In Peru, a home for stray dogs

Sara Moran never thought her home in a poor part of Peru’s capital would become a makeshift shelter for 70 strays when she first rescued a dog after it was run over by a car in 2007.

All the dogs come from the large population of abandoned canines that roam Lima’s streets.

“Sometimes I think God has given me this mission,” said Moran, 48, as she changes a diaper for a dog named Pecas, one of eight that she’s recently rescued and which gets around on a canine wheelchair.

Feeding the large pack 365 days of the year is the hardest part for Moran. She relies on donations from neighbors and strangers touched by her labor of love.

But she also makes sure they receive plenty of psychological nourishment as well. In winter, when most Peruvians avoid the beach, she takes the dogs on frequent runs across the hard, black sand.

Seeing them happy is her reward.

“They are completely pure,” she says. “Their souls have no perversions.”

In this Monday, June 19, 2017, Sara Moran plays with group of dogs inside of her home in the Chorrillos neighborhood in Lima, Peru. Moran has a dog shelter in her own home called "Milagros Perrunos" where she cares for 70 stray dogs, some of whom are also paraplegic or sick with cancer. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

In this Monday, June 19, 2017, a dog called "Teresita" plays at the "Milagros Perrunos" dog shelter in the Chorrillos neighborhood of Lima, Peru. All of the dogs come from the large population of abandoned canines that roam Lima’s streets. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

In this Monday, June 19, 2017 photo, Sara Moran changes the diaper of "Pecas" on of the 70 stray and ailing dogs she keeps at her makeshift dog shelter, at her home in the Chorrillos neighborhood of Lima, Peru. “Sometimes I think God has given me this mission,” said Moran, 48, as she changes a diaper for Pecas, one of eight that she’s recently rescued and which gets around on a doggie wheelchair. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

In this Monday, June 19, 2017 photo, a paraplegic dog called "Pecas" who has to use a diaper, rests in its bed at a dog shelter in the Chorrillos neighborhood of Lima, Peru. Local resident Sara Moran runs the shelter, called "Milagros Perrunos" from her home, where she cares for 70 dogs, of which some are paraplegic and others suffer from diseases such as cancer. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

In this Monday, June 19, 2017 photo, the paws of paraplegic dog called "Huellitas" hang limply as he rides his wheel chair, at a dog shelter in the Chorrillos neighborhood of Lima, Peru. All of the dogs come from the large population of abandoned canines that roam Lima’s streets. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

In this Monday, June 19, 2017 photo, a dog called "Negrita" looks out of a window of her home, a dog shelter owned and operated by local resident Sara Moran, in Lima, Peru. Moran never thought that her home in a poorer neighborhood of Peru’s capital would become a makeshift shelter for 70 strays when she rescued a dog after it was run over and almost killed by a car in 2007. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

In this Monday, June 19, 2017 photo, dog wheelchairs hang from a window at the "Milagros Perrunos" dog shelter in the Chorrillos neighborhood of Lima, Peru. Sara Moran runs the shelter from her own home called "Milagros Perrunos" where she cares for 70 dogs. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

In this Monday, June 19, 2017, a dog called "Yodi" who was rescued during a flood lies on her bed at the "Milagros Perrunos" dog shelter in Chorrillos district in Lima, Peru. Feeding the large pack 365 days of the year is the hardest part so the shelter relies on donations from neighbors and strangers touched by her labor of love. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

In this Monday, June 19, 2017 photo, Sara Moran is greeted by two paraplegic dogs called "Huellitas" and "Osito" in the Chorrillos neighborhood in Lima, Peru. “They are completely pure,” she says. “Their souls have no perversions.” (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

In this Tuesday, June 20, 2017 photo, a paraplegic dog called "Osito" rests after a run in his wheelchair at the Agua Dulce beach at the Chorrillos district of Lima, Peru. "Osito" is part of a group of dogs that are taken care of by local resident Sara Moran, who has a shelter in her own home called "Milagros Perrunos." (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

In this Tuesday, June 20, 2017 photo, a group of paraplegic dogs run with the help of their wheelchairs on the Agua Dulce beach in the Chorrillos neighborhood of Lima, Peru. The dogs are cared for by local resident Sara Moran. In winter, when most Peruvians avoid the beach, she takes the dogs on frequent runs across the hard, black sand. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

In this Tuesday, June 20, 2017 photo, a volunteer walks a couple of paraplegic dogs at the Agua Dulce beach in Chorrillos district of Lima, Peru. The volunteer works with the "Milagros Perrunos" dog shelter where 70 dogs are taken care of. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

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Text from the AP news story, AP PHOTOS: Peruvian woman provides home for 70 stray dogs, by Franklin Briceno and Martin Mejia. 

Photos by Martin Mejia

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