We had so many AKI-HaH Emergency Fund cases over the last 4 months, we needed a 2nd AKI Blog post to fit them all in! This post continues where Part 1 left off.
Mia is an old HaH spay client from Rehoboth. Mia was badly injured; her owners suspect she got stuck in razor wire. Luckily, her owners knew where to get help and off they went to the Rehoboth vet clinic. Thirty stitches later, Mia was back in one piece. Poor Mia! Her owners paid what they could of the vet bill and the AKI-HaH Emergency Fund covered the rest.
Bobby was an AKI-HaH Emergency Fund patient who had to have his injured eye removed-we don't know how it was injured. As part of getting help from the Emergency Fund, he was required to be neutered. When he arrived at the vet clinic for his neuter surgery (covered by HaH-Namibia), the vet checked how well his wound was healing and reported that it looked very well! Poor Bobby, he must have been in terrible pain before the surgery.
One day in October, Bea's owner noticed she wasn't feeling well. In a bit of a panic - because as a student money can be very tight - she asked if Have a Heart could help Bea. And luckily HaH said yes, because it turned out that Bea was fighting for her life! For several days, no one was sure what Bea's problem was. She was put on a drip at the clinic, but still was not well.
It turned out that Bea had most likely eaten a poisonous plant! Eventually Bea recovered and was sent back home (with instructions to her owner to get rid of the poisonous plant!)
Dusty is from Swakopmund and the poor guy had two health problems, mange and TVT. When people in Swakop ask for help from HaH, they must go to the Swakopmund clinic and talk to Sheelagh, the vet nurse, who is very strict and makes sure no one uses HaH and/or AKI when they don't really deserve the support. Sheelagh says Dusty's case makes all the extra work with HaH worth it, because Dusty's owner so appreciated the help.
In September, Layla was found near Keetmanshoop with a broken leg. The finder tried to locate an owner, but had no luck. So they took little Layla to the nearest vet clinic - Mariental, 250 kilometers - 150 miles--away! In Mariental, Dr. Erna immediately xrayed Layla's leg and found that it was broken. When she tried to insert a pin, Layla's bone density was so low, the bone broke again just above the pin.
There was no choice but to amputate her leg. "Little Layla was lucky, between all her pain and loss of her home, she not only received help from Dr Erna via AKI, she also found a new home! She is now living the best of life and will get all she needs! Thank you AKI for making it possible for Dr Erna to help Layla!" ~ Geesche
Sweetie lives with the Eigus family in Kalkrand, a village in the Hardap Region of south central Namibia between Rehoboth and Mariental. It's a very small village with 2000 inhabitants. When Dr. Baines' mobile clinic stopped in Kalkrand, many people took the chance to have their pets sterilized, vaccinated, and treated against parasites. Sweetie was one of them. Sweetie's family was worried about a growth on her chest. Dr. Baines checked it out and decided it had to be removed-which it was thanks to the AKI-HaH Emergency Fund.
This is the story of the two semi feral cats who were lucky to get help thanks to the AKI-HaH Emergency Fund. A young man with a big heart was taking care of 19 tame/semi feral/feral cats, and asked for help with spay and neuter. HaH-Namibia was glad to help him. Joan from Independent Cat Society Namibia donated time and petrol, made a plan and managed to trap all 19 cats within only 2 days! She drove all of them to the clinic and back home.
At the clinic during the routine check up, two of the kittens were found to have an eye protrusion, most likely due to a virus they had been fighting since they were born. Because they were semi feral and unowned, they weren't treated, and the iris popped. This must have been beyond painful for the two little ones. There was no other option but to remove the damaged eye of each of the kittens. The eye enucleation was successful and they stayed at the clinic to recover.
Joan named them Honduras (left) and Jamaica (right), and began her search for a forever home for these two now tame kitties.
Mavis and Bokkie (Afrikaans for goat) are from Gobabis and both struggled with gingivitis. But this is an easy and quick fix if dealt with early. Thanks to the AKI-HaH Emergency Fund, it was and both are feeling so much better and are back to their normal selves.
Bruno is from Rehoboth, and along with his mate Blacky, he is one of HaH's very first customers in 2013. How wonderful that they are still around and so loved by their family! This is HaH's goal, giving all animals a chance for a long, happy, and healthy life and Blacky and Bruno are great examples of how this can work out.
Bruno had an abscess on his neck and needed to be sedated to have it properly drained and cleaned. Of course, no questions asked, the AKI-HaH Emergency Fund stepped right in to help! Bruno was given medication to take home and because he's a senior dog and a bit on the skinny side, he got some highly nutritious dog food too.
We have a great update about Rocky! (Her story is in this AKI Blog post). She was being treated for a uterine prolapse and she had TVT too. She returned to the vet clinic to get her sutures removed and everything looked so good, Dr. Olivier said she may not even need TVT treatment! Penny at the Rehoboth clinic said that her owners "are so grateful for the help Rocky got and they said a million thank yous to AKI!"
Rocky will be monitored and has an appointment for a check up to make sure she remains in good health.
This cat is a simple feral street cat, never had a home but she was part of a colony that was monitored and cared for. One day she was run over by a car, but she wasn't dead. Luckily a kind person came by and found her. This person phoned Joan (Independent Cat Society), who contacted Geesche to see if she could get help from the AKI-HaH Emergency Fund. Of course! So off they went to the vet for emergency treatment. Sadly she was diagnosed with brain trauma and a broken hip. There was no chance of a full recovery. Everyone involved agreed that the kindest thing would be to euthanize her. "Thank you AKI for helping a little nameless cat in Namibia without thinking twice!" ~ Geesche
We sponsored another dipping day--all pat of keeping pets healthy and happy....for life!
Have a Heart-Namibia uses AKI funds for the AKI-HaH Emergency Fund and their Lifetime Care Program. In 2022, the AKI-HaH Emergency Fund treated 50 dogs and 32 cats. The HaH Lifetime Care Program gave booster shots and parasite preventative to 250 dogs and 26 cats. HaH has used all AKI funds raised during 2022 (see the HaH-Namibia page for the 2022 pie chart, showing how HaH used AKI funds in 2022).
We’re now hoping to replenish the Emergency Fund and to continue supporting the Lifetime Care Program, both of which help ensure that pets who are spayed or neutered live long, healthy lives.