Kava

This is a courtesy post for Amigos de Animales.

Kava is a beautiful male Pointer, maybe 1.5 years old. 60 lbs/27 kilos. He was abandoned with his brother on a lonely stretch of highway in rural Mexico surrounded by jungle. He sat and waited daily for his person to return for him and walked a mile to the next town to forage through garbage.

He was rescued along with his brother on the eve of Hurricane Lydia in October 2023. His brother was quite aggressive with him, not letting him eat or be a pet, so they were fostered separately.

Kava lives in a foster home with seven other dogs and has been nothing but sweet and kind with them, giving them kisses and fitting in with the pack. He is gentle and sweet, adores being petted, and makes little noises of pleasure when massaged.

His rescuers discovered who had abandoned him and where he had come from, and it was a challenging situation for a dog. It is not known if he was ever loved or used as a hunting dog; it is possible he was both at some point, but where he was found, he lived on a large piece of land with a sad pig pen belonging to a local butcher, and one man living in a small building. About ten dogs lived off the garbage pile and were not considered family, let alone pets. They were most likely mistreated and had to fend for themselves in hot summers with monsoon rains.

Kava has some anxiety and fear issues as a result. He has some help with runs, walks, and socialization time to learn that he is safe and unlearn the need to protect himself constantly. He knows that people and other dogs are good and doesn’t have to worry about them. He is brilliant and eager to learn and please. He eats slowly and takes treats from your hand ever so gently.

He comes to life out in nature, bounding up and down hillsides, so happy within the trees. He first feared the ocean, but he is coming around! There is gravel around part of the home where he lives, and he buries his poop with his nose. If we leave bags with other dog poop out, he will bury those as well. Sometimes, we see him with his nose in the air, catching scents in the wind.

We hope a Pointer lover will understand his needs and know he has an essential job. When people enter the house, they need to be introduced and spend a moment petting him to show him they are good. Otherwise, he can be suspicious. He has improved immensely; we think he will grow out of this as he learns he is safe.

Info regarding other dogs, cats, and kids: He can show aggression towards other dogs on the street and needs to be introduced slowly when new dogs enter his home. As he has the opportunity to go on walks and runs, he is learning how to interact more appropriately with others (dogs and people). We are unsure about cats and kids as he hasn’t yet had the opportunity to engage with them.

Location: Lo de Marcos, Nayarit, Mexico. We can find a flight escort and fly him to you from Puerto Vallarta.

Contact information, including the name of the rescue:
Rescued by Amigos de Animales in Lo de Marcos, Nayarit.

Contact:
Elizabeth Fladung
1-917-783-5016
mosbef@gmail.com

Adoption fee etc:
$150 for Health certificate to cross the border and final check-up
Transportation costs: flight kennel if needed and cost to have him on a flight. Roughly $300 total. We do not charge additional adoption fees as we don’t wish to prevent adoption if adoptive families are unable to pay. Instead, we encourage donations if they are able.