A Brief Newsround - Week ending 20/06/21
The Lucy Irvine Foundation Europe (LIFE) must spend it's limited resources carefully. When kind people donate to us we have a responsibility to use their money judiciously, which means sometimes having to make hard choices. All our resident rescued horses, cats and dogs are sheltered, fed, watered and cleaned up after daily whether they have sponsors or not. But those with sponsors may receive better quality food and in some cases, more attention, brushing and better bedding because the sponsor has provided for these.
Life as formed by nature isn't fair from before birth. A dog's family background and where she was born impact on her future before her first breath is drawn. We could say the same of a human child. Life as formed by nature is a lottery in which hierarchies rule and only very lucky dogs win.
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An abandoned dog, or perhaps born on the streets. Unfortunately not an uncommon sight |
Here in rural Bulgaria, abandonment of a mixed breed dog when it becomes a nuisance or excess to requirements is so common it's not considered a crime, even though under Bulgarian animal welfare law, it is. Street dogs are everywhere and only some are trapped, neutered and returned to where they were found, under municipality sterilisation schemes. LIFE works closely with one such scheme, taking dogs weekly for sterilisation to the nearest designated clinic. As do other animal welfare organizations, we also alert those vets to cases we notice but can't catch ourselves.
LIFE spends donated funds on helping injured or diseased street dogs who've been taken in as pets by Roma children but what should the Foundation's response be when we're asked to help a puppy bred for illegal sale and bought along with fruit and vegetables at a market? Small breeds such as pincers are particularly popular - and particularly vulnerable. Such puppies often look relatively healthy soon after purchase but fade fast in a gypsy ghetto where they're expected to live outside in a mucky yard among chickens and goats. Soon they start itching unattractively and LIFE receives a call. We take preparations to relieve the pup of what's making it itch but should we also pay for vaccinations it should have had before it was sold, or for expensive mange treatment if no one protected it from mange mites before it was sold or after it was bought? The buyer pays between £25 and £150 for such illegally bred and sold puppies. It is often in his mind also to have that pup produce more pups so he can cash in, too, on the small dog craze.
To summarize, the Lucy Irvine Foundation Europe baulks at helping illegally bred and bought dogs, especially if they're not sterilized. The last thing we want is to encourage more puppies to be born into the harsh world for dogs that is rural Bulgaria, in the main.
I heard about an elderly donkey in need of a retirement home through one of our numerous Roma contacts. He stated bluntly that she would be sold for sausage meat if we didn't find someone to take her.
We considered her for someone wanting a donkey who'd be well behaved with children but finally settled for a home where there is already another donkey for company and where nothing would be asked of her except to recuperate from mistreatment, and rest. I'm keeping an eye out for a donkey who may enjoy attention from children and who needs to get away from being over worked. It's such a joy to see a donkey's life turned around.
Rescued kitty news this past week is both happy and sad. We successfully treated a street cat for a mouth abscess but sadly lost one of the three babies I bottle fed. It's not unusual for kittens to fade and die when they've been wrenched away from their mother and abandoned but that knowledge doesn't make the ends of their short lives easier. Better they'd not been born than to live a few days or weeks then die. This is why we pursue the spaying of cats so keenly. Donations towards that campaign are always welcome.
Golden Boy and Charlie, two of three dogs tied into sacks before they were rescued by friends, have continued to gain weight and confidence and Golden Boy has been offered a home already. The third dog from the sack trio, Sisi, is also coming out of her shell in kindly foster care.
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From L-R - Charlie, Golden Boy and Sisi |
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Sonia holding Benji |
If you're interested in adopting one of LIFE's rescued dogs, you can look here. To follow our daily news, look here. And of course we hugely welcome and appreciate donations towards LIFE's work, supporting us to continue on our mission to improve and transform the lives of so many.
Wishing you all a good week ahead,
Lucy
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