More than a Fighter: Marcelo Rojo on Rescuing Dogs
July 26, 2019
What does Marcelo Rojo do when he’s not training for a fight? He works with his girlfriend on her organization Amor Sin Raza.
Amor Sin Raza is an organization that rescues dogs, brings them to the vet, then the shelter and then works to find them new homes. Founded by Erika Fernandez (Rojo’s girlfriend), the organization rescued and found new homes for 100 dogs last year. It all began when Fernandez found one dog in the street and decided to rescue it.
“Dogs can help people. They are awesome friends. They give you love. They don’t judge you,” Rojo explained why he became passionate about this work alongside his girlfriend.
The organization is still very small, mostly just Fernandez. Rojo helps her when he is not training, and then she has friends that work with her as well. They recently brought twelve people to the shelter they work with, to spend time with the dogs.
“[Volunteers are] the most important thing for us. The dogs are lonely. They need love,” said Rojo.
Fernandez and Rojo put their money where their mouth is in terms of taking in dogs. Currently nine dogs reside in Fernandez’s house in Mexico City.
“We bring dogs here before they go to their new family, to socialize [them]…there’s a big change between living in the street and living in a house.”
Rojo keeps a sharp division in his brain between rescuing dogs and fighting.
“Rescuing dogs makes me a better person. I can feel empathy for another person. When I go to train, I just want to train…Helping dogs has nothing to do with my fighting. I help dogs because it’s healthy for me. And I fight because it’s healthy for me.”
For more information on Amor Sin Raza, you can follow them on Instagram @amorsinraza.
