Making Happy Tails for Street Dogs in Rwanda

Dear friends and supporters, 

As we always say at the beginning of these reports, it’s been another busy 3 months at WAG! 

Between April and July, we:

• Rescued 11 dogs 
• Rehomed 7 dogs with loving families
• Welcomed 5 veterinary students on a summer volunteer program at the shelter - Alodie, Josiane, Janviere, Clementine and Nadine. The future of small animal veterinary medicine in Rwanda (and proving that Rwandan women are awesome vets)!
• Spayed 10 female dogs and neutered 7 male dogs - changing these dogs lives and stopping the cycle of overpopulation

We also finished chemotherapy treatment for both Miracle and Simmy - they are now cancer free and ready for adoption! 

Like we reported in March, we are focusing our efforts on rescuing the most vulnerable, sick and injured dogs on the street. The demand for rescue is SO high - on average we get 4 calls, messages or emails a day about dogs who need help or dogs who are no longer wanted by their owners. Due to our current capacity - financial, resources, and physical space at the shelter, we can’t take on all of these dogs. It’s not sustainable, and rescue alone cannot stop the massive dog overpopulation we currently have in Rwanda. So, we prioritise dogs who need help the most, like: 

Oscar - Oscar was rescued from Gikondo, badly injured. The local community said he had a home, but his owners relocated and left him behind. He was attacked on the street by someone with a machete who chopped off his paw and struck him in the face. Oscar is a senior dog and has suffered unimaginably - but now he’s safe at WAG! He has had several teeth removed and his eye, and we are currently looking into options to amputate his leg to improve his quality of life. 

Molly - Molly was rescued from a neighbourhood nearby the shelter, with a huge TVT (cancerous tumour of the genitals, like Miracle and Simmy). We are seeing more and more cases like this in Kigali! Molly was rescued recently, so she’s still on her treatment journey. But her tumour is already shrinking after a few weeks of chemo, and with continued intensive care we are hopeful she will make a full recovery. 

Bluey - Bluey was rescued from a town outside of Kigali after being hit in the face by a motorbike. Sadly, he needed emergency surgery to remove his eye. Bluey has recovered well, but the vision in his remaining eye has also been affected as a result of the accident and he struggles to see. That doesn’t stop him though! He is playful, active and loves people. We’re hopeful we can find him a new adoptive family soon. 

We are writing this report as the GlobalGiving July Bonus Day campaign wraps up. We have been overwhelmed with the support people have shown us. Not only have we raised a significant amount of money, as well as a portion of the incentive funds from GlobalGiving, but we are newly motivated to continue to expand our work and help more dogs, and the people they live alongside, in Rwanda. Thank you, so much.

Keep an eye out on our social media for more ways you can get involved in WAG’s growth, as we launch some exciting new projects in the next few months: we are counting on you to help us spread the word about WAG and help us reach new donors, foundations and partners who can help grow our work. Every share, every referral, every time you mention WAG to someone who hasn’t heard about us before helps more than you know! 

Thank you for your continued support. 

With love from the humans and dogs at WAG x

Links:

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