Zully Vasquez Ventura and her family moved to Cleveland, Texas, in 2019, after adopting their dog, Bella. “We were living in an apartment in Houston, and we wanted to buy a house so she had a backyard and land to run around,” Ventura told The Dodo.
But soon after Ventura arrived in her new neighborhood, the animal lover began to dread opening her door and driving down the street.
“I saw dogs just roaming around, dogs on every corner, dogs in terrible shape, some were emaciated, others didn’t have hair,” Ventura said. “I was like, ‘Oh my god, what is going on? Where are these dogs coming from?’ It was really shocking.”
As each day passed, Ventura observed dogs by the dozens, desperate for help, sleeping in empty lots, searching for food, water and shade from the sweltering sun.
She realized her Colony Ridge community, located about an hour northeast of Houston, in Liberty County, had a heartbreaking problem. One that would not be easily fixed.
The Cleveland city manager told The Dodo that Colony Ridge is outside their jurisdiction. Liberty County does not currently operate an animal control program, have officers or run a shelter.
“Some dogs are dumped, others are abandoned, but many others are dogs that people do not take responsibility for; they don’t take responsibility because nobody is enforcing the law here,” Ventura said.
Feeling as abandoned as the dogs in her community, Ventura could not look away. While others kept driving, she started to stop.
“I’m like, I have to do something,” Ventura said. “I couldn’t let them starve. I carried dog food in my car; I would pull over and feed some of the dogs that were in really bad shape.”
One day in 2022, Ventura hit the brakes when the soulful eyes of a tired-looking red Labrador-mix with burns down his back caught her eye.
A neighbor told her the dog was wandering around, begging for food, and someone threw hot oil on him to shoo him away. Heartbroken, Ventura whipped out her phone, snapped photos of the pup, and posted about him on social media.
“I got the courage to say, ‘I am going to make my own plea and get help for this dog,” Ventura said. “I got two likes and no help. It was discouraging, and the dog was suffering so much.”
She didn’t give up and posted again. This time, a woman from ThisIsHouston rescue saw her plea, offered to save the dog and asked Ventura to foster overnight.
“I thought, ‘I did it. I can’t believe I did it,'” Ventura said. “From that moment on, I said, ‘I did it once. I can do it again and again and again.'”
The rescue got the dog, now named Rusty, the medical care he needed, and in time, his burns healed and he was adopted.
With that inspiration, Ventura started hitting the streets, armed with food, water and her smartphone, ready to take pictures and videos of the dogs she saw and network for help.
She developed a writing style that captured what she witnesses each day, like a mother dog and her pup struggling to survive.
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Ventura picked up the puppy but had to spend time earning the mother dog’s trust, feeding her each day to catch her. The pair soon became another victory for Ventura when Mike’s Chance Animal Rescue took them in.
Now, Ventura has rescued more than 5,000 dogs. And she’s not slowing down.
In August of this year, Ventura gave birth to a baby girl. Two months postpartum, she was right back on her feet, helping dozens more dogs.
She and a friend started a nonprofit, The Daily Kibble of Cleveland, TX, to help feed, vaccinate and rescue dogs while promoting low-cost spay and neuter programs, which are desperately needed in the area.
Ventura also built a small kennel to foster dogs.
While more rescues have been helping in the area, and community members have demanded Liberty County create an animal control commission and shelter, more help can’t come soon enough for Ventura.
After all the good she’s done, she’s still haunted by the dogs she hasn’t saved.
“I cry for them,” Ventura said. “It makes me hurt. It’s so much weight, even though it’s not my responsibility, I feel like I am responsible for saving the lives of these dogs.”
Ventura worries that the number of dogs in need is increasing. “Most of the people who live in our community are immigrants,” she said. “A lot have been detained or deported and can’t care for their dogs.”
Ventura hopes her efforts will shine a light on the reality animals face in her area, and that one day she won’t need to stop when she drives down the street.
“If I didn’t have to rescue dogs, it would be a dream come true,” Ventura said. “I dream about that day waking up, and there are no dogs living all over, but we can only do that by bringing more awareness to what’s happening here.”
To help Ventura’s efforts, you can donate to The Daily Kibble of Cleveland, TX. She would love to hear from anyone who can bring low-cost spay and neuter programs to the Colony Ridge community.