Photos of the Biggest Stray Dog Rescue Operation in Mexico City

A version of this article originally appeared on VICE en Español.

“Make room, make room!” two exasperated young people yell as they move through the crowd. They’re carrying a medium-sized boxer mutt over a piece of cardboard, and the improvised bed is about to tear. The dog doesn’t bark or whimper in complaint even though the expression on its face is one of profound misery. It's unable to stand upright: one of its rear legs is destroyed, and you can see the torn muscle tissue with a gray center that carves down to the bone. It’s also covered in scars and malnourished to the point that its ribs protrude from the skin. When a bowl of dog food is placed nearby, it quickly eats while wagging its tail. No one knows if the dog was beaten, run over, or bitten. The only thing that’s certain is that the wounded animal was abandoned on December 12 at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, also known as “La Villa,” just north of Mexico City.

The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the most important Catholic celebrations in Mexico. The national holiday honors the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is considered to be the Queen of Mexico and the patron saint of the Americas. The Basilica devoted to her is one of the most visited Catholic pilgrimage sites in the world, attracting an estimated eight million devotees this year. For animals, however, it’s a calvary. Many of the pilgrims were accompanied by dogs—but not everyone went home together.

When the long day of work is over, the crew is faced with the task of fitting over ten dogs—one of which is about to give birth, and others who are ill—a table, bottles of water, bags of dog food, two metal crates, and various other boxes into Norma’s truck. After 20 minutes of Tetris-like strategizing, they figure it out: the sick animals go in the rear of the truck, the others in the middle, and the pregnant one in the passenger seat with Mariel.

In a few hours, the dogs will arrive at their temporary home; in the next couple of days, they hope to meet new families who will love and take care of them. Norma’s car turns onto the road and drives away from the Basilica with all the dogs wagging their tails.

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