A helping hand for street dogs

Helpful kids and little 'Fifi'

Last year Neal and I decided that as soon as the turtle season was over we would dedicate our time to helping the street dogs, something that has always been close to our hearts wherever we have lived or visited. Unfortunately after Rasher was killed we were so devastated we were unable to do anything.

Neal and Nindy

This year, though, feeling a little bit stronger, we are really pleased to participate in a very small project to demonstrate to the City Hall that many of the dogs in Santa Maria are a) owned and b) not suffering from incurable diseases.  It's a small experiment to see if it can be effective and if the people here want it.

A dog with sarcoptic mange BEFORE

The same dog just THREE WEEKS LATER!

For the last three weeks a group of us have been working with our great vet, Dra Fatima to treat free roaming dogs who have the symptoms of sarcoptic mange. This disfiguring disease is caused by a parasitic mite which causes hair loss, often leads to skin infections and is extremely miserable for the dogs that have.  Fortunately, it is not dangerous to humans.

Fifi

Happily for the dogs, it is really easily treated, the main problem is catching the dogs! The owners of the affected dogs were contacted and all of them wanted the dogs to be treated but had not gone to the vet because they could not afford the cost. After only one injection radical changes can be seen and the owners are delighted that their dogs are healthy and happy again!

Princesa

Anderson & puppies after worming

Fifi is always hard to catch

Word is spreading that Fridays at 17h/5pm there will be a free street clinic for dogs with mange and there is no doubt that the work is appreciated by the people in the area (judging by the number of people who want to buy us drinks!). We are also using this time to talk to people about responsible ownership (registration, vaccination & putting collars on their dogs) and how we should all try to reduce the number of dogs on Sal through sterilisation.

It's been a real delight to see that people do really care about their dogs!

Natal & Pontas with his new collar

Everyone is welcome to help. We can be found in the area north of Patio Antigo & Relax every Friday.

If you are not in Sal but would like to help you can pay for a dog's treatment via PayPal. A course of medicine costs €15 (Dra Fatima works for free) and we will send you photos of the dog that you have helped.