After my first two encounters with the dogs in Brazil on our farm, I felt I had done a lot to improve everyone's living conditions there, but there are still so many construction sites. The state of the water and electricity supply is as fragile as a handkerchief in wind and rain. The condition of the farm when I first arrived was indescribably poor. This must not be misunderstood. Both people who look after the dogs there had only the smallest means available to continue to care for the dogs, because they were left in the lurch by a friend and donor who wanted to make money with the dog farm and apparently ultimately no soul for them the nature of the dogs, otherwise he would not have let them fall like that.
(This hut made of thin wooden panels with plastic sheeting was blown apart several times by wind and weather)
I could taste the hopelessness in the courtyard from the day I first walked into it. This is how I imagine an area that has had a short but powerful war behind it. The main building had no doors, just an opening in the wall to enter and exit. The dogs that could not find shelter in the garage-shaped wing had shelter in “huts” made of wooden scaffolding and covered with plastic sheeting. In the sunshine it was unbearably hot and humid in the shelters, in wind and rain the drops of water crash loudly on the plastic sheets and we had to collect the blown plastic sheets from the neighboring property and rebuild the damaged wooden scaffolding. Due to the lack of breathability of the plastic sheeting, standing rainwater did not dry properly and began to go moldy. The sunlight became brittle and broke. My accommodation in the courtyard was a "garage" with a completely open front. It rained in and was cold at night. There was only one mattress raised on concrete blocks and a thin blanket. The entire dog yard was without a roof and it was hardly possible to work in the sun or rain. The court consisted of stopgap solutions that seemed to create even more distress.
(Meninâo in his shelter)
I had planned to stay 2 months on my first visit, but because I was thinking about how to help and improve the situation, I stayed 4 months. I first built doors in the buildings where they were missing, I tidied up the entire area because there were shreds of torn plastic everywhere. I built a cladding out of wood for the front of my accommodation. I helped get firewood and bought more blankets for the dogs. Nevertheless, the 4 months on site were far too little time, and I left the farm with such a bad conscience that I only lasted 5 months in Germany, earned money, and after these 5 months flew back to Brazil with the plan to take the dogs to erect the right accommodation as quickly as possible from solid, weather-resistant materials.
written March 19th | 2021
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