To balance the sadness in the world, I compiled some of the happy tales of Mbwa wa Africa's rescue work. AKI donors support the Mbwa wa Africa shelter, including staff salaries, cat and dog food, vet care, supplies, and general maintenance.
Ferdinand is one of the sweetest dogs ever! One night in early April, he was sitting at the MwA gate, like he was just waiting to be asked in. But when approached, he ran. It was dark, and he disappeared into the night. MwA volunteers looked around for him, checked with neighbors, and learned that he was hanging around the area, but very skittish. He started showing up every now and then at the MwA gate, but wasn't yet approachable. With a bit of searching, Birgit found his well-hidden sleeping place only 30 meters away from MwA. He was easily won over, and by the 2nd feeding, he happily came up to Birgit, wagging his tail!
He accepted the leash, and he walked right into the shelter. He seemed so relieved to have people who were taking care of him and not chasing him away. But MwA knew he was the type of dog who needed a real home and basked in attention and love. MwA friend Wieke stepped up and took him into foster care while looking for a forever home.
And quickly, she found one, but unfortunately, Ferdi could not coexist with the 3 dogs already living at the home, he was so scared, of them. The adoptive family had already fallen for Ferdi and couldn't let him down, so they found another home with a Tanzanian family in the countryside!
A lot can happen in 5 days. Jim went from being on the verge of death to the picture of health. Amos found his dog Jim unable to stand up or to swallow, he was twitching all over, salivating, and baring his teeth. Amos got in touch with MwA in a panic. He was able to organize transport to bring Jim to the shelter. Amos had had Jim vaccinated against rabies, so the assumption was that it wasn't rabies, but probably a snake bite. Or maybe another kind of poison in his system. Whatever it was, the outlook wasn’t good.
But amazingly, Jim’s condition improved over the next days! After treatment with IV fluids, keeping him warm and comfortable, Jim started to eat tiny bits. On the third day he stood up, and two days later Amos, who had called every day to ask how his dog was doing, came to the shelter to take him home! Hard to say who had the bigger smile on his face.
One evening MwA staff member Elisa saw a dog get hit by a motorbike and run away (the motorbike driver ran off too). The next morning, Elisa found the dog in a nearby ditch and with help from others at MwA, they moved the dog, who they called Eric, to the shelter.
Eric was in a lot of pain and couldn’t get up or put weight on his back legs. His lower stomach was badly bruised. At MwA, he was given pain medication and just rested and rested. It took some weeks, but slowly Eric was getting more mobile. At first he was dragging his legs, then with help, he could stand.
Then he managed to take some steps and from that point on, he progressed fast! MwA's dog caretaker Maiko found out where he belonged. Mama Susi had been searching for her dog Popi and never found him-until now! But unless Popi (Eric) was able to walk and run, he couldn't return to the village with Mama Susi, it just wouldn't be safe.
Popi must have overheard that decision because soon after, he showed everyone that he could run! He'll always have a bit of a limp, but that won't be a problem. Mama Susi was all too happy to take him back home after the 6 weeks of care and patience at MwA.
Bluey is one of five handsome tomcat brothers who were brought to the MwA shelter as strays. The cats were pretty shy when they 1st arrived at the shelter, but slowly they were warming up. At the end of April, Hennie's wonderful family (a son pictured below) met Bluey and decided to adopt him regardless of how shy he was. With some love and patience, it didn't take long until Bluey became a happy playful kitten.
A little white kitten born at the MwA shelter at the end of March!
The mother cat Minka had been left behind when her owner moved away. Nobody pointed out to the new tenant of the house that her home came with a cat and when she eventually recognized it, Minka was already highly pregnant and painfully skinny. MwA gladly accepted Minka to the shelter. Days later, she gave birth to one purely white kitten. Mama and kitten are doing very well.
These are just a few of the recent happy endings of MwA's cat and dog rescue work and of your AKI donations!