USPCA uses funds from AKI (your donations) for USPCA staff salaries, cat and dog food, rent of The Haven, shelter utilities, shelter supplies, meds, and transport to rescue cats and dogs and to do pre- and post-adoption home checks. About 50% of the costs of running The Haven are covered by our AKI donors. Donations to AKI for USPCA keep The Haven running --and here's just some of what The Haven has been doing.....
In June, the USPCA hired a new vet, Dr. Singh, after Dr. Josephine resigned in May. Dr. Singh, was a long-time volunteer at USPCA community clinics, and he quickly began catching up on spay and neuter of both community and shelter cats and dogs (pictures below are from August s/n at the USPCA Haven).
In early August, the USPCA team rescued 4 kittens (shown left) plus their mom from Kisugu. More work for Dr. Singh-he spayed the mama kitty and she was returned to her home near St. Stephen church (picture below). The kittens remained at The Haven, available for adoption.
Another August arrival was this kitty, rescued after the USPCA received a call that he was stuck in razor wire. The USPCA team is good at removing cats from razor wire-they get a lot of practice-far too many cats get stuck in it. Kitty had a bad gash on his leg, but he fully recovered under USPCA's care. (Picture left, Jackie and Alex are untangling the cat from the razor wire.)
This pretty girl (below) was rescued from Kabusu with an infection on her left rear leg. The infection was so bad that Dr. Singh had to amputate the leg-the kitty does perfectly well on 3 legs.
There's someone for everyone, on September 14, Rebecca adopted the 3-legged kitty (picture below on the day she was adopted). Previously, Rebecca had adopted Market, who was found at a market in Jinja about 4 years ago-he also has 3 legs.
During August, 32 Haven cats and dogs went to new homes. At the end of August, the shelter was home to 231 animals--that's a lot of cats and dogs, but down from 258 at the end of July. 37 pets were adopted in September (see 3 of them below).
Some of the saddest stories are when owners abandon their pets, leaving them in their compound when they move away, like these 2 dogs, rescued by the USPCA in September:
Or this dog, reported to the USPCA, tied to a fence, he had been there for 3 days before someone called the USPCA and the team rescued him (November 12). He's now at The Haven:
Or these 2 dogs, abandoned and locked in their compound by their owner in Bussabala. Today we managed and removed them from that compound. On November 5, the USPCA team made this daring rescue (WOW!):
But even worse are the cases where the pet isn't abandoned and just remains and suffers until the USPCA is notified and can rescue the animal, like this dog, rescued from Luzira (Oct 2), where she lived in a compound with her owner:
But don't worry, she's at The Haven receiving lots of love and food and recovering well.
In September, 93 animals entered The Haven! Luckily, October was the best month this year for adoptions, with a lucky 43 animals finding their forever homes: 23 dogs, 10 puppies, 3 cats, and 7 kittens. A few are are shown below with their new families:
Here's how the USPCA has used your donations this year through August:
Your donations support the salaries of the USPCA Haven team, among them, Assistant Shelter Manager Jackie's, pictured here with this girl, rescued in July, completely blind in both eyes, she's a very happy girl, about 5 years old. She walks around and can sense if there's danger, she loves eating and is great with the other dogs.
We're thrilled to be able to support the work of the dedicated Haven staff!
Lastly, on Sept 18, Nelson died. Nelson epitomizes everything the USPCA stands for: rescuing the most needy, caring for every cat and dog in need, giving a lifetime of love. Nelson arrived at The Haven in May 2010 with 2 unusable legs-we didn't know if he was born that way, but we suspected he had been cut with a machete. He was Hope's best friend (boyfriend) until she died in December 2018. And then a miracle, Nelson was adopted! He spent several months at his new home, living the kind of life I'm sure he had never dreamed of. On Sept 18, Alex wrote to us, "It was not easy yesterday to both of us Alex, Jackie and Laurie (adopter) when it reached a point of euthanasia for our old boy Nelson." (picture below at his adopted home).
And then, sadly, strangely, on September 19, Snoopy, now Nelson II, entered our lives: Snoopy was abused by his owner -this is difficult to hear-he cut his leg off. Good Samaritan, Fadhila, rescued him and brought him to The Haven. The USPCA is hoping to bring a cruelty case against the owner. Our hope is that Nelson II will live as happy and long a life as Nelson.
Thank you to the USPCA, our donors, and all of those who helped rescue, who reported dogs and cats in need, and who volunteer at The Haven, helping to provide the best of care.