When Children Save the Day!

Preschoolers Save a Homeless Dog in Mexico

Sweet Masita is a homeless dog from Mexico whose life was saved by a group of four and five-year-olds at a preschool in Mexico. She just showed up one day at the entrance to school and was slowly welcomed in, making her way onto the playground and into the classrooms.

The kids fell in love with Masita; playing ball with her at recess, feeding her parts of their snacks and lunches on the blacktop, and showering her with affection. The school had rules about not allowing a dog to live on site, so they reached out to Compassion Without Borders to see if we could take her. Our south of the border shelters were all filled to the brim, so we asked them to hold on to her until our next transport, when we could make room for her. They said yes, and ended up caring for her for over a month!

When the day came to pick Masita up and bring her to our shelter in Mexico, there were many tears and sad goodbyes. We promised to bring her back one last time before she made the trip to California.

We kept that promise on March 22nd, bringing Masita back for a joyous reunion and fun pizza party with the kids. The children were beside themselves with happiness to see her return and all rallied around her, thrilled to have their four-legged friend back on campus.

During the reunion, we also honored each of the compassionate kiddos with Animal Hero Certificates, thanking them for saving Masita’s life and being such wonderful animal protectors.

We are so proud of each of these kids for advocating for Masita, loving her, and for ensuring that she was safe and cared for. In a country like Mexico, that has so many homeless animals, it can be common to get desensitized to their suffering. These kids clearly haven’t been, and their compassion, empathy, and kindness is still very much intact - something we hope will be fostered and encouraged as they grow into the adults of Mexico’s future.

As for Masita, she made the two-day journey north from Mexico and will be up for adoption very soon at our northern California shelter. We will be sure to be looking for a home with kids!