Update & what we're doing about the Uganda dog & cat rescue scam

It's been about 6 years since I was first approached by someone who supported --what I later learned--was a scammer. The person who wrote to me asked if Animal-Kind International could help support a shelter in Mityana run by a young man who used all his money to feed and help unwanted dogs. Having lived and worked in Uganda and knowing Mityana, I was surprised to hear that there was a young man there, in Mityana, who was so selfless, sacrificing everything to help dogs.

I suspected that the story wasn't 100% true, but it took a little digging to figure out it was a scam. I became 100% sure that it was a fabrication when we started getting more messages from dog lovers around the world asking us to help support young men (at first they were always men) in Mityana (and it was always Mityana until recently) who were saving dogs.

Just as that first person had told me when she contacted me, those who followed also mentioned that they had befriended young men who used all their money to build rustic shelters to house unwanted dogs and buy food for them. Their money was finished and they needed our help to continue to feed and save dogs.

To me, this was an obvious scam. But to dog lovers who had never been to Uganda and didn't know of Mityana, these young men were saviors, they were heroes. And they were doing the hard work, they only needed our money.

Over the past six years, I'm sure I received over 1000 messages from unwitting animal lovers (the scammers added cats and rabbits to their scam) asking us to help these young men. (I wrote two AKI Blog posts to help get the word out about the Uganda dog rescue scam, one in July 2024 and an update in June 2025). When in Uganda, I tried to contact some of the scammers and visit them. Phones were turned off, I was blocked.

It was interesting to find 2 vests (often worn by the scammers) with 2 different "rescue" names at the same location in Mityana.

Many of the scammers don bright orange or yellow vests with the name of their scam rescue. This one was found at the same location as the one above: 2 different names of organizations, 1 location, an opportunity for 2 separate scammers.

And so many people, even when warned, sent their money. Many people refused to believe the warnings we sent: that their new friend in Uganda was a scammer; if he looked and acted like the other scammers, assume he is a scammer, as well.

Even when most of the scammers' stories took similar turns: a mother died, a father died, the house burned down, the landlord kicked them out, their brother was in the hospital, someone broke into the shelter and stole everything......still people wanted to believe them and they sent money. Hundreds of thousands of US dollars, in fact, traded hands, from animal lovers to scammers.

Fast forward about 4 years, and Animal-Kind International, along with our two Partner Organizations in Uganda, the Uganda SPCA and Bam Animal Clinics, joined with other legitimate organizations and practitioners in Uganda and became member organizations of a new organization, the Animal Welfare Alliance of Uganda, formed to fight the scam.

Since then, we've all been doing our part, warning donors via social media, email, and phone calls, talking to the media, and trying to get sham social media pages and GoFundMe fundraisers removed.

But what really got the world's attention was a BBC investigative report about the Uganda dog rescue scam. The documentary aired on May 4, 2026. Largely as a result of AWAU's efforts, on May 10, one of the scammers, Owen Godfrey Membe was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty and on May 11 appeared in Mityana court.

Owen in handcuffs

It's only been 3 weeks (almost), but so much has happened since the BBC documentary went live. And although there are many stories circulating and people taking credit where credit is not due, and --honestly--even the BBC documentary had some questionable information, and follow-up news stories did as well (even much more questionable information appeared in articles and online after the BBC story broke).

But a few things are certain:

AWAU rescued 52 dogs and 6 cats who had been living in horrendous conditions at 2 shelters in Mityana and is now providing nutritious food and clean, comfortable shelter; the vet care for all of them; and is following up with the legal case. All of this requires money.

Dogs living in cramped, filthy conditions at a Mityana shelter

These dogs have been rescued from a Mityana shelter and brought to safety thanks to AWAU's efforts

Animal-Kind International has agreed to fully fund the initial vet costs for the 52 dogs and 6 cats. We've sent funds to Dr Isa's clinic (Vetlit) for the vet care of the dogs, including:

• Vaccinations (rabies and combo)

• Blood analysis

• Xrays

• Spays/Neuters

• Tumor extraction

• TVT treatment

• Parvo treatment

• Treatment of tick-borne diseases

Next week, we'll be sending funds to Dr Alex's clinic (Vetluv Pet Travel) for vet care for the cats, including:

• Vaccinations (rabies and combo)

• Deworming

• Spaying/Neutering

6 cats rescued from the sham shelter

Another thing we know for certain in this complicated story is that AWAU is the only organization with feet on the ground, in Uganda, and is the only organization with the ability to continue to "dog" the authorities to shut down more sham shelters.

Dr Isa with some of the dogs rescued from the scammers

Dr Isa told us, "It's a real nightmare. But if something can be done to save a dog, I take it as my responsibility to do what I can."

We are so grateful that we can help Dr Isa and Dr Alex do the very difficult work ahead of them, helping these dogs and cats recover emotionally and physically from abuse that no animal should ever know.

We know that there will be other emergency vet care needs and we would like AWAU and the vets to be able to take that concern off of their shoulders.

Please donate for vet care for cats & dogs rescued from the scammers

Dr Isa with the dogs, now at a safe location arranged by AWAU