The Dog I trained to heal others

 — Now I Must Fight to Bring Them back home

By Victor Quinteros Marquina

There was a time when my Siberian Huskies were known across New York for their beauty, purpose, and unmistakable presence. Jack, Zeus, Meeka, Apollo, Anastasia, Upsilon, Sophia, Omicron, Sigma, Megatron, Tryton, Angelina, Ocean, Alpha Centaury, Eta, Pluto, Terra, Mars, Venus, Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, Jupiter and Mercury. Twenty-four in all — each with a name, a personality, and a mission.

They lived on a full acre of open space in Staten Island, a home designed so they could run freely, work together as trained service animals, and shine in the community they served. They were seen by thousands — children with autism who found comfort in their gentle presence, families battling HIV/AIDS who found joy in their visits, runway audiences who cheered their appearances during New York Fashion Week and Staten Island Fashion Week. They posed beside luxury cars and fine jewelry not as props, but as living symbols of resilience and unconditional love.

Then, in July 2022, everything they were — ambassadors, partners, therapy animals, family — was erased in an instant.

Twenty-four healthy, trained, beloved dogs were seized. Their freedom and purpose were replaced by confinement and uncertainty. I was not allowed to see them. I was denied updates. Their lives disappeared behind closed doors while I stood outside pleading for truth.

In the months that followed, I learned pieces of their fate — never the whole picture.

Zeus, my glowing star and certified service dog, was euthanized. Tryton, another trained service companion, was also killed. A puppy died soon after the seizure. Others were taken away quietly, adopted out before a court ever examined the facts. Many remain unaccounted for.

Huskies are a working breed; they exist to run, to connect, to serve. To shut them away in cages was not rescue — it was cruelty disguised as protection.

I have asked the same questions again and again:
Why were these dogs taken when no evidence of abuse was ever proven?
Why were they held for months only to be destroyed or dispersed?
Why was I denied the right to defend them before decisions were made that could never be undone?

I do not ask these questions for anger but for accountability. For justice.

These dogs were trained to heal others. Now I must heal the injustice that tore them away.

New York prides itself on compassion, fairness and innovation. My huskies embodied all three. They were living proof that partnership between humans and animals can change lives. Their work mattered. Their existence mattered. Their future still matters.

Today, I continue the fight to locate the dogs who survived — wherever they have been sent. I continue to demand transparency. I continue to push for a system that cannot quietly discard animals who had families, purpose and documented service credentials.

This is more than a personal loss. It is a warning about what can happen when power operates without oversight — and when living beings become casualties of reputation and agenda.

The names of my dogs deserve to be spoken.
Their lives deserve to be remembered.
Their home deserves to be restored to them.

Jack. Zeus. Meeka. Apollo. Anastasia.
Upsilon. Sophia. Omicron. Sigma. Megatron.
Tryton. Angelina. Oceano. Alpha Centaury. Eta.
Pluto. Terra. Mars. Venus. Uranus. Neptune. Saturn. Jupiter. Mercury.

Twenty-four hearts that trusted in us.
Twenty-four souls that gave joy to others.
Twenty-four lives that still deserve to be whole.

Their story is not finished.
I will not stop until the surviving members of my pack are safely returned to the land they knew — the land where they ran, served, and belonged.

I trained them to heal.
Now I must bring them home.

Return the Huskies. Every one of them.

We need our dogs back!

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