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Dogs in distress

Network for Animals’ Dogs in Distress campaign aims to give as many animals as possible a life free from pain and suffering. 

Dogs in distress network for animals

Man's best friend, abandoned and abused.

Humanity in general cares deeply for dogs and we know that they care about us in return, offering us companionship, love and unshakeable loyalty. But statistics reveal that far too many dogs are in distress. According to the American magazine National Geographic, there are more than 300 million street dogs worldwide.

As the first domesticated species, dogs have been man’s best friend for a very long time. While the timing and location of dog domestication remain a controversy, several researchers believe that the event took place somewhere in northern Eurasia between 18,800 and 32,000 years ago. What we know for sure is that our ancestors chose to live with dogs and were even buried with them. In exchange for picking the bones of hunters, dogs defended humans against potential threats. Today, in a similar fashion, dogs beg for our scraps and remain as protective as ever. Dogs have always had our well-being in mind… so why do so many people fail to show them kindness?

Suffering from extreme hunger, deadly disease and human cruelty, street dogs have an average lifespan of three to six years, significantly shorter than the average lifespan for dogs. Network for Animals works to provide these creatures with food, safe shelter and timely medical attention, including vital vaccinations and sterilizations.

Our global network

We support animal welfare projects in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Kenya, Jordan, Mexico, Montenegro, South Africa, the Seychelles, Spain, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay and Zimbabwe.

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Croatia

Dogs of the Roma Villages 

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Bosnia and Herzegovina

Azil Danica Shelter

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Greece

Ghost Dogs of Aspropyrgos
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Greece

Little Friends Lefkas

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Kenya

Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (KSPCA)

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Morocco

Fighting to end the slaughter of street dogs

Jordan

Al Rahmeh in Amman

Jordan

Al Rabee Society for Nature and Animal Protection (RSNAP)

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Montenegro

Korina

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Montenegro

Riki’s Shelter

Serbia

Jelena’s Shelter

Serbia

Čupka Association for the Protection of Animals

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South Africa

AfriPaw

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South Africa

Mdzananda Animal Clinic
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South Africa

Calvinia

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South Africa

FALLEN ANGELS

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South Africa

Fur-Get-Me-Knot

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South Africa

KZN Valley Dogs

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South Africa

TEARS ANIMAL RESCUE

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Seychelles

Seychelles Society for the Protection and Care of Animals

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Spain

give Spanish greyhounds the protection they deserve

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Tanzania

Arusha Society for the Protection of Animals (ASPA)

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Thailand

Rescue P.A.W.S

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Uruguay

A.P.A. El Refugio animal shelter

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Zimbabwe

The Friend Animal Foundation (FAF)

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Croatia

Dogs of the Roma Villages 

For most dogs who live in the Roma villages of northern Croatia, life is a living hell. Chained, starved and thirsty, Roma animals endure unimaginable suffering. To make a bad situation worse, Roma criminals run dog-fighting rings in which huge sums are gambled on which dog will be savaged to death by another. The criminals also run puppy mills, where dogs are selectively bred for viciousness.

Our partner, the Cakovec shelter, regularly visits the Roma villages to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome suffering dogs and currently looks after 600 rescued animals in their inundated shelter. To support their life-saving work, we helped them feed and care for the hundreds of dogs in their care, who have been saved from lives of trauma in Roma villages.

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Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abandoned dogs in bosnia

In Trebinje, a small city in south Bosnia and Herzegovina, abandoned dogs lived in a decrepit, dangerous and unhygienic shelter, perched on a rubbish dump where garbage was burned daily. We knew we had to help. Working with the local municipality for two years, we constructed a state-of-the-art shelter, leading the way for a new approach to dealing with abandoned dogs in the region.

The new shelter (Azil Danica), entirely funded by NFA, was opened in May 2023, and we immediately relocated all 78 dogs to their new home. Each dog received a full health assessment, tests for common diseases, vaccine boosters as needed and a passport. The dogs love running in the large central playground and playing in the doggie paddling pool at the new shelter.

This is only the beginning, and we now work to ensure that the shelter lives up to its stated aim of “turning street dogs into pets” by providing funds for ongoing management and staff support, training, advice, and small contingency funds for dogs with exceptional health needs. Our biggest challenge is to ensure that high standards of care are maintained and that the City of Trebinje maintains its commitment to meeting these standards so that the dogs can find their forever homes as quickly as possible.

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Greece

Ghost Dogs of Aspropyrgos

There are more than a million street dogs in Greece, many of them abandoned pets. Aspropyrgos, a huge, semi-rural area near the city of Athens, is a dumping ground for unwanted animals. After being dumped there, the dogs face deprivation, starvation and the chilling prospect of being captured and used for illegal dog fighting, which is prevalent in the area’s numerous Roma (gypsy) camps.

The dogs are so afraid that they become “ghost dogs,” so called because when our team arrives to feed them, they appear, eat and then disappear into their hiding places like ghosts.

Together with our partner organization, Ghost Dogs of Aspropyrgos, we feed, sterilize and provide veterinary care for these street dogs while trying to find them loving forever homes. For over a decade, we have also been helping the “ghost dogs” survive the cruel, cold winters that threaten their lives every year.

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Greece

Little Friends Lefkas

In parts of Greece, many pet owners do not sterilize their dogs, either because they don’t care or because it simply never occurs to them. The result is a puppy explosion, particularly in rural areas and on the Greek islands. The heartless “solution” of the owners is to place the puppies on a road where cars are most likely to hit and kill them.

Our partner on one of the Ionian islands, Little Friends Lefkas, regularly saves the lives of puppies sent to this cruel fate. We support them in this crucial mission by helping fund food, veterinary care, transport and sterilizations, giving these innocent creatures the second chance they deserve.

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Kenya

Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (KSPCA)

In Nairobi, Kenya, we support the Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (KSPCA), a shelter home to over 250 dogs. It is on the frontlines of emergency rescue, cruelty investigations and community-based animal welfare programs. We help cover the cost of pet food and vital veterinary care. Recently, we also provided critical funding for the mass sterilization, vaccination and general treatment of street dogs in impoverished slums in Nairobi.

After recent floods, we provided funds to help with the rise of abandoned dogs.

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Morocco

Fighting to end the slaughter of street dogs

As Morocco prepares to host the FIFA World Cup in 2026, authorities are slaughtering homeless dogs to ‘clean up the streets’ for foreign tourists. Facing international backlash, the Moroccan government insists they have stopped the killings – but we receive ongoing reports of animals being hunted down, shot, poisoned, beaten and left to die in agony.

FIFA has known about the killings since 2023, and has not even issued a statement condemning the cruelty. 

Network for Animals works with partners on the ground to rescue vulnerable homeless dogs, providing emergency medical care for those facing life-threatening injuries, enacting sterilization campaigns to prevent more suffering, and giving countless dogs food, shelter and safety. We are also part of the International Animal Coalition (IAWPC), a collective of 24 respected international animal welfare and protection organisations from around the world, which is calling on FIFA and the Moroccan government to end the killing.

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Jordan

Al Rahmeh in Amman

A group of animal-lovers founded Al Rahmeh in 2017 to combat the mistreatment and demonization of the ancient Canaan dog breed in Jordan and animals in general. Their pro-life shelter is home to around 60 dogs, and they have cats in foster homes. They also run a trap-neuter-release program to keep the local cat population controlled and healthy. A number of the animals they care for have special needs, including blind, three-legged and paralyzed dogs. Network for Animals has supported the Al Rahmeh shelter and the ongoing care of their dogs and cats for the past five years, and in 2023, we helped launch a crucial sterilization program for the region’s street dogs.

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Jordan

Al Rabee Society for Nature and Animal Protection (RSNAP) in Aqaba, Jordan

Al Rabee Society for Nature and Animal Protection is a Jordan-based non-profit organization that was set up in 2013. The Al Rabee shelter is the only shelter of its kind in Aqaba and is home to more than 500 dogs. For the past three years, we have supported the shelter with the care of dogs and daily administration in a very remote area of Jordan, where resources and assistance are extremely limited. Our regular support also helps cover sterilization campaigns and food and vet bills. In 2022, we helped them move their shelter to much larger, better-suited premises. We also assisted with the installation of solar panels to help mitigate the area’s unreliable electricity supply.

Network for Animals once more stepped in by raising emergency funds for shelter repair when tragedy struck in 2023 and devastating flash floods destroyed much of the new shelter.

We also frequently assist with emergency cases. In May 2024, when heatwaves ravaged the area and put countless street dogs at risk of dehydration and death, we helped fund emergency missions to provide life-saving food and medical care for dogs suffering in the heat.

The following month, Al Rabee reached out to us with a desperate plea for help to cover medical bills for Zara, a pregnant street dog who had been shot, hit by a car and left for dead. Thanks to our supporters, we are covering Zara’s vet bills, and we are happy to say that Zara soon gave birth to a healthy litter of puppies.

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Montenegro

Korina

Animal welfare is a low priority in Montenegro. We support several animal welfare projects across this small Balkan country, tackling the crisis through both political lobbying and direct action.

NFA funds the Association for the Promotion of Coexistence, Korina, empowering it to run a legal advocacy project to lobby for change. Its tireless work has led to the revision of the Criminal Code, strengthening animal welfare clauses and imposing severe punishments for animal abuse.

With our support, Korina undertook the first pet dog census in Montenegro. As part of this project, the team microchipped 1,436 dogs, vaccinated 1,146 against rabies, instigated several cases and investigations against owners suspected of animal cruelty, and educated pet owners on essential animal welfare.

The team also puts pressure on municipal authorities to develop sustainable solutions to the problem of dog overpopulation and the abandonment of street dogs, both major problems in Montenegro.

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Montenegro

Riki’s Shelter in Kolasin

As such, a few dedicated individuals have taken it upon themselves to rescue the nation’s abandoned animals, pouring their own hard-earned funds into saving lives. We support as many of these private shelters as we can, providing funds for essentials such as food, medical care, kennels and fencing.

Leishmaniasis is a deadly disease which affects around 70% of the region’s street dog population. This horrific insect-borne disease can cause skin lesions, weight loss, vomiting, diarrhea and a prolonged, painful death. In June 2024, we funded crucial leishmaniasis treatments to scores of dogs in need, saving them from terrible suffering and death.

Riki’s Shelter in Kolasin, single-handedly run by cancer survivor Danijela Vuksanovic, cares for 110 rescued street dogs. We regularly provide crucial funds for food, and have funded  heavily insulated kennels to protect the animals from the bitter winter snow and cold.

Serbia

Jelena’s Shelter

Jelena Kostić operates a private rescue shelter, providing care and sanctuary for over 110 dogs, 20 cats and a dozen farm animals in Serbia. All the animals were rescued from dire situations before being rehabilitated at the shelter, and are now waiting to be adopted. Jelena’s Shelter is also actively involved in sterilization projects to control the street dog and feral cat population through Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) initiatives.

Thanks to our supporters’ generosity, NFA is able to support Jelena’s Shelter with contributions towards pet food, ensuring that the rescued animals receive proper nourishment and care.

Serbia

Čupka Association for the Protection of Animals

The Čupka Association for the Protection of Animals is run by two dedicated individuals who focus on rescuing, fostering and rehoming street dogs. They currently have 25 rescues in foster homes awaiting adoption and regularly fundraise to sterilize street dogs to prevent abuse and suffering.

With help from our donors, NFA has provided significant financial assistance to Čupka Association for pet food and vet care. These contributions have been instrumental in ensuring the survival and well-being of the rescued animals.

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South Africa

AFRIPAW

AfriPaw Animal Welfare is a community-driven organization in Vrygrond, South Africa, working to improve the lives of pets and their owners in poor,  underserved areas. By providing access to essential veterinary care, sterilization and education, AfriPaw works to combat neglect and overpopulation, while fostering a culture of compassion and responsible pet ownership in the communities it is active in. Alongside our partner, TEARS Animal Rescue, AfriPaw runs a free Pet Clinic every month that cares for hundreds of dogs and cats. Pet owners receive free food, collars and kennels when they take their animals for treatment. 

These clinics provide vital services such as deworming, tick and flea treatment, wound and disease care, vaccinations and sterilizations. However, many pet owners face significant challenges in accessing these services – some roads are too damaged for cars, some animals are too anxious or aggressive to walk to the clinic, others are hindered by mobility issues, and some owners even fear crossing gang-controlled areas.

To overcome these obstacles, Network for Animals partnered with AfriPaw to introduce South Africa’s first pedal-powered Pet Taxi. This two-wheeled trailer, pulled by a bicycle and fitted with a spacious cage, allows animals in hard-to-reach areas to be safely transported to the Pet Clinic for treatment. Thanks to the generosity of supporters like you, this innovative solution has expanded the reach of AfriPaw’s life-saving work, ensuring that even more animals receive the urgent care they need.

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South Africa

Mdzananda Animal Clinic

Mdzananda Animal Clinic is based in the gang-ridden township of Khayelitsha in Cape Town, South Africa, providing crucial care to around 1,500 dogs and cats each month, with around 600 requiring costly emergency surgery. Beyond treating injuries and illnesses, the clinic runs crucial spay and neuter campaigns to combat the overwhelming number of neglected street animals. In just one recent initiative, 800 dogs were sterilized, preventing countless puppies from being born into a life of suffering. However, with resources stretched thin, the clinic urgently needs support to continue its vital work.

Network for Animals has proudly supported Mdzananda for years, ensuring their dedicated team can keep saving critically injured animals and preventing future suffering. With the generosity of our supporters, we help provide surgical pins to repair broken bones, fund life-saving operations, support spay and neuter drives and contribute to community education programs that promote responsible pet care. Every donation helps equip Mdzananda with essential supplies, giving vulnerable animals a fighting chance at a better life.

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South Africa

Calvinia

In the impoverished farming town of Calvinia in South Africa, a broken economy has left animals hungry with very little hope. We work with partners on the ground to sterilize the animals of Calvinia’s Blikkiesdorp township and to provide critically needed veterinary care, treatment and food to the hundreds of dogs and cats who call the area home. Since our work began there in 2021, we have helped bring hundreds of animals back from the brink of death, conducted several mass sterilization drives, and delivered tons of pet food. We continue to work closely with the community to help keep their animals healthy and fed.

Most recently, in May 2024, we rushed emergency funds to continue feeding the area’s 200 dogs, and to provide crucial veterinary care for those facing life-threatening injuries.

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South Africa

Fallen Angels

Fallen Angels Pet Rescue works in South Africa’s Western Cape, mostly in deeply impoverished urban areas. The organization focuses on the rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming of domestic animals that are FALLEN: Forgotten, Abandoned / Abused, Lost, Lonely, Emaciated, and Neglected. Fallen Angels has relied heavily on Network for Animals for the past seven years by providing food, funding sterilization drives, and assisting with emergency dog and cat rescues and rehabilitation. We also recently raised funds for a crucial vaccination campaign amidst a horrific distemper outbreak, helping to save the lives of 1,000 dogs.

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South Africa

FUR-GET-ME-KNOT

Dogs are often condemned to lives of misery in the Westlake township, located in the South African city of Cape Town. Animals there are often subjected to neglect, starvation, abuse, dogfighting and over-breeding. We support Fur-Get-Me-Knot, a small group of volunteers who help animals in the area. Together, we help provide food, medical care, vital vaccinations and sterilization programs. We also educate owners on how to properly care for their animals.

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South Africa

KZN Valley Dogs

In the Valley of a Thousand Hills in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, more than 1,000 dogs are victims of extreme poverty, ignorance, uncontrolled breeding and utter neglect. Many of these dogs are so emaciated that their ribs are visible through their scarred, parasite-riddled skin.

Our partner teams venture into the region every Sunday, rain or shine, to feed and care for as many dogs as possible.

In some places in the Thousand Hills, unemployment is more than 50%, and the animals live off what they can scavenge, which is very little. To add to their misery, many of the dogs experience terrible abuse or suffer from dangerous infections and diseases, intestinal parasites or horrific dog-fighting injuries, including broken bones and painful lacerations.

Here, illegal organizations known as “taxi hunts” exploit dogs. This barbaric sport sees groups of up to 30 men and packs of more than 100 starved and frightened street dogs set out to kill. Dogs in these hunts are deliberately starved and are then sent to hunt small animals. Dogs are rated and bets are placed, and those that don’t “make money” are killed, often in gruesome ways. Even more are abandoned with broken bones and festering wounds.

We support KZN Valley Dogs by financing rescue missions, critically needed food and emergency veterinary intervention for countless battered and bruised dogs.

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South Africa

TEARS Animal Rescue

Network for Animals supports TEARS (The Emma Animal Rescue Society) in Cape Town, South Africa. TEARS is an animal welfare organization, working around the clock to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome hundreds of dogs every year. The TEARS dog shelter provides excellent veterinary care. Of particular importance are its outreach programs in impoverished communities, where teams rescue and rehome street dogs and provide care for pets whose owners cannot afford sterilizations and medical treatment. Our supporters have allowed us to help animals at TEARS for nearly a decade by providing funding for much-needed food, vital search and rescue missions, equipment and veterinary care. We have helped them buy a new outreach vehicle tough enough to withstand the poor roads in township areas.

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Seychelles

Seychelles Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (SSPCA)

While the Seychelles is a paradise for tourists, it’s a living nightmare for street dogs. Homeless, starved and riddled with blood-sucking parasites, these poor souls have no-one to turn to but our partner, the Seychelles Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (SSPCA).

Through our donors’ support, we helped fund crucial medical supplies to treat the animals and paid for a kennel hand for a year to ensure that the dogs are kept healthy, happy and comfortable at the shelter.

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Spain

give galgos the protection they deserve

In Spain, hunting dogs, known as galgos and podencos, are tortured and killed in their tens of thousands each year. These poor creatures are exploited for a single hunting season before being cruelly tortured and discarded like trash. The depth of suffering they endure is unimaginable; they are starved, hurled into dark wells, savagely beaten, targeted in shooting practices, poisoned or, possibly worst of all, hung from trees until they slowly suffocate to death. This cruelty is inflicted on the dogs if they disrespect their ‘owners’ for not being sufficiently aggressive. We cannot stand idly by with a clear conscience as this abuse persists.

We are working with four organizations, Sociedad Valenciana Protectora de Animales y Plantas, Jadoul Foundation, Galgos del Sur and PACMA, who work to provide the best possible care to animals in need, like abused, traumatized and discarded galgos.

Compounding the plight of galgos is the fact that they have no legal protection. These dogs are classified as agricultural animals, exposing them to relentless abuse and death. With the support of our donors, we are exposing them to legally condoned fighting this ruling in Spanish courts, petitioning the government to amend the laws to give galgos the protection they deserve while shining a light on the dark underbelly of the Spanish hunting industry.

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Tanzania

Arusha Society for the Protection of Animals (ASPA)

In Tanzania, Network for Animals supports the Arusha Society for the Protection of Animals (ASPA), a small but dedicated organization working to improve the welfare of Tanzania’s street dog population. In addition to the frequent funding we provide for food and veterinary supplies, NFA helps finance emergency rescues, regular mobile clinics and educational outreach programs in Tanzania.

In 2024, we have conducted extensive spay neuter and vaccination and rabies programs.

ASPA also works to deworm, vaccinate, sterilize and provide veterinary treatment for as many street dogs in rural areas as possible. Through our donors’ generosity, we funded a fully-equipped mobile veterinary unit to provide care to these vulnerable animals in a secure and stress-free environment.

In late 2023, a crisis broke out in Mwanza, where the sickness of a single rabid dog sparked a dog-killing rampage. At least 32 dogs were brutally murdered with sticks and stones, despite there being no evidence that they had rabies, and we knew we had to step in. We were able to help rush the ASPA team to the area, where they worked with a local team to vaccinate almost 1,000 dogs across six villages in just three days, helping to stop the killing in its tracks.

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Thailand

Rescue P.A.W.S

In Thailand, animal neglect is disturbingly common. Our partner, Rescue P.A.W.S., who takes in severely disabled dogs who will live out the rest of their lives at the shelter. With more and more dogs pouring into the shelter, our partner quickly reached capacity, and we helped them build new enclosures and kennels for the disabled and abandoned dogs in their care.

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Uruguay

A.P.A. El Refugio animal shelter

We have supported Montevideo’s A.P.A. El Refugio animal shelter since 2018. With no support from local authorities, the shelter tirelessly cares for 360 street dogs and 40 cats. Network for Animals helps cover the monthly cost of expensive food and specialist medical care. In recent years, El Refugio has been overwhelmed by gangsters, fire and flooding, and we provide the shelter with emergency funding for essential supplies during times of crisis. We have also helped rush vital medications and fund specialist veterinary care for elderly and disabled dogs in their care.

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Zimbabwe

The Friend Animal Foundation (FAF)

In Zimbabwe, we support Harare’s Friend Animal Foundation (FAF). Following the death of its owner, FAF was on the brink of financial ruin and closure. Hundreds of animals were at risk of being euthanized by the authorities. With the help of our generous supporters, Network for Animals kept the doors of FAF open, initially delivering 4,134 pounds of food to the dogs and providing staff to help care for the animals. We continue to assist FAF with much-needed renovations and improvements for all the animals in its care. Alongside almost 500 canine residents, the no-kill shelter is a sanctuary for 145 cats, horses, goats and a donkey.