They wander the streets looking for scraps to survive. They’re sick, malnourished, ill-treated, chained up with no food, water or protection from
the elements. They’re abused in puppy mills. They’re victims of gambling in illegal dog-fighting and dog-racing syndicates. Abandoned, lost, thrown out like garbage, buried alive, burnt, starving, emaciated … These are the forgotten souls of God’s creation.
And then there are the fortunate few that find themselves in shelters. Sadly, some shelters also mete out a measure of abuse, but for the most part, shelter owners are ordinary individuals or organisations trying to make a difference by providing shelter, food, water and medical care—the basic needs of any living being—to those who have been forgotten.
But providing these basic needs comes at a cost that shelters often can’t maintain. They find themselves facing high debt loads or sub-adequate standards of care. Shelters are rarely – if ever – funded by government grants, so they generally have to rely on the generosity of the communities they work in. Times are tough and they may be seen as a financial burden, but it’s time to look at this from a different point of view.
God gave us dominion over His creation. We are meant to serve, protect, and honour the value of their lives. God blessed them with the ability to serve us with unconditional love, which we, as humans, cannot comprehend, let alone live up to. We should see it as not only a responsibility, but also a privilege, to respect and take care of animals as they require.
To adequately care for these forgotten souls – the ones who find themselves in shelters – they need a haven, they need food, they need medical attention, and they need staff to take care of them. This means funds are needed to pay rent, pay salaries, pay vet bills, and buy food as well as supplies like blankets and bowls. These expenses add up to the total sum of safety and holistic care. You cannot separate one expense from the other, as each is equally necessary, just like we need each part of our body to function optimally.
I am asking you to honour these forgotten souls by honouring the shelters that take them in and care for them, doing the best they can in the face of many challenges. While recognition of the individuals who have dedicated their lives (and often livelihoods) does not go amiss, your financial support goes much, much further in making a difference. If enough people gave a small donation, expenses would be covered and dogs and cats would be rescued and sterilized, lightening the load on an already burdened system. Honour their rent, food, medical and salary bills. Honour the forgotten souls of God’s creation.
In 2017 Husky Rescue KZN took in 35 dogs and had 26 successful adoptions, 19 dogs were sterilized and 25 micro-chipped as well as being dewormed and vaccinated – accounts that we are still trying to settle.
Just 3 months into 2018 and we have taken in an unprecedented 19 dogs (most in the last month) and have another 10 on a waiting list. In total 17 of these dogs require sterilization and microchipping. Despite the rescue rates offered to us, this will cost us approximately R14 000. This does not include the cost of food, vaccinations, deworming, tick and flea treatments and veterinary care for illness, injury, and chronic medications.
Our resources are currently depleted. We are now in a position where we will have no choice but to start turning away any new Huskies requiring help.
Without your support right now, we are facing very difficult decisions which we do not even want to contemplate. While we are in the process of putting strategies in place to increase our sustainable income (like our MySchool Project) these are long-term goals that we cannot rely upon right now.
We are in desperate need of additional funding and appeal to all our supporters for any donation, no matter how small, so that we can continue helping Huskies in need. Our banking details and details for virtual adoptions are available on our website https://www.huskyrescuekzn.co.za/get-involved
1000 R50 donations are all we need to stop this overloaded ship from sinking.
Just 1000 R50’s friends and supporters. Without YOU we cannot carry on making a difference in the lives of the Forgotten…