When Zully Vasquez Ventura and her family settled in Cleveland, Texas, in 2019, it was meant to be a fresh start. After adopting their dog, Bella, they left their Houston apartment behind in search of a home with space and a yard where Bella could finally run free.
“We wanted to give her land and freedom,” Ventura told The Dodo.
What Ventura didn’t expect was how quickly her excitement would turn into heartbreak. Not long after moving in, she began dreading even stepping outside or driving through her neighborhood.
“Dogs were everywhere,” she said. “On every corner. Many were in awful condition — extremely thin, missing fur. I couldn’t understand where they were all coming from.”
Each day revealed more suffering. Dozens of dogs wandered the streets and vacant lots, struggling to survive as they searched for food, water, and shelter from the intense Texas heat.
Ventura soon realized that Colony Ridge — her community about an hour northeast of Houston in Liberty County — was facing a crisis far bigger than she had imagined.
Local officials later confirmed that Colony Ridge falls outside the city of Cleveland’s jurisdiction. Liberty County has no animal control services, no officers, and no public shelter.
“Some of these dogs are dumped or abandoned,” Ventura said. “Others still technically belong to people who aren’t held accountable because there’s no enforcement.”
Unable to ignore what she was seeing, Ventura began pulling over where others kept driving. She started carrying bags of dog food in her car, stopping whenever she spotted an animal in obvious distress.
“I couldn’t let them starve,” she said.
In 2022, one dog changed everything. Ventura stopped when she noticed a weary red Labrador mix with burn marks running down his back. A neighbor explained that the dog had been begging for food and someone had poured hot oil on him to make him go away.
Devastated, Ventura took photos and shared his story online, hoping someone would step in to help. The first post barely gained attention.
“I only got a couple of likes,” she said. “No help at all. It was heartbreaking.”
Refusing to give up, she posted again — and this time, a volunteer from ThisIsHouston rescue responded, offering to save the dog if Ventura could foster him overnight.
“That moment changed my life,” Ventura said. “I realized I could do this.”
The dog, later named Rusty, received medical treatment, healed from his injuries, and was eventually adopted into a loving home.
Motivated by that success, Ventura began actively rescuing dogs throughout her neighborhood. She carried food and water, documented their stories, and shared them online to find help. Her emotional posts drew attention to countless animals in need — including a mother dog and her puppy suffering from severe mange.
Ventura rescued the puppy first, then spent days earning the mother’s trust by feeding her. Eventually, both were taken in by Mike’s Chance Animal Rescue.
Since then, Ventura has helped save more than 5,000 dogs — and she hasn’t slowed down.
Even after welcoming a baby girl in August, she was back helping animals just weeks later. She and a friend founded The Daily Kibble of Cleveland, TX, a nonprofit focused on feeding, vaccinating, and rescuing dogs, while also advocating for affordable spay and neuter services in the area.
Ventura also built a small kennel so she could foster dogs herself.
Although more rescues have begun assisting in Colony Ridge and residents are pushing Liberty County to establish animal control services, the need remains overwhelming.
Despite all she has accomplished, Ventura says the dogs she couldn’t save still haunt her.
“I cry for them,” she said. “It hurts so much. Even though it’s not my responsibility, I feel like it is.”
She fears the situation is worsening, especially as many residents in the area are immigrants who have been detained or deported, leaving their pets behind.
Ventura hopes her work will raise awareness and bring lasting change — so one day, rescue won’t be necessary.
“My dream,” she said, “is to drive down the street and not see dogs suffering everywhere. That would be a dream come true. And the only way to get there is by making people see what’s happening.”