Twala Trust-Zimbabwe (aka Twala Trust Animal Sanctuary) was an AKI Grantee in 2022 and 2023 (our Africa-Based Animal Welfare Organization Grant Program). As of January 1, 2024, Twala Trust is an AKI Partner Organization, which means no more waiting to hear if they submitted a winning proposal; now we'll send funds regularly, and as with all of our Partner Organizations, they can use AKI funds for their priority needs.
Twala Trust's 2023 grant project was to buy food for the ~600 dogs who attend Doggy Tuesday, the weekly vet clinic held at Twala Trust's sanctuary. On Doggy Tuesday, people (mainly children) from the surrounding villages bring their dogs for a vet check, vaccines, parasite treatments, and additional vet care, if needed, fly spray--to keep the pesky flies away from ears, eyes, and mouth, a nutritious meal, and for the camaraderie. Twala Trust sets up a section for the kids with fun humane ed material too.
Dogs who need extra nutrition get sent home with food to supplement the food they get at home--the AKI grant also supported the take-home meals.
As an example of how important Doggy Tuesday is to the local people and their dogs, during December's Doggy Tuesdays, in addition to feeding 600 dogs each week, Twala Trust gave 62 rabies vaccinations, 13 5-in-1 vaccinations, and vaccinated 1 cat (even though it's DOGGY Tuesday!); they sterilized 15 dogs; de-wormed 15 dogs; and treated:
3 dogs with renal failure (including 2 Doggy Tuesday regulars, Snoopy and Hairy Mary),
2 seromas,
7 dogs with fly strike (flies bite at and irritate dogs' ears),
2 eye infections,
1 puppy run over by a bicycle,
2 dogs with RTA,
1 broken leg pinned,
1 femoral head resection,
1 torn ligament in knee,
1 lump removal,
1 mammary cancer removal,
1 chest x-ray,
2 dogs with biliary and 3 with tick bite fever,
2 trauma injuries causing paralysis,
1 urinary tract infection,
4 enteritis,
3 dog fight wounds,
3 hot spots from flea allergies, and
5 mange cases.
During December, Twala Trust kept 5 undernourished Doggy Tuesday dogs at their Sanctuary for extra feeding, 1 elderly dog was surrendered to the Sanctuary, 1 stray cat was collected and brought to the Sanctuary, and 1 elderly dog is now receiving daily medication for arthritis at his homestead (instead of a loved and well cared for dog being surrendered, thanks to Twala Trust, the dog, Tuesday, can remain at home).
While the above numbers may sound astounding and the range of treatments beyond imagination, December's Doggy Tuesdays were no different from any other month's Doggy Tuesdays. The demand for their services is great, Twala Trust's ability to fill the needs is immense, only limited by the funding they receive.
We will help fill their funding gap--but we need your help, of course! Our initial support to Twala Trust will be for Doggy Tuesday food and supplemental take-home meals for special cases. And whatever we raise above and beyond the amount needed for Doggy Tuesday food, Twala Trust will use for their other priority needs....whatever they may be, as long as they are used to benefit the animals.
The total cost for a year of Doggy Tuesday food is currently estimate at US$9360 for 360 bags of food, but that doesn't include take-home meals. If you'd like to help us meet the goal, please donate here-- at this link, your donation will be designated for Twala Trust and as always, we send 100% to the Partner Organization that you designate.
Doggy Tuesday dogs must be some of the luckiest dogs on the planet! And for that, we are soooo grateful to Twala Trust, our newest AKI Partner Organization!!!!
