Our Work

Amigos de los Animales (ADLA) Puerto Rico is a non-profit rescue organization and shelter that rescues, rehabilitates, and rehomes abused and abandoned dogs throughout Puerto Rico. Our shelter is located at the Piñones beach home of former director Adrienne Galler Lastra, known as Adri throughout Piñones and the animal welfare community. Adri has vowed to dedicate her life to making a difference in the lives of the animals here.  Since 2008, the shelter has become home for all ADLA rescues. Adri lives at the shelter 24/7, ensuring each animal is safe and loved. In 2021, Ruby Velazquez took over as the director of ADLA.

There are approximately 500,000 stray dogs, called satos, in Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, due in part to the low adoption rate in Puerto Rico, there are far more satos than there are local homes for them.

That´s where ADLA steps in! ADLA rescues satos throughout the island. After making sure that the dogs are healthy and ready for a home, ADLA puts them up for adoption or transports them to no-kill shelters in the United States. In addition to our branch in Colorado, we work with sister shelters in New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Florida, Boston, and Rhode Island.

Outreach and Community Involvement

ADLA also promotes humane animal treatment within the community. We organize low-cost sterilization and vaccination events to promote education on humane animal treatment. Together with the Puerto Rico Health Department and Career Development Institute of New Jersey, we coordinate a six-day Animal Control Officer/Cruelty Investigator Course, which is attended by police officers, members of animal welfare organizations and animal control facilities, as well as animal enthusiasts and individuals interested in learning about animal welfare and proper animal care. Download our brochure for additional information.

Our Team

Meet the wonderful team keeping ADLA running and the satos of Puerto Rico safe.