Since I was too young to be taken from my mother at the time, the human at the shelter fed me with a bottle for weeks. After I was old enough to eat on my own, my guardian came to the shelter and adopted me. Almost all of my brothers and sisters were adopted too as puppies, but I did not see many of the older dogs’ guardians come to get them… except for a few of those celebrity dogs… you know, the ones with the fancy hair cuts or the little ones that hardly grow any bigger than a puppy. But almost all the old Satos stayed there for the most part, except for a few of them every day who would go into a room and then never come out again. But there were no guardians in there. My guess is that they just transferred them to another part of the shelter, but I don’t know why. If it were me, I would rather have stayed with my friends until my guardian came to get me.

But almost all the old Satos stayed there for the most part, except for a few of them every day who would go into a room and then never come out again

Turns out, it would have been lucky for us to be going to a shelter in comparison to what happened. We ended up staying in the truck the entire day. Conditions were really bad. Nobody put any food or water in the cages, and nobody cleaned them. After a while, many of us had to use the bathroom, and there was nothing we could do to hold it any longer. Even I had to pee a little in the cage. I had not been outside or walked before I had been stolen from my home, and it had been hours. Others had to do more than that. So we were trapped in the hot truck, with no food or water, and a terrible stench of feces and urine. Good guardians and pet lovers know that we hate a dirty environment, but we did not have much choice.

After a while, many of us had to use the bathroom, and there was nothing we could do to hold it any longer.

I managed to sleep a little once the barking died down. I awoke when the back door of the truck was opened. I welcomed it to let out some of the heat that had built up inside, as well as some of the stench. 3 men were outside talking and drinking Medalla beer. One of them said something like “What the hell are we going to do with them?“. Another man said:

Get rid of them. All we need is the list of addresses where they were picked up to get paid for putting them down

I really did not know what that meant. The doors of the truck slammed shut. Then it started up and began moving. We did not drive very long when it stopped again. I remember thinking: “Please be at the shelter… Please be at the shelter… Please be at the shelter…” over and over in my mind. But, we were not at the shelter. We were at a bridge. It was dark now and no other cars were around. It looked like they were going to release us into the streets to join the thousands of other Satos who roam the streets of Puerto Rico without guardians.

But, we were not at the shelter. We were at a bridge.

They started opening cages and pulling out my friends roughly. I heard many yelps as our paws got pinched or scraped by the cages when they forced us out. But the yelps inside the truck were overwhelmed by what I heard next: thumps and mortal yelps, horrible painful screeching, whimpering, and moaning, and ungodly gurgling. They were NOT releasing us! They were throwing us over the bridge! “Help! Help! Help!” We barked and barked and yelped and yelped… but received no mercy.

They were NOT releasing us! They were throwing us over the bridge! “Help! Help! Help!“

SAFAPR: Take a moment if you need it. We know this is unimaginably difficult to relive.

YOLI:

(Tears streaming down her face)

I… I… I’m sorry. I’ll continue… This is the first time I’ve told this to anyone, but people need to know.

Everything happened so fast. The truck was almost emptied. The sounds, as I said, were the most horrifying things I had ever heard. I did not realize it but I had urinated all over myself without knowing it out of pure fear. Then he grabbed by my collar, gripping with it some of my fur and skin. He pulled me out of the cage striking my rips against the door. I yelped loudly as the pain shot through me. He was so strong. Before I knew it I was out of the truck, hoisted above the edge of the bridge. I heard him say: “Sick… this one is full of piss” and then he let me go.

Before I knew it I was out of the truck, hoisted above the edge of the bridge

It only took a second for me to hit the tractor below, but I saw everything so clearly. It was like my eyes suddenly grew to be 1,000 times the natural size so that I could see everything all at once, or as if time froze and I was suspended above the bridge looking down and able to spend time looking at all that was dying below.

It only took a second for me to hit

It’s hard to believe that in less than a second you can see so much and have so many different fears. I saw animals everywhere filled with blood. None were able to get up, but most were still whimpering. A few had already died and laid motionless except for the last pulses of dying nerves.

I saw animals everywhere filled with blood.

I felt empty except for fear. When I saw how far I would drop at the same time as seeing exactly what would happen to me (as it had to the others), it felt like someone had completely taken all of the insides of my body out and blew it back up like a balloon filled with fear instead of air. Maybe I was just wishing I was like a balloon so I would float to the bottom instead of crashing to my death. I think you will only be able to understand what this is like when you are at the brink of your death. For now you will have to forgive me for not being able to describe it better.

I think you will only be able to understand what this is like when you are at the brink of your death

Only 1 second to the bottom. Down. Thump. Crack. Yelp. I hit the old tractor discarded below directly. I felt bones breaking instantly and I think I lost consciousness at that moment. Did I die? I thought I was dying. When I awoke I could not move and my whole body was throbbing & stinging. I was covered in my own blood. Ironically, the tractor that helped shatter my leg also saved my life by breaking my fall a little earlier, saving me from hitting the rocks below at full speed.

I was covered in my own blood.

Yoli being attended to after the massacre in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico by Leisha Swayne of Animal Protectors' Network. (Image source)

I slipped in and out of consciousness then. Almost all of the others were dead already. The remaining of us were dying, but slower. Our yelps and cries for help were eventually answered, but I do not know how long that took to happen. The next time I awoke I was in a Vet’s office being examined. I noticed that they had amputated my leg. I was not surprised. Even mankind, as smart as you are, would have a hard time putting something so smashed back together. Leisha Swayne of the Animal Protectors’ Network, as I know her now, was petting me and telling me it would be OK.

It was at that moment I did what we dogs do. I forgave what had happened to me, and I put my trust in Leisha. She said it would be OK, and I believed her. I had survived my nightmare. Today, I have 3 legs instead of 4, and I find it hard to control my bladder and sometimes having accidents. But my new guardians are very understanding. They tell me that I have become a symbol of survival, and that what happened to me and the others who died will never be forgotten. They tell me that the people of Puerto Rico are letting the world know about this and they are demanding that something be done to save the animals of Puerto Rico. I want to believe them.

Today, I have 3 legs instead of 4, and I find it hard to control my bladder and sometimes having accidents.

SAFAPR: Thank-you Yoli. You are a symbol of survival and your story will help bring about change. In fact, thousands of people will read your story and will send it on to their friends so that they can be reminded of what happened in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico, and that we are still a long way from improving animal conditions here… and that we need their help, support, and donations.

Note: This fictional interview is a speculative account of what Yoli the Dog might say if she could describe the experience first hand. While this interview is fiction, do NOT mistake the pet massacre of Barceloneta, Puerto Rico as fiction. It was very real. As many as 80 dogs and cats were thrown over the bridge. Almost all died or had to be euthanized due to the severity of their injuries.

Here is Yoli, the Miracle Dog of Puerto Rico: