Animal-Kind International
Mar 27, 2017
At the end of 2016, we raised US$3770 on the LoveAnimals crowdfunding site for Save the Animals-Armenia. The fundraiser was in response to an appeal by AKI partner organization, SAA, for dog food to get them through the coldest winter months, when the dogs need extra food and good nutrition, and for help with the shelter's gas (heating) bill. The January and February 2017 gas bills are below, US$685 and US$762 respectively! Thank you AKI donors--Nune paid off the heating bills, the heat wasn't turned off, the dogs in the large shelter building were warm and cozy! (The dogs in the outdoor kennels are warm, dry, and cozy thanks to an AKI donor who, a few years ago, paid for the roofs to be put over the pens.)
With AKI funds, Nune also was able to pay January's vet bill of US$355 (above). An SAA dog needed surgery on his leg, which AKI covered (see photo below). We've also been covering the cost of spay surgeries for Save the Animals' shelter dogs.
In the last Save the Animals-Armenia AKI Blog post (January 2017), we told you about 2 puppies that had been dumped outside the SAA shelter. Nune couldn't leave them there, but couldn't bring them into the shelter because of the many older adult dogs, the lack of a secure puppy area, and the need to give the puppies regular attention. So Nune found a woman who would foster them in her home for US$100/month (the puppy's foster home costs are covered by AKI donors). The pictures below are the puppies when they were dumped (1st picture below) and the puppies now (March 2017) at their foster home (pictures 2 and 3 below). They're doing great, but they need permanent homes (so hard to find in Armenia)!
The rest of AKI's disbursement to SAA was used to buy dog food for the shelter dogs and for some of the street dogs that Nune watches over. Although it was a very difficult winter, as you can see from the pictures below, the shelter dogs made it through--they're looking great and they even put on some weight. We can't say the same for Nune though-she fell and broke a bone (I'm not sure which, some things get lost in the translation) and her mobility is limited. We wish her a speedy recovery--Armenia's dogs need her!
Of course, just because the worst of winter is over-and hopefully the snow is gone until December, that doesn't mean the need for funding goes away. There are still about 160 dogs at the SAA shelter and each month the food bill is about US$2000. The vet bill varies depending on needs, and since many of the SAA dogs are older, their needs keep increasing. The good news is that the heating bill will be MUCH lower for the next several months!!