Kindness to Animals has no Boundaries
January 2025
Dear Animal-Kind Friends,
Good news seems to be in short supply these days, but in our January newsletter you’ll find a lot of it. That doesn’t mean we can ignore the bad news coming out of Congo and affecting our Partner Organization Sauvons nos Animaux (more below). But recently, when I found I needed a boost, I re-read our December newsletter—and it worked, it put me into a better frame of mind. If you didn’t receive the newsletter or were too inundated during December to read it, you can read it at the above link.
Essentially, the December newsletter is a very abridged version of our 2024 Annual Report, which is available on our website. I hope you’ll read the 2024 report-I think it offers the best insight into what and how we do what we do and what we’ve been able to accomplish. To us, every single individual donor is important, and together, we can do great things (read the report, and you’ll see!) It also includes many happy, heartwarming photos.
AKI Blog: January Updates
The AKI Blog (where we post updates about our Partners and Grantees) has 3 new articles and 1 updated article.
We updated our article about the Uganda dog rescue scam with some new information and ideas, especially if you’ve been scammed (you won’t believe how many people have been) or if you want to try to fight the scammers. Read the Update of our July 2024 article: Avoid getting scammed by the animal rescue scam.
Helping Hands for Hounds of Honduras: Pilar sent this update about how the senior dogs at the HHHH Sanctuary are doing. Read about Pixie, Niko, Bunny, Ash, Dot, Odin, and Dobby, all senior dogs now, all living happily at Tegucigalpa’s only old age home for dogs and cats.
How you’re helping cats & dogs at Uganda SPCA (and how your support will be helping Uganda SPCA in 2025): This AKI Blog post is about how your donations have supported the USPCA and enabled them to rescue and help 100s of animals in 2024 and our hopes for the USPCA in 2025. Our support for dog and cat food, shelter staff salaries, shelter and vet supplies, and transport makes adoptions like this (December 2024) possible:
SPCA Grahamstown - South Africa: Spay-Neuter & Vet Care Continue With the Good D.O.G. Fund: Three-time Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program grantee, SPCA Grahamstown, is the lucky recipient of additional funding (thanks to a generous AKI donor), expanding their grant project and supporting more sterilization surgeries, parasite treatments, and emergency vet care for low/no income residents living in townships in/around Grahamstown. Named the Good D.O.G. Fund (Dogs of Grahamstown), the AKI Blog article is about what the SPCA has already achieved with both AKI grant funds and the Good D.O.G. Fund.
Jeffrey received the full package – wound clean and sutures, medication and the obligatory neuter, all covered by Animal-Kind International. Jeffrey returned to the SPCA kennels to stay for 10 days to have his wounds checked daily and to receive his medication. It has never happened before that outreach patients recovering in kennels receive visitors, but Jeffrey’s owner, with his other dog, walked again to the kennels to visit Jeffrey!
Jeffrey was returned home by the SPCA Grahamstown staff a few days later, fully recovered, and so happy to be back home!
Sauvons nos Animaux (Congo's animal shelter) - as rebels threaten
We dedicated our 2024 Annual Report to our Partner Organization Sauvons nos Animaux, Congo's only animal shelter, where they are currently faced with rebels fighting government forces about 2 hours from the shelter. Luckily, the shelter isn’t easy to reach from Bukavu, the closest major city. But also, that puts the Sauvons nos Animaux shelter at risk because they are located in a relatively unpopulated area that could be attractive as a hiding place for rebels. At this moment, we know that Paterne, the shelter and its cats and dogs, Paterne’s family, and the shelter staff are safe and that Paterne and his family and staff are at the shelter. We don’t know how long that will be the case. They have stockpiled food for the shelter animals. Of course, water could become a problem for animals and humans, alike. And we so hope that the shelter won’t have to be abandoned, our worst fear. We are trying to stay on top of the situation, and as possible, stay in touch with Paterne. When we can and when Paterne is able to let us know what he needs, we will be able to help with monetary support and anything else we can possibly do. Meanwhile, we’ll keep you posted as we find out more.
If you are a recurring donor, did you receive your 2024 thank you/receipt? I sent all end-of-year messages out in December and I hope they ended up in your inbox. If you didn’t get yours, please get in touch and I’ll re-send it.
Hoping that kindness prevails…& working towards the day that it does,
Karen Menczer, Founder/Director
& the Animal-Kind International Board
All the information you need to donate and to upload a photo to be made into a digital, one-of-a-kind Pet Portrait, is at the link above.
Our Partner Organizations work in Uganda, Namibia, DR Congo, Ghana, South Sudan, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Honduras, and Jamaica. You can donate to AKI’s general fund or designate your donation to one or more of our Partner Organizations.
Our 2024 (7th annual) Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program grantees work in: Kenya (2 grantees), Tanzania (2 grantees), South Africa (4 grantees), Rwanda, and Israel.
AKI: Since 2007, helping animals and the people who care for them in some of the poorest countries.
We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; donations to AKI are tax deductible in the US to the extent the law allows. 100% of your donations are used to support our Partner Organizations & our Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program.