Together we've been able to help so many animals, but during the covid-19 pandemic, the AKI-HAH-Namibia Emergency Fund has truly been stretched to the limit. We certainly know our support is needed and appreciated! Here are some of the cats and dogs helped by the Emergency Fund over the last few months.
In September, Whisky's owner brought him to Dr. Erna in Mariental for a neuter, but it turned out he was sick with ehrlichia. Whisky's owner couldn't afford the treatment and desperately wanted to have Whisky neutered. Geesche (HAH-Namibia) agreed to use the AKI-HAH Emergency Fund to cover the the full course of antibiotics for this responsible pet owner and his beloved dog (picture below).
That same day, Mrs Higoam brought her dog Midnight to Dr. Erna's office for a spay. Midnight is a small Afrikaanis doggie (picture below), whose owner was so committed to having her spayed that she brought the dog to work with her the previous evening to make sure she was on time the next morning for surgery. Lucky for little Midnight because besides a raging case of ehrlichia, she also had pyometra. Geesche authorized the treatment for both ehrlichia and pyometra, Midnight was spayed, and thanks to the Emergency Fund, Midnight's life was saved.
Next was Vetkop (Afrikaans for Fat Head!) from Walvis Bay, a 1 year old big boy. Vetkop came home one day with a badly injured leg (picture below). It turns out that he needed surgery, pins in his leg, painkillers, and while the vet was doing all of this, a neuter too. The AKI-HAH Emergency Fund covered the surgery and after-care for his leg (HAH covered his neuter from their general fund). Vetkop was in lock down at home last we heard!
And then there was Ouvrou (Afrikaans for Old Woman) from Okahandja, an old Have a Heart customer, spayed a while ago. She came home with a big wound on her belly and Ouvrou's owner immediately went to the vet for help. Ouvrou's owner couldn't afford the vet cost (about US$30), so Geesche agreed to cover it with our Emergency Fund. Sadly, a few days later we had bad news: Ouvrou died in her owner's arms, she just couldn't recover from the injuries.
Geesche, always ready with a positive spin, said, "This is sad but at least Ouvrou is a cat humans didn't fail. She was loved a long time and her family tried to help her. When she died she was surrounded by her family, she was not alone or in pain. Thank you so much for making it possible for us to help Ouvrou!" Ouvrou's resting place is in the picture below:
Our next emergency case was beautiful Sasha from Rehoboth. Sasha's owner didn't know about Have A Heart, but he was desperate to get help for Sasha. Her belly was swollen up badly (picture below). Sasha's owner brought her to Dr. Olivier in Rehoboth and asked for help, hoping Sasha wouldn't have to be put down.
With Geesche's ok, Dr. Olivier allocated Sasha as an AKI-HAH Emergency Fund dog and started the emergency surgery. Sasha's belly was full of fluid, which was drained, she was spayed, given anti-parasite treatment and other meds, and was being closely watched while everyone waited for the blood test results to come back. The test results showed that the swelling was caused by low protein circulation-her liver was malfuntioning and she wasn't able to meet her protein needs. She is managing on diuretics and a diet plan, and so far, she is doing much better (picture below-looking sad because she doesn't like to be at the vet's office). The cost of Sasha's intensive care: about US$130.
Katsy from Okahandja had a squamos cell carcinoma on her ear. Her owner, Jolandi Goeieman (the surname is Afrikaans and means "Good Man"), was despairing about how to get the needed treatment, but again Geesche came through and agreed to cover the cost (about US$35) using the AKI-HAH Emergency Fund. Katsy needed a pinna amputation, and without it she would have died. (picture below, post-surgery)
On October 19, Mr. Gustav brought Lady, an old spay customer of HAH's, to the vet. She was attacked by something (or someone?) and had a big wound on her back leg. Mr. Gustav makes his living as a car guard, never a well paid profession, and during lock down his income went down to zero. It was immediately clear that Lady needed stitches, and with Geesche's go-ahead to use the Emergency Fund, Dr. Winterbach got to work (picture below). Lady was sent home with a course of antibiotics and pain medication. She came in for a follow-up a few days later and was doing fine.
Lastly, with the remaining AKI funds, HAH was able to keep their promise to 86 of their old customers for one more year - that all HAH spay/neuter clients will get lifetime booster and parasite treatment. Besides the 86 old clients, an additional 63 dogs and 1 cat received parasite treatment only (no vaccination when they are not spayed/neutered yet; most of the 64 are now on the HAH waiting list for s/n).
To keep the children entertained while the dogs and cat were getting treated, they received a Pako Kids Magazine and were coloring the "Stand like a tree" educational picture. Enjoy the pictures below of Vaccination and Parasite Control Day:
