Supporting Veterinary Care in Namibia, Africa

When we asked our Partner Organization, Have a Heart-Namibia, how we could best help Namibia's cats and dogs, HaH quickly replied, "with a fund that supports veterinary care for animals in Namibia." And the AKI-HaH Namibia Emergency Fund was born!

These are just a few of the cats and dogs who we've helped in the last few months, thanks to the AKI-HaH Emergency Fund....supporting veterinary care for animals in Namibia, supporting responsible pet owners who just need a little bit of help.

Poor Pablo was found in Rehoboth all alone. Luckily, a caring person saw that he needed help and took him to Aanwo Vet Clinic. Pablo had stomach issues, diarrhea, he wasn't eating or drinking. Since Pablo was a stray dog, his veterinary care was covered by the AKI-HaH Emergency Fund and once he fully recovered, he was neutered. Even better, he was then adopted by the person who found him (below).

Molly had skin cancer on the tips of his ears (yes, Molly is a male kitty). Molly's family didn't care too much about him, and they didn't bother to take him to the vet until it was too late and his ears couldn't be saved. Aanwo Vet Clinic in Rehoboth amputated Molly's ears and sent him home with his family. But when he returned for a check-up, Molly's incision sites had become so infected, vet nurse Penny asked Molly's family if they would agree to turn him over to them. 

And that was Molly's lucky day! Charlotte took him home and made sure his wounds were clean. And when he came back for his final check-up, his ears-what was left of them-had healed very well.

We also have Charlotte to thank for getting care for Spokie. Charlotte found Spokie, probably dumped, outside of Rehoboth. He had a terrible eye injury--we won't show you what it looked like, but it must have been so painful.

Charlotte rushed Spokie to Aanwo Vet Clinic, where she knew he would definitely qualify for the Emergency Fund - poor Spokie was in need of immediate veterinary care and had no owner to pay for it.

Spokie's eye was removed and he stayed at the clinic on a drip for two days. Charlotte took him home to foster until he fully healed. Not surprisingly, Spokie already found a forever home (and he's been neutered). 

Nelly wanted all his cats to be spayed or neutered--and thanks to Have a Heart, they have been. Nelly recently noticed that one of his cats, Jayde, wasn't feeling well and was losing weight. He asked if the AKI-HaH fund could help with the veterinary care that Jayde needed.

Of course we agreed; Nelly gives his cats the perfect home and he is so connected with them, he is even clicker training Jayde!

It turned out that Jayde just needed dental work, and along with some special food, Jayde was already feeling much better.

This is Tjoko-Boy--Chocolate-Boy in English. Tjoko-Boy turned out to be the cutest and the unhappiest patient in Mariental. He was at the vet clinic because someone threw a rock at him and broke his leg!

Being an old HaH customer (Tjoko-Boy had been neutered thanks to Have a Heart), his family knew they could come to Dr Erna and ask for support for his veterinary care through the AKI-HaH Emergency Fund.

The plan was that Dr Erna would keep Tjoko-Boy at the clinic for 5 to 6 weeks to make sure his injury healed well. As cute as Tjoko-Boy is, he was not a sweet guy. He was actually a very difficult patient!

But when his dad came to visit, Tjoko-Boy was a totally different boy. He was so excited, he wouldn't let go of his dad. So Dr Erna sent him home earlier than planned-she decided that was the best thing for everyone, especially Tjoko-Boy.

Double H is named after Have a Heart! And Double H is a very lucky guy because he was taken in by Joshua, a very caring and responsible young man in Otjomuise, a township of Windhoek. Have a Heart neutered Double H in early 2023.

Then, one day, Double H came home injured. At first Joshua thought Double H was mistreated by humans or bitten by a dog. Whatever happened, Double H desperately needed veterinary care, and since he was already a Have a Heart client, the AKI-HaH Emergency Fund covered the cost.

The vet was convinced that Double H was run over by a car, probably while running full speed or his tail may have gotten stuck under the tire. Whatever happened, a big chunk of his skin was halfway ripped off.

X-rays were needed to check if Double H's spine was damaged. Luckily, his spine was missed by millimeters! But Double H needed surgery. His tail was amputated, he was sewn up, it wasn't an easy procedure since Double H's injuries were quite severe.

Eventually Double H was sent back home with Joshua, who loves him even though he's missing part of his behind area!

Fifi and his sister Mimi were rescued together and were spayed and neutered thanks to HaH. But one day, Fifi came home with a swollen and injured leg. His mom was very worried. She asked if Fifi could be checked at the clinic - of course we agreed that we would cover the veterinary care under the AKI-HaH Emergency Fund, especially since he was already an HaH customer. Fifi only needed a little rest and antibiotics and the wound was expected to heal.

Thanks to Have a Heart, Kelsey from Luderitz was spayed, so she was considered part of the HaH family. Kelsey had a chronic ear infection that didn't respond to treatment and which had caused her ear to close up with a cancer-like growth (see photo below). This was very uncomfortable and painful and she needed surgery.

Dr Erna worked for 3 hours on Kelsey. She had to flush and clean out all the pus from the tissues around her ear canal. Some of the cartilage in her ear had been eaten away.

Dr Erna said that the amount of pressure in her ear must have been extremely painful. "When I cut through the eardrum, it looked like it exploded with the amount of pus trapped in the inner ear. She must be very relieved." We are too, and thankful that our emergency fund is providing veterinary care for animals in Namibia like Kelsey!

Toby from Rehoboth had an injury on his leg that looked worse than it turned out to be--we like stories like that! His owner was worried and asked for help for Toby's veterinary care. Toby just needed to have the wound cleaned and some antibiotics and he was sent home.

Luckily and thanks to Have a Heart-Namibia, we can be there for animals like Toby. Read about the many other animals we've helped by providing veterinary care in Namibia.