Restaurant owner cooks a meal for every stray dog that visits
Stray dogs have hard lives. But thanks to Gerardo Ortiz, the stray dogs in his city get to have a little more security.
For many years, Gerardo Ortiz has been running a small restaurant in Lima, Peru.
The restaurant, Ajilalo, is popular with locals and tourists alike. And it isn’t just humans who love the food that he cooks.
In 2016, a stray dog stared up at Gerardo as he stood by the grill next to the restaurant’s window.
Gerardo knew that the dog had been attracted by the smell of the cooking. When he made eye contact with the dog, he realized that he had to help out.
So he fixed up a box of food and handed it to the dog, who ate ravenously.
For all Gerardo knew, this could have been her first meal in days.
Soon, the dog ran off. Naturally, the stray animal was timid. But Gerardo knew that she had appreciated his gesture.
Then, the next evening, the dog was staring back up at Gerardo. She wanted another meal.
Again, Gerardo was unable to resist the dog’s charms. He made her another plate of food.
This same scene played out the next evening, and the next evening, and the next evening.
And then the dog showed up with another stray. Gerardo knew that giving the dogs free food was bad for business, but he hated the idea of them going hungry. So he fixed up yet more food for the dogs.
Naturally, the stray brought more and more dogs over with her.
Eventually, it seemed like Gerardo was feeding half the stray dog population of Lima!
Luckily, Gerardo is never unhappy about feeding the dogs. In fact, he has referred to them as his best customers! And while the dogs don’t pay for the food, Gerardo is rewarded with the dogs’ happiness.
And Gerardo’s kind act has paid off. His restaurant’s Facebook page has received over 45,000 likes.
In turn, this extended visibility has boosted his sales, meaning that he has more than enough cash for his family and to feed the dogs.
Sadly, Peru’s street dogs need more help than Gerardo can give.
The city of Lima alone has a huge population of street dogs. Some people are doing all they can to help out, however.
For example, Sara Moran has been looking out for homeless dogs in Lima since the year 2007.
Sara’s drive to help homeless dogs began when she found an injured dog who had been hit by a car.
She took this dog in, named him Bruno and nursed him back to health. Bruno inspired Sara to take in more injured dogs. Soon, she had taken in dozens of dogs, many of whom were permanently disabled.
She really has gone above and beyond for these dogs.
Hopefully, the Peruvian government will do something to help the homeless dog population in its country. Right now, few street dogs are spayed or neutered, meaning that their population just keeps on growing.
Until something is done to help them, the dogs will have to rely on people like Sara Moran and Gerardo Ortiz.
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