Your Donations In ACTION: July 2022

In July, we continued our critical aid work in Ukraine while helping to battle animal abuses and emergencies in various other parts of the world. Your donations are pivotal to our work. Here’s how you helped animals in June.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

In June, we told you about the imminent shut down of the Zarkovica shelter in Dubrovnik. We began to help immediately. Of the initial 254 dogs on-site, 126 have been rescued so far, and most are now safe, in foster homes or with other rescue associations, and are receiving the care and treatment they need until they can be found permanent homes. 38 are now already in forever homes. We are working closely with rescue associations in the UK and 20 dogs are due to travel to new homes there in the next few weeks, five of which are going to NFA supporters. Another 10 will travel to one of our partner rescue associations, DIOZ, in Poland in August. We have also funded medication to treat leishmaniasis and critical surgeries for several animals. We are still running against a deadline, but after repeated pleas, the vet inspectorate has agreed to allow more time for us to find suitable placements for the dogs before closing the shelter. Thank you for supporting this vital work. You’ve made it possible for us to find homes for several very deserving animals and get so many others to safety.

Mkushi, Zambia

We were alerted to a horrific situation in Zambia: a truck crammed with 69 dogs, in sweltering conditions, was stopped on its way to the dog-meat markets of the Congo. The dogs were literally suffocating to death when the truck was opened by a concerned police officer. Of the animals packed inside, only 19 ultimately survived their three-day ordeal in baking, inhumane conditions. Zambian authorities ordered they be destroyed by shooting, but together with partners on the ground, we fought to have this ruling overturned. For now, the local court has agreed not to shoot the dogs pending a decision by the High Court, and the dogs are safe in a quarantine facility in Lusaka.

Your donations have enabled us to help feed and provide life-saving medical treatment to the surviving dogs, who have experienced some of the very worst abuses we have seen. We will keep you updated on their story.

Read the original story here.

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

We rescued Lulu the donkey with our partner Matabeleland Animal Rescue and Equine Sanctuary (MARES) during a recent trip to Bulawayo. She was close to death when she was found, and while she fought to survive for the next five days, she ultimately succumbed to the injuries she incurred from years-long abuse. We were too late for Lulu, but almost daily, abused and neglected donkeys are rescued by MARES, who does a superhuman job in rehabilitating them. We asked for your help in continuing to support the wonderful work MARES does for the donkeys of Bulawayo, and you donated generously.

Ukraine

As war drags into its fifth month in Ukraine, things are only getting worse for the animals. We assisted our partner Vetmarket Pluriton in evacuating animals from the heavily shelled Bakhmut region of Donetsk. Here, animals are so traumatized by the relentless bombings that they are dying of heart attacks. We HAD to try to get them out. Your donations helped us to begin evacuating animals from the Bakhmut Community for Animal Protection (LADA) shelter – a mission that is currently still underway, thanks to your support.

Also, thanks to your support, we were able to help Vetmarket purchase two new vehicles, so that they can reach, feed and evacuate more animals as the war wears on.

Meanwhile, in the now-Russian-controlled area of Lysychansk, three team members from Vetmarket were captured by Russian forces in July as they attempted to deliver aid to desperate animals. Before they were captured, they had managed to evacuate 50 animals - 25 dogs and 25 cats - from the area and were going back in for more when catastrophe struck. We do not yet have news of these brave heroes but will update you as soon as we know more.

Read about our latest work in Ukraine here.

Be’er Sheva, Israel

Tony the donkey was hit by a car near Be’er Sheva in the Negev Desert and abandoned, critically injured. The people who witnessed the incident moved Tony off the road and left him to languish with his injuries. But the smell of his blood attracted wolves, who attacked him and started to eat him. The horrific ordeal left him critically injured and blind.

Tony was rescued by our partner there, the Starting Over Sanctuary (SOS), where he received immediate, life-saving care. Now, weeks after his ordeal, he is adapting well to life at the sanctuary. He is blind, but he is being wonderfully cared for and is safe in the company of other disabled animals. He is slowly regaining his strength, thanks to the wonderful, dedicated care provided by SOS, made possible through your support.

Read the original story here.

Good news updates:

Zimbabwe

In Bulawayo, we helped to sterilize 151 once-homeless cats who have been taken in by a kind-hearted pensioner, Valda Cohen. This massive undertaking was conducted in partnership with Cat Rescue Zimbabwe (CRZ) and our long-standing partner, Matabeleland Animal Rescue & Equine Sanctuary (MARES). The team worked around the clock for almost five days to trap, sterilize and vaccinate the cats, and provide veterinary treatment to those who needed it. Happily, two of the cats found fur-ever homes! It is through your generous donations that we were able to run this critical sterilization program and give 151 cats a better life - not to mention the countless kittens who will not be born into a life of cruelty and need.

Greece

We, along with our partner Argos Ithaki Animal Welfare (ARGOS), help to feed and care for hundreds of street cats on the island of Ithaca. Recently, our team funded a sterilization day, during which a terribly sick kitten was rushed in for urgent veterinary care. This weak, tiny creature stole our hearts, and we were all heavily invested in her recovery. Few thought she would survive - but we are thrilled to say that thanks to the wonderful care she received from ARGOS volunteers and the vets who volunteered their time, little Lenio pulled through!

Many cats in Ithaca do not get the happy ending that Lenio did, which is why we work so hard to provide life-saving care, food and sterilization to the cats of the region.

Lenio is still looking for her loving forever home. Please reach out to us if you are interested in adopting this brave little fighter.

KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Your support enabled us to fund a mass sterilization and treatment drive with our partner KZN Valley Dogs in South Africa. KZN Valley Dogs feeds and treats thousands of neglected rural dogs, and this program was desperately needed. In total, 170 dogs and cats were successfully sterilized, and surgeries were performed on a dog needing a damaged and infected eye removed, and another who had been hit by a car and needed critical surgery and a blood transfusion. Both are recovering well. All of this was made possible by your donations, which means that once again, you have had a life-changing impact on so many precious animals.

Northern Cape, South Africa

Through our Little Acts of Kindness program, made possible by the support of our donors, we were able to help fund the sterilization, feeding and treatment of 148 cats and dogs in the poor farming town of Fraserberg.