Help Us Transform Uganda SPCA Haven Animal Shelter

Will 2018 be the year that the Uganda SPCA will finally be able to purchase land for a new Haven sanctuary?

Knowing that you're in this effort with us, and that in Uganda, the South African Women's Association is holding a fundraising drive and that the USPCA's good repuation keeps growing, with more and more people seeing first hand, the demands on the USPCA and its contributions to Ugandan society, I feel a growing confidence that we'll reach our goal.

Yes, the demands on the USPCA Haven keep growing:

The 1st rescue of the new year was a dog who showed up outside the office of one of Uganda's daily newspapers, The New Vision. The caller said the young male had first appeared one week earlier (on December 28) and people at the office were giving him food and water, but they were worried that this gentle soul wouldn't fare well as a street dog, especially in that difficult part of town. They had named him Peace (see picture of him outside the New Vision office). For his safety and to give him a chance to find a real home, the USPCA team picked him up and brought him to The Haven. 

Andrew rescued a beautiful little brindle puppy (doesn't he look like a boxer?) on January 24, when he saw her on the road in Kansanga with an injured leg and eye. He brought her to The Haven, where Dr. Josephine performed surgery (see picture after surgery, on January 25). She's called Jicho.

After receiving an email message from someone in Sweden who knew about the situation that Roony was in, on February 21, Alex O. went to inspect. At the home where Roony lived (and had lived for 7 years), Alex found Roony with a bad case of mange and covered with fleas (see picture). The owner allowed the USPCA to take Roony to The Haven for treatment. 

On February 22, the USPCA received a message about a mama dog who had a litter of puppies in downtown Kampala.  The USPCA team rushed over there, where they saw the mama and found her pups safely tucked away in a pothole (see picture)! They were told by standers-by that that dog had puppies on a regular basis, some were hit by cars, some were taken by people to their homes to be pets. This litter was already old enough to wander off on their own, and with so much traffic in the area, the team knew they had to bring mama and her puppies to The Haven, where they'd be safe and find loving homes.

On February 25, Tiger's owner brought her and her 5 puppies to The Haven (see picture of Tiger)-he said he was moving and couldn't take them with him! Of course, the USPCA took them in (who knows what would have happened to them if the USPCA was unable to accept them!)

On Feb 26, Lindsay found a mama dog and her 9 babies on the road! She rounded them all up and brought them to the USPCA. She named the mama dog Bella.

And yes, the USPCA's reputation keeps growing and more people are adopting from the USPCA (see pictures below of adoptions of USPCA dogs, all in February!)

But as always, the number rescued and brought to The Haven always exceeds the number of animals adopted. I don't think that the USPCA Haven has ever had a month where adoptions exceed rescues. And that makes it even more important for this fundraiser to be successful.

Will 2018 be the year we transform The Haven into the sanctuary that we've dreamed about for more than 10 years? We sure hope so! And we--Animal-Kind International-- are going to make a big fundraising push to help make it happen. We won't give up until we've been successful. (But if not 2018, then 2019....we won't give up because the animals are depending on us!)

Links:

• Uganda SPCA's page on the AKI website

Dear AKI & USPCA Supporters,

Many of you know Alex Ochieng, the Manager of the Uganda SPCA Haven. If you know Alex, you know he's an animal hero. Even if you don't personally know Alex, you may know the extent he goes to to rescue cats and dogs (recently he also rescued an owl). And if you're not aware yet of Alex's heroics, after you read this, you will be (pictures of all rescues are below).

After receiving a call in early October about a puppy who had fallen into a latrine, Alex grabbed his tools and went off to Mukono. Mrs. Margret, who had called the USPCA, told Alex that the puppy had been stuck in the latrine for 1 1/2 months!!!! The family had been throwing food down the hole every day. It took Alex 2 1/2 hours to get the puppy out. He brought her, named Vodka, to The Haven, where she would be safer and well cared for.  Better yet, Vodka was adopted!

Early on October 12, a USPCA friend called about a baby owl, who had fallen from the nest over night, got caught in an overhead wire, was able to disentagle himself, but fell down onto a roof. Alex rescued the owl, brought him to the vet, who didn't find any injuries, so he returned the owl back to the nest.

Alex rescued a little boy dog in early October, when he saw some kids had tied him to a rope and were pulling him down the street. He was full of ticks and fleas-who knows what these kids had in mind. But Alex talked to them and explained why he was taking the puppy to The Haven. 

At the end of October, the USPCA received a call about a dog stuck in a sack! Really! Alex found the dog inside a bag, was able to release her, and brought her to The Haven, so she could recover from the trauma.

On November 9, Alex was driving to Nsambya to inspect a home before approving a family for adoption, when he spotted the tiniest kitten crossing a busy street. Somehow the kitty managed to avoid the 8 tires of a truck! Alex pulled over, made his way through very busy traffic and scooped up the kitty, who went to a foster home, where he could get the good, personal care he needed.

On November 14, Alex had told us that he thought he wasn't able to move because of the flu, dry cough, and a really bad headache.  But he received a call about a kitty that had been stuck on the top of a wall for 3 days and off Alex went!  He needed a ladder to reach the kitty, but he did reach him, got him down from the wall, and brought him back to The Haven.

About 1 year ago, Alex had run into a similar situation: a cat stuck in razor wire. On October 20, it happened again. When Alex got the call, he packed up his rescue tools (including the animal handling gloves donated by AKI), he extricated the kitty, who was pregnant, and brought her to the USPCA clinic to be checked out, and then for recovery at The Haven.

Imagine....a larger, more accommodating Haven....for Alex to manage, for a better environment for rescued cats and dogs, for Ugandans and other Africans to learn about animal care and sheltering. We need your help to make this happen, let's do it for Alex!

The land that we mentioned in the last update is still available, we're still hoping to be able to purchase it. Besides this GlobalGiving fundraiser, the South African Womens Organization (in Kampala) is raising money and as of today, has raised almost US$4000! We're getting there!!!

Thank you for your support. We are so grateful for your help. All the best to you in 2018!

Links:

• The USPCA page on the AKI website