Our Partner Organization Sauvons nos Animaux has already had an eventful 2024 and we're only a few months into the year!
The good news first, since we have a lot of good news.
During February, vet students from the nearby veterinary college spent time at the Sauvons nos Animaux shelter. We're hoping this will be an ongoing partnership since everyone involved got so much out of it: The vet students learned much more than they learn in the classroom, getting real hands-on experience with actual rescue cases; the shelter got many more hands to assist with vet care; and the cats and dogs got some extra love and attention.
Sauvons nos Animaux's outreach is centers on the nearest and largest city, Bukavu, and Sunday jogging days are a great way to reach so many. On Sundays, young and old gather in Bukavu center to jog, walk, meet up with friends. Paterne introduced the concept of including dog companions during Sunday outings, and the idea has really taken off.
Most importantly, it's changing perceptions of dogs, from guards and hunters to dogs as our companions.
Sunday jogging day, January 28:
March 17 jogging day:
Sauvons nos Animaux has some new volunteers! Paterne and the shelter staff are working with these five young boys, preparing them to join the volunteer team. The kids were involved in SnA's Youth Club, and clearly cared about and had a real interest in the cats and dogs at the shelter, so they were invited to join the shelter as volunteers!
Sauvons nos Animaux has rescued several new dogs since the beginning of the year. In mid-February, these three frightened puppies were dumped outside the gate of the shelter:
Also in February, this very skinny dog was rescued and brought to the shelter:
During the 2nd week of April, Sauvons nos Animaux rescued an adult dog who was found abandoned at a house in Kadutu, tied up with a wire that was tight around his neck and it dug in deeper as he tried to get free. As you can imagine, he was aggressive - he was in pain and terrified. He had to be sedated before he could be taken to the shelter, where Dr Aristide treated the wound:
That same week, SnA rescued a small puppy from the Ruzizi River. Hunters, who use dogs to help them hunt, often dispose of puppies there. The puppy had several injuries that Dr Aristide is treating.
Sauvons nos Animaux had to deal with two big challenges over the last few weeks, including an ongoing one.
In March, a few men were walking by the shelter and threw stones at the dogs. A few dogs escaped through a gap in the sheet metal fence and went after the men. The men submitted a complaint to the local government authority. Because Paterne is on good terms with local leaders and the community, he was only required to contain the dogs--he wasn't fined and wasn't required to go to court.
Since this was an immediate and critical need, AKI funds were used to construct the new escape-proof fence:
The second challenge is a bigger one and so far there's no solution. The main road leading to the shelter was cut off by the local population, who are calling for it to be rehabilitated. They've made it impossible to pass -having dug this huge trench-as a way to force the authorities to repair it. This makes it even more difficult to get goods to the refuge and to rescue animals and bring them back to the shelter. It also makes it difficult for staff to reach the shelter.
Now it takes a much longer time to reach the shelter and the alternative route means that transport costs have increased.
But we want to end on this really nice note: the happy note the dog in this video is singing when Paterne returned to the shelter after being away for a few days:
This is just one of the reasons we all love dogs so much-they are always so happy to see us, they can always cheer us up, no matter how bad things get!