David Foster is a busy man from the UK with a job that takes him around the world, but first and foremost, he’s an animal lover. Although he enjoys what he does, his real passion is bringing joy to shelter animals.
David told iHeartDogs,
“All this travel is boring, so I’ll go to the local animal shelters wherever I can and give their animals a few toys or balls.”
Eventually, David’s family and friends started giving him dog toys to take with him on business trips, and his hobby eventually evolved into his passion project, Play for Strays. He accepts toy donations from his followers and personally delivers them to shelters around the world.
Despite his busy schedule, David decided it was time to take a vacation and booked the “trip of a lifetime” to Amazon. He had been looking forward to it for a long, long time, but he didn’t realize how much it would change his life.
David’s journey will take him through remote parts of the rainforest, far from civilization and to places where people rarely go. It was in one of these deserted places that David saved a life.
“When we stopped at this random island, the plan was to go swimming and snorkeling, then lunch, really idyllic. Once on the boat, in the distance, I could see what I thought were some jagged trees. When I took out the binoculars to take a closer look, I could immediately recognize it as a dog. Now Hugo, the boat owner, is playing with his new toy, a drone, and I tell him there’s a dog there. He initially dismissed it as a dog from a local community or a farm and kept the drones hovering over people snorkeling.”
David knew the dog couldn’t be roamed from some of the nearby communities, and the boat’s owner confirmed it when he flew his drone higher – there were no nearby communities. that’s all.
“This is really in the middle of the jungle. It took us two hours to get to this point from a very small community and we have two more hours to get to the next town.”
“When the divers came back on the rowboat Negrita plunged into the water, so I jumped out of the boat and ran down to the beach where she came towards me. It was a pitiful sight and I was amazed that she had the energy to swim and run that far. When she approached me, she cried, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I almost did too. It was a heartbreaking scene.”
Watch the moment David met Negrita here:
Who knows how long it’s been since she last saw a human. Although she was able to swim and run to David, the dog was still unable to walk. It was almost 100°F that day. Poor Negrita was severely neglected and abused. She was extremely thin, covered in fleas and ticks, and her ears were cut and sliced. David estimates she has only a day or two left of her life when they find each other. She was so close to death that the vultures had started chasing her, waiting for her to die. “There is no way I can leave her here to protect herself, no way.”
David and another member of the expedition bring her food, and David is allowed by Hugo to feed her some steak and tie her up at the head of the boat so he can take her to his care. veterinarian in the next town, Nhamundá. Before they arrived, however, David knew that there would not be a suitable vet in that town, and decided to take her with him until proper medical care could be obtained.
“We dock at Nhamundá for dinner and I check her under the deck every 20 minutes or so. Then on one check she was gone, I had a moment of panic but she was right there on the beach. I jumped off the boat, whistled, and she came right back. I tied her up tightly to the derision of local fishermen who thought I was crazy.”
“When I went to bed, and was about to do my final check, she was gone! The rope is still attached, but she is gone. Now it’s pitch black and I have no way to find her. So I set an alarm to tell her before sunrise to go look for her. “
“I didn’t know that the boat started and left earlier. I jumped out of my bed to see the shore disappear into the distance. “
David was furious and wanted to go back, but he was unable to speak to the boat owner for an hour after he realized they were moving. Hugo tells David they have gone too far, but David begs and begs, Hugo changes his mind on condition that the rest of the expedition agree to return. David even offered to pay the cost of fuel for the return trip.
When he finally returned to where they had been the night before, he found Negrita waiting patiently on the beach, exactly where the boat had docked.
“One quick whistle and she’s already in the boat, I don’t even need to get out!”
They rejoined the expedition and continued on to the next town, Oriximiniá. David was able to buy everything needed to care for a dog, but still couldn’t find a good vet. He buys medicated shampoos and parasite drops, and with the help of local children, bathes Negrita and picks up ticks he can.
“We are still days away from having a suitable veterinary clinic in Santarém at this time. She seems a lot happier at this point but is still very itchy and unwell.”
In all of this, David made a serious decision. His heart was broken when he found the sick little dog, but since he found her, it has been mended, and he has become devoted to her happiness.
“I have decided to bring her to the UK. The dogs here are not as loved as we are in the UK. My heart won’t let her stay. “
However, a few more hurdles must be overcome before she can join him, the most important of which is her health. She was finally able to see a veterinarian when the expedition reached the town of Santarém. The vet told David that tests would be conducted to determine if she had any disease. “Her tests included canine leishmaniasis and cinomosis… I was warned that if she tested positive for leishmaniasis, they would destroy her immediately.”
David has been waiting for what he calls “the longest 24 hours of my life!” but Negrita’s test results are negative!
David has since cut short the trip of his lifetime, canceling a second expedition through the Amazon for Negrita’s sake. Thanks for his work with Play for Strays, he was able to meet a good nurturer for her in Sao Paulo while he sorted and went through the long, bureaucratic process needed to bring her home. However, he did not do it alone. His followers have been extremely supportive and even helped raise funds to bring his “Amazon Girl” home.
“Since my return, many people have asked me ‘why bother, there are so many dogs here to save?’ My answer is that I have seen hundreds of dogs in shelters, but they are safe, fed and hopefully loved. Stray dogs in cities are also a common sight, but they have the ability to find food,” says David. “Negrita was beaten and left to die in a place where she couldn’t survive, even if she tried. She is not a stray, she was left to die and chose me to save her. It may take time, but I will do it.”
You can follow David and Negrita’s story as it continues at Play for Strays .’s Facebook pageor Help David bring Negrita home to the UK at GoFundMe.
UPDATE:
According to Facebook, Negrita was brought home with rescuer David in the UK! We wish this girl a safe journey and a long and happy life with her wonderful person. Doesn’t she look pretty?!
