“I met Georgina in Iquitos. She’d grown up here and lived here all her life. There were so many dogs and cats that lived on the street and survived on whatever they could find. It was the saddest thing to see. People would feed them scraps. But they didn’t think to give them any medical help, or they couldn’t afford it. And so many of the animals were in such a state, people avoided patting them or giving any affection. It wasn’t only here of course; animals lived on the streets all round the world. Some were happy living like that and survived well, but some of the dogs were breeds that needed special care. They struggled on the streets. They needed to have their coats and claws trimmed. Oh! Some of them were balls of matted hair that was so long it pulled the fur straight out of their skin. Their hair would grow over their eyes, so it was hard for them to see, and their claws would grow so long they could hardly walk. They lived on scraps, and their skin was full of bald patches and sores. But they wanted to be with people, and to be loved so they could love us back.
“There were lots of even sadder puppies and kittens. Only too often, a litter of pups or kittens was born and nobody wanted to find them homes. So, they would kill them, or put them in a bag and throw the little animals in the trash. One time I was there when a friend came back from the market with a tiny kitten he’d found in a pile of garbage. It was so sick. I was holding the poor little thing when it died in my arms.
“Georgina started Georgina Cares to help these street dogs and cats, and to find them homes. It was so wonderful to see a little animal, healthy and in a new home, that would have otherwise died of parasites and infections, lying in the garbage.
“There was a center to keep the animals and look after them while they waited, hopefully, for someone to adopt them. The puppies, kittens and usually the cats went quickly, but for the older dogs it was much harder. They had a no-kill policy, and some dogs spent the rest of their lives there. But the dogs wanted to be a part of human life. It was how they had evolved over thousands of years.
“Georgina had a brilliant idea for how to help. She’d bring a few into the city, and she advertised for people to take them for walks or to look after them for a day or two. She knew that people with pets were healthier and happier. Pets are great companions and dog walking was a great conversation starter.
“That was the twist she put on it. ‘Borrow a friend magnet’. Singles had always known what a ‘date magnet’ a cute dog was.
“The idea took off, and Georgina Cares came to life. It even went international a few years later. People loved to look after a dog or a cat for a few days or weeks, and often, they got so attached to the animal they would keep them. It was the start of the animal collectives. The pets were shared around, and they flourished. It became quite a thing. Before long, street cats and dogs were rare. All because Georgina cared.”
They walked down the ‘boulevard’ that ran alongside the river, the magnificent expanse of the Amazon. They pointed out the water birds, resting in the tops of the trees that were now partly submerged in the waters of the rising river. Jonathan zoomed in on the distant birds with his new Merlin camera.
Molly told him there used to be hundreds of wooden shacks in that part of the city, a shanty town built on stilts for when the water rose. Basic houses without sanitation or running water, most without electricity. The sewage and garbage would be thrown straight into the river, which was also where most people bathed and washed their clothes. This riverside area was much smaller now, but it looked good. Clean and strong little houses, but still built for the rising and falling waters.
The old heritage houses from the grand days of the rubber era had been beautifully restored. It was a delight for Molly to see. Everything was the same, but better and cleaner. She remembered all the street cats and dogs that used to live along this area, and how she would shudder when she saw them. They were all gone now.
The river was high at the moment. They would be able to take a boat further into the jungle, but there would also be plenty of mosquitoes. Jonathan was already swatting them away.