Help us care for 900 street rescues at our refuge

Up to the end of March, this spring was a bit cooler and wetter than last year, which is great for the general environment, but it does make for wet and muddy dogs.

We ran a much-needed WebAction campaign which resulted in 6.5 tonnes of dog biscuits being delivered, a fantastic result for us. Thank you to everyone who clicked and shared and donated.

We went through Ramadan. The month of fasting is always hard on the staff, and this year we were hit by staff departures, so it was extra hard on the team to keep up with all the daily routine in looking after over 900 dogs.   We were however lucky to welcome a new vet technician, Hocine, who is making himself indispensable not only for the general care of all our animals, but especially for the daily care of chronically ill animals we took in this month (see later)

We are constantly being contacted by people reporting street dogs and cats to us, some needing urgent help, sometimes just looking for a safe place. Some people fall in love with a street animal while on holiday and want help to take it home with them.  

When we can help, we do, but with over 1200 animals already in our care we have to think very carefully about taking in more. Often, we have to say “sorry but we can’t help”. Those five little words are the hardest to write. We know it is often a death sentence for the animal. We know it is not what the people who contacted us want to hear. But we must consider not just the individual puppy or kitten, or the person contacting us. We also have to think about the 1200 other animals whose lives depend on us.

We are limited in how many animals we can help by the space that we have and by the number of staff working to look after them. It can be dangerous to bring animals into the refuge if we cannot give them a safe place to live, to settle down in and make sure they are not carrying contagious disease. It is also dangerous for the animals if we don’t have the staff to look after them properly. We need staff who have the time to monitor which ones are not eating, which ones are not joining in the activity, which one is coming down with some illness.

On top of that we have to look after our founder, Michele. Michele has given up so much for the animals in Agadir. She has given up most of her home to the Farm Refuge, and all her time and energy and her personal income. You may remember that a few years ago she was treated for breast cancer. So far she has been lucky and she is still in remission, but we all know that stress and fatigue contribute to illness. We want to protect her, so that she is here to protect the animals for years to come, and to do that we need to stop taking in rescues at least for a limited time.

We hope you will understand the reasons why we have to say “Sorry but we can’t help” and keep on supporting us so that in time we can open our doors once more.

At the end of March our dear little Xiri (now Ziri) set off to the United States of America. Lisa and Patrick came all the way from Wisconsin to Agadir to meet their dog. We arranged for Ziri to travel by cargo to DC. After a long journey by road from our shelter to Casablanca, then by plane to Washington - and once she had passed the compulsory health checks on arrival, Ziri - visibly exhausted but relieved - was finally reunited with Lisa. It took another 12 hours by car until they were finally home. What an odyssey! After being dazed and confused for a few days, Ziri began to settle and explore. She quickly bonded with the 11- and 4-year old boys of the family and when the vacuum cleaner monster appears she goes to hide in their room. In addition to her human “siblings”, Xiri now shares her home with two small elderly dogs and two cats, and she completes the family perfectly. Seeing Ziri thrive makes up for all the effort!

More people in the US have reached out to us about adopting a dog, but the associated costs are off-putting. Transportation alone costs around $1500, for one dog travelling from our shelter to one of 6 authorised US airports by air cargo. But that’s not all. The mandatory pet health check on arrival in the US costs another $1500 on average, bringing the overall cost of the journey to around $3000. The costs can be reduced somewhat by shipping several dogs at once, or if a dog travels along with his owner or a designated flight buddy, but this is logistically challenging. To support US-based adopters we decided to waive our regular adoption fees and also launched a fundraiser to contribute to travel expenses.

Some of our followers may be aware of the uncertainty around Moroccan Animal Aid (an association previously based just north of Agadir). The two founders of MAA are now living abroad and they are not permitted to enter Morocco again. Morocco Animal Aid are no longer registered as a charity with Moroccan authorities and so are not able to receive money from abroad legally, but their intention seems to be to continue as if everything can just carry on the same. And there are still animals left at their premises. For several months we have been approached by various individuals with concerns and requests for help.

Here is Michele’s statement on the situation.

“…this is not at all a matter of hate as MAA claim, or an attempt to discredit the organisation. Personally, I have never liked criticising other associations, but I am going to share my point of view. I speak the truth. We received 17 dogs from MAA who were in a terrible shape, they arrived at our refuge in a completely unacceptable condition. I understand that when yourun an animal welfare association you need money to feed the animals, to pay staff, to cover vet bills, to buy medicine, to cover everything but I believe that when you start doing so many rescues that you can no longer care for the animals, that is unacceptable. Dogs in poor condition, that is unacceptable and the dogs that we received were, unfortunately, in a critical condition. …….It’s not a matter of hate it is a matter of the animals and caring for them, the way it should be done in a responsible shelter.”

Please note we were contacted by one of the founders of MAA early in January. She asked that we take 100 dogs because they were so far behind with paying wages and they were trying to raise money to improve the shelter conditions. Of course it was impossible for us to do that. We did offer practical help in the form of materials for rebuilding. This was not accepted.

The future is not clear; however we are working very hard to try and help the animals that remain. Of course, the health and safety of these animals is our main concern. We hope that things will become clearer over the next few months and in the meantime as well as taking in 17 very seriously ill and malnourished dogs we have been trying to help to find a way to look after the animals that have been left behind. Watch this Space

Between the start of the year and the end of March 31 dogs were welcomed to the refuge. 18 arrived in a very poor condition from the MAA refuge in Aourir and brought a particularly virulent form of mange with them. We are working hard to get them all back to full health, though for some we have to accept that the best we can do is make sure they are safe and comfortable.

We have had 26 new sponsors this quarter, which is great news. Every dog sponsored helps all the other animals in our refuge.

15 dogs and 4 cats left for new homes.

This quarter we sterilised 68 street dogs and 210 cats.

It has been a tough start to the year, but you know, we won’t stop. We will keep on working towards a better future, for the animals in our refuge and for all the animals in Morocco. We know we have your support behind us.

Sorry I am so late with this newsletter. Thank you as always and see you in a few short weeks.