Help Dogs Save Cats

A lone puppy was born. One of a litter of four, his three litter mates did not survive.

After being up all night with Isha I knew that there was something wrong and at about 5:30 am Dr. Bruce Brewer our general manager, our vet Dr. Andrew Di Salvo, Grace Warner our vet nurse and Teresia Robitschko my Personal Assistant were all on standby. We left for Otjiwarongo shortly thereafter and after a 45 minute drive, the vet at the clinic in town was ready and waiting. She performed a C-section immediately – the first C-section in the history of CCF’s Livestock Guarding Dog Program. This puppy was stuck in the birth canal but he made it through the travel to town without any issues. – Dr. Laurie Marker Founder/Executive Director Cheetah Conservation Fund

Two of the puppies were stillborn in spite of the emergency C-section. Two survived but one was so weak that he passed away after several days of medical care, leaving this one surviving special puppy. The good news is that he and his mother are doing great!

When he grows up this little survivor will most likely be a Livestock Guarding Dog Ambassador. He will have the chance to go out with our community outreach team, teaching communities how to take care of their livestock and informing them about our Livestock Guarding Dog Program that mitigates human-wildlife conflict. The puppy may even travel to these communities with our vet Dr. Andrew who helped save his life.

We wanted to give our supporters the opportunity to help us name this special pup whose parents are Isha and Firat. We had an option of 9 names, submitted by Laurie and our Staff in Namibia.

The contest is finished! The winning name will be announced in the Fall 2015 issue of Cheetah Strides. You can still help. If you would like to donate to our Livestock Guarding Dog Program please support this cause!

Karabash – Meaning: Black Head. It symbolizes being big in body and big in power. A very respectable name and very common for big powerful dogs in Turkey.

Pasha – Meaning: High-ranking soldier. It symbolizes to power and dignity and is a very fashionable name in Namibia.

Birki – Meaning: To help or to rescue. Deriving from the Proto-Norse it is a very regal name.

Olan – Meaning: Ancestor. The origin of this name is Old Norse. Olan is also a mountain in the Massif des Écrins in the French Alps.

Hercules – Meaning: Glory of Hera or Glorious Gift. Derived from the Greek name Heracles. In Greek mythology, Hercules (or Heracles) was the son of Zeus.

Cuneyt – Meaning: small army (perhaps a small army of Kangals to help save cheetahs?) It is pronounced with a J or G sound vs a C sound.

Bir – Meaning: brother, courageous or hero. Originating in India it is a common Hindu and Sikh name.

Yüklü – Meaning: fraught or laden. This name is originates in Turkey.

Dave – Meaning: darling or beloved. It is a shortened version of David a derivation of an ancient Mesopotamian name. The shortened version Dave originates in Scotland, Wales and England and was very popular name for kings across Europe.

IN OTHER NEWS!

In July, CCF had the pleasure of having Linda van Bommel, a researcher from Australia, visit our model farm and livestock guarding dogs. Linda has just finished a 4 year research project on the use and effectiveness of livestock guarding dogs in Australia. She also wrote the “Best Practice Manual for the use of Livestock Guardian Dogs” which is now readily available to help farms in Australia learn how to manage their guarding dogs. This book discusses breeds, training, care, management, and case studies of livestock guarding dogs to help the farmers be better prepared. It is free a downloadable PDF available at the above link.

While Linda was at CCF we compared the management of farms in Australia and Namibia as well as their care and training for their dogs. Although, farms are managed quite differently in the two countries, guarding dogs are very effective in reducing livestock losses due to predators in both areas. We thank Linda for sharing her knowledge with us and hearing about our program successes and we hope to meet up with her again soon.