Archives: Shelter

“SOS Animals Gyvunai” is a non-governmental organization, established on February 1, 2008, and was initially named “Pifas.lt” in honor of the shelter’s director Ilona Mezenceva’s first pet Pifas.

The idea to help homeless animals was born in 2006. In order to make it a reality, the volunteers at SOS Gyvunai in Lithuania had to sacrifice many waking hours and own comforts because the amount of homeless animals that needed their help grew larger every day. They simply could not look away and leave them in their suffering.

Now an established working shelter, their goals are simple but vast. To provide care for homeless animals, and to give them shelter, food and veterinary care until loving new homes can be found. SOS Animals also works in collaboration with other organizations and individuals fighting the same battle. They have educational systems in place to teach the public about the welfare and well being of animals.

SOS Gyvunai continuously strives to reduce the animal overpopulation and abundance of strays by implementing spaying and neutering programs and clinics, but they can’t do it alone. They are completely dependent on donations, and with your support, their work and similar shelters around the globe will continue to be a voice for the unwanted animal population.

new.sos-gyvunai.lt

www.facebook.com/sosgyvunai

On October 12^th of 2014, super cyclone Hudhud hit areas of India in unimaginable ways. Sadly, the staff and volunteers woke up to the shelter and cattle shed at the Visakha Society for the Protection and Care of Animals severely damaged. The infrastructure at the Kindness Farm and Shelter where over 1800 rescued animals reside was destroyed – roofs ripped from shelters, flooding and animals left without proper homes and vet care.

The VSPCA (Visakha Society for the Protection and Care of Animals) is an animal welfare organization based in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh that was founded on 30 June 1996. It runs numerous programs for the rescue, protection, care and treatment of all kinds of animals, both domestic and wild. VSPCA’s mission is to save and protect animals, to promote an environment that is an oasis without suffering, to teach humane lifestyle and farming throughout India.

Although the VSPCA is very skilled at preparing for these types of disasters and made all arrangements to protect the animals, there was no way of accounting for the structural damage and displacement they now face.  They are trying hard to keep the animals dry and fed with the roofs blown away, to keep the critical cases monitored and to keep feeding all the animals amongst the heavy food cost inflation due to shortages for everyone.

VSPCA needs to rebuild the animals’ homes to make them stronger and better.  They are the are the only organization rescuing injured animals over 1000 miles of coast land and will continue to do so because of your support through an Emergency Shelter Support Grant.

The VSPCA currently has over 1500 large and small rescued animals in their two shelters. They have provided spay and neuter procedures, as well as vaccines and health checks to more than 100,000 street dogs. The population of street dogs in this area is smaller, healthier and ever shrinking as a result of their wonderful efforts.

www.vspca.org

In May 2013, a veterinarian in Bucharest, Romania decided to open a small shelter for approximately 50 animals. Seeing the need to help the starving and abused strays, the intention was to help those with critical medical issues and once treatment was over, actively seek good homes.

After approximately 3 months into operation, Romania passed a new law giving dogcatchers and public shelters authority for massive brutal culling. Dr. Hofmann and his team knew they had to do more and began taking in more strays due to the abundance of urgent calls and requests.  With a small support from local donations, he was able to expand the kennel in early 2014.

Realizing that it was only a temporary solution, the team decided to open Romania’s first ever-veterinary practice, mobile treatment center and spay and neuter clinics devoted to Romania’s homeless, abused and sick animals. In the short time since they began, they have already sterilized over 1300 animals and have found homes for close to 800!

They haven’t stopped there; at the beginning of June 2014 they started to focus on partnerships with public shelters in order to improve the quality of life for strays by overseeing treatment, feeding, sterilization and adoptions. They have already succeeded with the Braila Public Shelter, which currently houses over 400 dogs.

SPCA International is proud to be able to supply them with a Shelter Grant and Veterinary Supply Aid for their tremendous efforts and accomplishments.

http://www.dogrescue.ro/

Helping animals on the Island of Hawaii ‒ Rainbow Friends Animal Sanctuary is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the well-being of Hawaii’s unwanted abandoned, abused or otherwise neglected cat and dog companion animals and feral cats. Their services include rescuing, fostering, provision of food, medical care and safe sheltering of these creatures until they can permanently placed into caring and responsible homes or allow them to live out their lives at the Sanctuary.

The sanctuary was founded by Mary Rose Krijgsman out of a deep concern for animals. She began volunteering at an animal sanctuary in Kanab, Utah in December 1999 and subsequently continued with formal training in establishment of an animal sanctuary.

Along with several like-minded individuals, Rainbow Friends Animal Sanctuary was founded on 7.5 acres of land in Kurtistown, Island of Hawaii near Hilo, where the volunteers constructed the catteries and dog kennels and built cisterns to capture rainwater on the undeveloped property. By January 2002, 50 dogs and 75 cats then had homes.

Fast forward to present day 2014 and RFAS is typically sheltering about 250 cats and 85 dogs at any given time that represent the unwanted, abandoned, abused or otherwise neglected companion cats and dogs and feral cats of the island.

The sanctuary receives approximately 300 calls per month from residents wanting to surrender their pets due to economic problems or moving from the area. When they are at full capacity they try to place as many animals as possible into foster care homes, or provide temporary supplies of pet food so that the owners will keep their animals at home with them. The sanctuary encounters many unexpected major medical and surgical bills from for rescued injured animals and/or senior dogs that have been left behind.

Because they rely solely on donations, a grant from SPCAI’s Shelter Program will help to alleviate some of the financial burden they incur from these circumstances.

www.rainbowfriends.org

The situation for stray animals in Sarajevo, Bosnia is dire. Recognized across the globe as one of the countries with the most reports of animal abuse, “Andjeo Sarajevo” is constantly being contacted by the public about tortured, starving, abused and wounded dogs and cats.

Andjeo, founded by two caring inviduals, means ‘Angel’. Their mission is for the care, medical treatment and sheltering of abandoned and lost animals, lobbying for better animal rights, assisting in the construction of animal shelters and sterilization programs to control the abundant stray animal population. They also have a special education outreach program in order to raise the level of awareness to the general population through workshops and humane education. Sadly, due to limited funding and support, they are not able to answer the many cries from needed homeless dogs and cats.

A grant through SPCAI’s Shelter Program will make an enormous difference to their ability in helping more suffering animals and will also give them the moral support to continue their hard work and tremendous efforts.

http://andjeosarajevo.org/

“Help Animals” in Serbia was founded on October the 6^th, 1992. At this time, their focus was for the welfare and protection of mainly dogs, finding homes for over 1000. By 2000 however, they noticed a steady increase in the number of cats arriving and a dramatically low adoption rate.

In Serbia, there are countless private shelters for dogs, individuals lending a piece of their land to house dogs in order to make an income. By contrast, only two well-known shelters for cats exist to this day.

Cats are extremely endangered in Serbia. There are no programs that deal with the problem of pyramid reproduction and the state has no will to solve that problem. The education of the Serbian citizens and their knowledge regarding cats and their welfare is at a very low level. This is the main reason the Association “Help Animals” on January the 15^th, 2013, decided to focus its main activity on strictly cats. Not only on the shelter for cats, but also on every type of action that will help cats in Serbia which includes sterilization, education, vaccination and adoption programs.

Because of the extremely hard economic situtation in Serbia, the shelter is slowly becoming a geriatric home for felines. There are no adoptions and because of that new cats cannot be admitted.   Currently, there are 47 cats with special needs and 26 cats above the age of 9.  Among the cats with special needs, there are also 11 cats with chronic kidney disease that require daily subcutaenous fluids and around the clock care, including subsequent veterinary visits each week.

Help Animals is run by a handful of dedicated volunteers who rely strictly on donations.

With a grant from SPCA International, they are hoping to buy higher quality food for the sick and geriatric felines as well as certain much needed medical supplies in order for the cats to experience a better quality of life.

http://helpanimals.org.rs

In Detroit, Michigan, the poor automotive economy and dwindling population have resulted in a rise in crime and dog fighting. Animals have no value in this harsh world and are tossed out without food, water, and shelter to fend for themselves on the brutal streets.

DAWG (Detroit Animal Welfare Group) is a no kill non profit rescue organization who’s focus is the thousands of homeless, freezing, starving dogs and cats living on the streets in Detroit.

They provide full medical care including sterilization, vaccines, fecal testing, heartworm testing, micro chipping, RCP/Feline leukemia test for each animal, in addition to any other needed treatments such as parvovirus, heartworm, fractures, ACL tears, mass removal, entropians and even cataracts.

All the dogs that are rescued are rehabilitated and rehomed at adoption events. DAWG also provides community education and services in the Detroit area including straw, food and shelter for owned dogs, transport and sterilization of owned pets, and participates in community educational events.

The all-volunteer group constantly worry about funds to care for them all. The phone rings off the hook with reports of emaciated dogs left behind in abandoned houses.  As seasoned rescuers they know that getting them off the streets is the easy part and the rehabilitation to make them adoptable is the painstakingly hard part.

It takes a special team to see the vast suffering on a daily basis and forge ahead. Without support, they simply cannot continue to operate in the manner in which they do. With a grant from SPCAI’s Shelter Program, they will be able to begin the much-needed renovations for a 15-acre farm that they have just acquired in order to house the hundreds of animals in need that come under their care.

 www.dawghous.com

http://spcai.org/news/blog/day-life-detroit-rescue-dawg/

Pet Adoption League of New York, is a non-profit foster based organization working on a national scale rescuing Chow Chows and Chow mixes as part of the Chow Chow Rescue Network.

While they are based in New York and members of the Mayor’s Alliance for Animals of the City of New York, they work across the country to find foster and forever homes to dogs in shelters who are on death row, who have been abandoned and abused and who are in badly need of veterinary attention. They provide all necessary medical care as well as transport. Although the organization specializes in the rescue and placement of Chow Chow and Chow mixes, they do take in other breeds when the need is great.

Pet Adoption League is especially committed to the rescue of senior and adult dogs that have less of a chance for being adopted in a shelter. For this reason, their financial needs are often quite high due to large medical bills. A Shelter Support Grant from SPCA International will enable to ease some of this strain.  Apart from needing financial support, they are always looking for good, reliable homes so that they can continue to save more abandoned and neglected dogs.

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/palny.html

https://www.facebook.com/petadoptionleagueofny

In 2007, following a chance meeting while volunteering at an animal sanctuary in Namibia, Africa, two women now friends,  decided to visit Borneo together to fulfill a dream to see orangutans in the wild.

Having both spent their lives dedicated to animal welfare, Nicky Stevens and Lynsey Gill became largely aware of the hundreds of dogs and cats suffering in the streets as a result of cruelty and neglect and simply could not look away. In 2009, after vowing to do whatever they could to help create a better future for the animals of Borneo whose lives were filled with so much sadness, IAPWA (I International Aid for the Protection and Welfare of Animals) was subsequently formed.

Over the past years the team has grown and IAPWA now helps approximately 1800 dogs a year, providing much needed veterinary care as well as adoption and spay/neuter programs. Because of their increased pressure with the government and attending relevant meetings whenever possible,

IAPWA was awarded management of the local Dog Pound in the city of Kota Kinabalu (KK) in July 2014. The project, aptly named, “Change for a Pound”, enables the team to move from the current methods of population control for dogs to a humane solution, whilst also providing much needed veterinary care. This project alone will change the fate of thousands of stray dogs that would otherwise suffer in silence.

The team works tirelessly to give the animals in Borneo the love and kindness they so deserve and they cannot do it without your help. SPCAI is proud to support their efforts and hard work through an International Shelter Support Program Grant. The grant will ensure that they could continue operating through their current difficult financial period.

Check out the IAPWA newsletter (find SPCAI mentioned on page 6).

http://www.iapwa.org/

Asociacion Humanitaria Para la Proteccion de Animal (AHPPA) is a non-profit animal refuge center  located in Costa Rica with a strong focus on anti-dog fighting campaigns and projects.

AHPPA sterilizes, medically treats and houses fighting dogs (pit bulls and aggressive dogs) that have been confiscated under the auspices of SENASA.  While they are housed at the shelter the dogs are treated for acute medical conditions, evaluated and then rehabilitated so they can be offered the chance of adoption and the life they so readily deserve. In the past 2 years alone, 362 fighting dogs have been received by AHPPA and  292 of the rehabilitated dogs have been successfully rehomed by AHPPA.

AHPPA is the recent recipient of a Shelter Support Fund grant through SPCA International’s anti-dog fighting campaign, Sam’s Cause.

http://www.animalsheltercostarica.org/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Animal-Shelter-Costa-Rica-AHPPA/105454312843952