Succes stories

Libby was found at the industrial area in Brievengat. As you can see, she was in very poor condition. Yet she was incredibly sweet and cheerful, despite her situation. It was clear that Libby needed help. A volunteer found her, and fortunately, a spot was available with a foster.

As the days went by, her wounds healed, she grew stronger, and she gained weight. Weeks later, there was nothing left to show of the little bundle of suffering that had been found. Now, her warm bed awaits her in the Netherlands with loving people, where a happy life awaits!

Goofy was found in December 2025 at a private pool in the Sunset Heights neighborhood. How he ended up there? No one knows. At first, he was very shaken and completely disoriented. Fortunately, he quickly settled at the center. He was very thin, but with some treats and tasty snacks, he was won over in no time!

Now he is living happily in the sun on the island with a loving family, and he even has a doggy friend to play with. All’s well that ends well!

On August 14, 2025, a message came in on the RPC spay/neuter phone from a volunteer reporting that a dog had appeared at a woman’s home. She lives on an inner courtyard but has no garden. The dog was not allowed inside, and she could not take care of her.

What should we do? Everything was full. Euthanasia seemed like the only option. The dog was now with the woman, but she had no chance of surviving there.

The spay/neuter bus would be in the area the next day, near the woman’s home, so Christel, a volunteer with the RPC spay/neuter team, could check the situation herself. She could have taken the dog to the vet to have her euthanized.

Christel could not bring herself to do that and posted a photo of the dog on Facebook, asking who could foster her, because surviving on the streets was no longer an option.

Marc and I, Mascha, were having dinner in a restaurant when I saw Christel’s post. We didn’t hesitate for a second. This couldn’t be happening. We both had tears in our eyes from the photos Christel had shared. We actually don’t take in dogs anymore because of our pack, which is difficult with new dogs. But we told Christel: if it’s a female, we’ll take her in.

Christel went to pick her up the next day, and what a sight she was. She could barely walk because her nails were so long. She had probably always been on a chain and hadn’t walked, which made her nails grow so long. Christel lifted her and put her in the car. Once home, she first trimmed her nails and gave her some food.

Later that day, Marc picked her up and drove her to the vet.

And then she came to us. What an incredibly sweet dog. She had contagious mange, no hair, only crusts, and her paws were in terrible condition.

She had been through so much, yet she was unbelievably gentle. The resilience of dogs is incredible. All she wanted was to be cuddled, to sleep, and to eat.

She walked with difficulty due to the pain in her paws, but she followed me everywhere I went.

We named her Pink because she was completely pink from having no hair.

Not long after, Christel messaged that there might be a family interested in adopting her. They came to our home to see Pink, and it was love at first sight. They stayed a few days on Curaçao to get to know her. She would be called Lilou once adopted. A day later, we received the message that they really wanted to adopt her, but she couldn’t come with them immediately.

At the end of October, Diana and Michel returned to Curaçao to pick up Lilou and bring her to the Netherlands. It was so wonderful that they came to get her themselves and could already go on a few outings with her so they could get used to each other.

As a foster, every dog is dear to you, but some dogs truly get under your skin, and Lilou is one of those dogs: a fighter, a survivor with such a beautiful character. So sweet, so funny, so active, and so happy.

I am glad we had the chance to foster her, and we are very happy to have met Diana and Michel.

And just look at the wonderful life she has now.

Together we are strong — and that has proven true once again.

Vinnie was found on an industrial estate. He was badly injured and extremely thin. People had even thrown stones at him. Fortunately, a foster placement became available quickly, where he received the care he so desperately needed. You could see in every way how badly he had been treated. It was clear that people had not been kind to him.

With lots of love, proper care, and enough food, Vinnie gradually began to recover. After spending several months with his foster, he was adopted by a woman in the Netherlands who has experience with rescue dogs.

Today, he lives a happy and stable life. He gets to go to work with her, where he walks among the horses, and he has many dog friends in the neighborhood. Here, he is allowed to be himself, and with time, he is slowly leaving his difficult past behind.

Nonnie came from Brievengat together with a small pack of dogs. They were at risk of being poisoned, which is why it was decided to take them into the RPC family. Nonnie stayed at the center, where her loving owner from Luxembourg fell in love with her.

Nonnie’s owner’s daughter also really wanted to adopt a dog and asked for a suggestion: a dog who had been waiting for a very long time — Tito.

Tito was found during a spay/neuter project in the neighborhood. He and his sister were completely locked up in a small enclosure, without daylight and without water. Fortunately, we came across them during the project and were able to rescue them.

Tito now lives on a farm in Luxembourg and even rides along on the tractor!

Sjakie was found along a busy road, still wearing a chain around his neck. What his life was like before he was found is unknown, but it seems Sjakie had freed himself in search of a better life!

He was first taken in by a loving foster on Curaçao, where Sjakie showed his true character: cuddly, sweet, and a little clumsy.

He was briefly adopted, which unfortunately didn’t work out as expected. After six weeks back with a foster, his forever home was finally found! He now lives with patient, understanding, and caring people in Brabant.

They are overjoyed with him, and you can see Sjakie grow and gain confidence every day.

Sjakie decided he wanted a better life than being chained… and now he is living the ultimate dog’s dream, roaming the fields with his forever family!

Lima was found along a busy road on June 8, 2024. She was so emaciated and weak that she was lying in the shade under a large tree, waiting for help.

When help arrived, she happily got into the car. She had just become a mother, but sadly her puppies did not survive.

Fortunately, this sweet girl, only about a year old, quickly regained her strength. She blossomed into an incredibly loving dog.

She now lives in the Netherlands. She has learned to play with toys, enjoys long walks through the forest, and loves watching animals on TV.

She is doing wonderfully, and her owners are absolutely delighted with her!

Jopie, Joepie, Jippie, and Bibie were abandoned, left behind among car parts…

Fortunately, they were found. Bibie went to a foster home on Curaçao, while Jippie, Jopie, and Joepie were taken to the Center. Now all four dogs have been adopted and are living happy lives in the Netherlands! See their story below!

Kwartje accidentally ended up in a trap that had been set for another dog. After asking around in the neighborhood, it turned out that Kwartje belonged to some local people, but they no longer wanted her, so they had left her on the streets.

That’s how Kwartje ended up in the trap. Injured from her time on the street, she was taken to the vet. She was left there in the hope that someone would take her; otherwise, she would be euthanized.

Fortunately, an RPC volunteer happened to be at the vet that day and couldn’t bring herself to leave Kwartje to be put down.

A few weeks later, Kwartje was adopted by a loving family in the Netherlands. They are overjoyed with her. She is doing wonderfully; she is incredibly sweet and cuddly and loves going for walks. What a lucky girl!

These two friendly dogs were very thin when they were abandoned at the concrete industry in Brievengat. A volunteer tried to take them to her feeding spot outside, but they walked back inside afterward. The next morning, only the female was there; apparently, the male had been lying behind a car, which reversed and startled him. He ran off in panic and could not be found…

Fortunately, the male later turned up again. They were then taken to the vet, and it was decided that they could no longer be returned to the streets.

Truus and Louis were brought to the Center, where they received the time and care needed to regain their strength.

Fortunately, both dogs recovered! They have now both been adopted and are living a happy life in the sun on Curaçao!

We got several calls about a dog near the VIP grill. The callers thought she might have a broken leg. A volunteer went to see if she could find her, and after 2 times she did! The paw wasn't broken, but it was completely infected. The volunteer took her to the vet and it ended up being more serious than we thought.

The infection turned out to be very severe. She kept touching and licking her paw, so it would only become worse and worse. The choices were: putting her to sleep or amputating her paw. The volunteer took her back to the place on the street where she was living. She talked to the guy who lived near the grill to discuss with him if he could take her in. If her paw would be amputated, she would need a home to recover. He told the volunteer that he couldn't provide the care she needed, even though he really loved her.

So the search continued. Eventually a sweet foster from the USA offered to help. But the issue of the payment remained. Amputating a leg costs a lot of money. Money which we can only spend once... One of the callers was very persistent and kept asking for updates of Sonrisa! He was on holiday on Curaçao, but lived in Mexico. He couldn't take care of her, but was willing to pay for all medical costs! So a plan was made to amputate her leg. The volunteer picked Sonrisa up and brought her to her foster home.

The amputation went well! Unfortunately, shortly after the amputation, the foster unexpectedly had to return to the USA.. Where did Sonrisa have to go? A friend of the foster ended up visiting Curaçao and fell in love with Sonrisa. She wanted to adopt her, but flying a grown up dog to the USA isn't easy. The foster found a way and flew via Colombia to the USA.

She is living her best life now in the USA and has no problems at all with having three paws!

JaneB was found my a volunteer at the industrial area Brievengat, she wasn't looking good. She was skinny, but loved attention. She was taken of the streets and taking into a home. Luckily there was a spot open at the Rescue Center and JaneB started recovering. A Center buddy of JaneB got adopted, and the sweet adopter offered to foster JaneB.

While JaneB recovered, it became clear she still had some unresolved issues. With intensive training the foster and another volunteer worked on JaneB's behaviour. JaneB gained convidence and her behavior got so much better. Not much later she got adopted on the island and is now living her best life at her forever home with 2 dog friends!

Mali was found by our sweet volunteer Wendy and her boyfriend. Mali was shy, very thin and about two years old. She was dumped like some sort of garbage near a restaurant in Sint Michiel. She was looking for food. Volunteers tried to feed her, but this was nearly impossible due to the issue that other dogs in the neighborhood kept attacking her. That’s why Wendy and Kris decided to take Mali in. The fostering process wasn’t easy. Mali had no faith in humans. Probably she had been beaten and abused. Her tail had been broken. With a lot of patience and care she was caught.

Mali is one of the larger ladies and she should have weight around 23 kilos, but she was only 18 kilos. At the home of the foster, Mali was frightened. She was too scared to even enter the house of the foster. Mali only stayed in the garden and hid/took shelter under some plants. When she finally felt comfortable to come into the house, she was still too scared to even lay on a pillow or blanket. She clearly wasn’t used to any kind of comfort.

Now Mali is a real family dog. Her favorite place in on the couch or in her soft crate.

Strange dogs were still exciting for Mali. After being attacked by dogs on the street it’s only logical that strange dogs are a bit scary. Her foster on Curaçao had two other dogs. So sweet Mali had some dogs to play with at home, the three musketeers so spend some time at a doggy day care. So Mali got used to unfamiliar dogs and started playing with them again.

Now she has been adopted and lives in Utrecht and she is very happy.

I was found at the supermarket Esperamos. Skinny to the bone. I clearly needed medical care, food and love.

Joy is a very happy dog. She loves cuddles and attention. She is super sweet and easy going. She doesn’t mind when you look at her teeth or trim her nails, she has complete trust in you.

However, she is very focussed on food, which is not strange given how extremely thin she was. Furthermore she is smart, loves car rides and likes to walk on the leash. She likes other dogs, but is also perfectly happy by herself. She doesn’t get bored being by herself.

She has quite some hunting insticts. So it is more difficult to find a suitable place where she can go off the leash.

Joy is a really active dog. An agility course would probably be a good thing for her so she can loose her energy and be mentally challenged.

Radha her eye had to be removed. Her adopters say the following about her: ‘She is doing very well. She is still growing a lot! She is really naughty, like a puppy should be. She also really likes to cuddle. We are still very happy we adopted her.”

Meet Lois and Lane. Dumped at Playa Kanoa, covered in scabies. Luckily they were found by volunteer and treated for their highly contagious scabies. After a couple of weeks their skin was completely healed again. 

They are now truly loved in their forever home and living their best life on Curaçao.

Putti, now called Fien, had fallen in a well of 30 metres deep.

Volunteer Alexandra saw the post of Niels about a dog who had fallen into a well, and she, together with the firefighters, got Putti out of there. Alexandra went down to get Putti herself, she is a true hero. Putti recovered quickly and is now living in the Netherlands with a loving family.

Meet Smiley, dumped behind a cemetery.

Covered in ticks and flees, completely starving. Luckily volunteer Alexandra found Smiley. Smiley jumped in her car right away, it was like he knew it was all going to be allright from now on. Smiley recovered quickly. A dutch couple, living in Sweden, came to Curacao for their honeymoon and they fell in love with Smiley. The rest is history. Smiley is now living the good life in Sweden with his loving family.

Meet Noah. Noah was found in a secluded area lying next to his dead sister. We thought that he had passed too, until we saw that he was still breathing…
Already cold to the touch, we rushed him to the vet where he was put on an IV. He had a very low heart rate and his intestines were giving up. His stool was black and consisted of leaves and dirt.

His rescuers took him home and needed to force feed him every hour. We weren’t sure if he would make it through the first night, but he did! After a week of going back and forth to the vet to be put on an IV, Noah finally started to pick up. From not being able to get up at all, Noah started to sit, then stand and 2 weeks after his rescue and falling down countless times, he finally started to walk again!

His absolute favorite toy was Igor, the donkey from Winnie the Pooh, which also became his comfort. Noah’s rescuer was pregnant when she rescued him and formed a very unique and special bond with him, being by his side together with her husband 24/7, helping him recover and boy did he RECOVER! Noah stayed with his foster family and now has 12 rescue buddies, a huge garden to play and a comfy bed to sleep in. He also became a big brother when his family welcomed their first son into the world.

Noah’s story even made it to the local newspapers! Noah is one crazy happy dog that is no doubt enjoying the good life here in Curaçao!

Meet Dribbeltje. This poor sweetheart was dumped near Playa Kanoa and was rescued by our local hero and fisherman, Mr. Kip. He rescues every dumped dog that he possibly can as the chance of them being shot by the goatherds in the area is big.

Everywhere we take Jax, people kept calling him Scooby-Doo! Can you see the resemblance? Jax was found very sick and skinny at a snack-bar in Curaçao. He spent almost a week on an IV struggling to stay alive and just look at him now!

He’s quite big for the average Westpointer and is such a sweet boy! He loves kids, other dogs, playing catch, swimming, going for walks or just chilling on the couch.

Dear Nochi was found on the beach with severe scabies, her skin was open and she had so many bloody wounds. Puppy-scabies (demodex) is easily treatable with the right medicine.

The only shade on the beach she was found on was from a cactus, the ‘dama di anochi’, that’s why she is called Nochi.

The treatment worked and soon Nochi became a beautiful dog again. She is very sweet and very affectionate.

She now lives in the Netherlands, with Gerdien. Gerdien is also a rescue dog from RPC, she was left at the vet during a steralisation action and her owner never picked her up.

Gelukkig heeft de behandeling geholpen en al snel zag Nochi er weer prachtig uit en bleek ze een ontzettende lieve knuffelkont te zijn. Ze is echt opgefleurd. Inmiddels woont Nochi al weer enkele jaren een heel gelukkig leventje bij haar adoptiegezin in het zuiden van Nederland.
Sinds een paar jaar woont ook “onze” Gerdien bij Nochi. Deze lieverd werd tijdens een sterilisatie actie door haar baasjes achtergelaten bij de dierenarts.

Introducing Ms. Black Friday. She was weak, scared and covered in mange. We spent almost two hours looking for her, she was very good at hiding herself.

Once we had her, brought her home and gave her a good meal, she was sooo thankful!! She completely gave in and was such a happy dog! Look at her now, all of her fur has grown back in all different colors, so unique and beautiful! So you see, it’s amazing what a little TLC can do!