This is a very time sensitive appeal to raise $1,600 by the end of this month to build a shelter to house Anto’s street dogs. I hope you will read through why this is necessary and support Anto with her project. I have also added a little background on Anto at the bottom which I hope you will enjoy!
Previously Anto has kept her rescues in various places around the city. She has 40+ vulnerable dogs who for various reasons were struggling with life on the streets and needed help. To date Anto has been paying locals $15 a month (called “pensions”) to keep the rescue dogs secure. In addition, $65 had to be raised every month for disabled pup Koda. Sadly, there have been disputes as the local people want more money for the space, meanwhile Anto has been struggling to raise $15 for each dog. This is a very poor part of the world. There is hyperinflation and little animal welfare. Everyone is struggling. It is an untenable position and makes it extremely difficult to find local people who are willing to accommodate the dogs, especially on the level of donations she can reasonably hope to achieve.
Unfortunately, one of the local shelters (housing around half of her dogs) has unexpectedly informed her that all the dogs must be moved by the end of July. They have threatened to release the dogs back onto the street if they are not out by this date. Given how difficult it is to find accommodation this has put Anto into an incredibly stressful and difficult position.
Amazingly, a minor miracle has occurred. Anto has been offered land on which she can build a shelter. The due diligence and legal process has just been completed and Anto can start work on the building project. Going forward she must raise $1,000 a month rent for the next 21 months but at the end of this time she will fully own the land and the shelter. She hopes you will support her in this as it will replace her previous appeals for pensions. It is a little more to raise each month and will require as many people as possible to support the appeal, however, once she owns the land, she will no longer need support for the dog’s accommodation other than any essential maintenance costs.
I am setting up this appeal to raise $1,600 for land clearance and the initial cost of building the shelter. We were unable to do this earlier as no progress could be made whilst the legal position was outstanding. She must have the shelter built by the end of the month, when the rescued dogs will no longer have homes in the pensions. Costs have been kept to a minimum, and it may be that further appeals have to be made down the line to enhance the accommodation but for now this is the essential first step. The costs include the land clearance, the building of the enclosure, dividers (not every dog gets along!), roofing and the septic tank.
I hope you can see the long-term vision and how it will benefit the street dogs in this part of the world. It will also mean that there is potential to rescue more dogs at minimal extra cost in the future. We are also hoping that when things settle down there is some spare land to farm a little. Although monthly food support will always be needed, it would be a real advantage if some produce could be home grown to raise funds or be used to help feed the dogs. There is also an accommodation available so that the dogs will not just be left in a remote part of the world on their own.
I am just a supporter, but I have been following her journey for around a year now and have a good understanding of her dogs, the rescues she’s done and how necessary this in a very difficult part of the world. I humbly ask everyone who can to do a little extra this month to get her over the line on this project. She needs to have everything built and paid for by the end of the month.
Background
Ayudemosapluto was founded in 2016 by Antonieta Giorgina Mamo Khazne (Anto). The rescue is base in Guatire, which is about 20 minutes from Caracas in Venezuela. She has had a long history of helping street dogs, which started when she was 15 when she used to save her pocket money to feed the local street dogs and cats. Anto’s uncle owns a stationery store and they begun leaving food and water out for the strays. This expanded to providing basic medicine and treatment for the injured. The feed stations continue today.
Anto’s first rescue was for Catire in 2014. He had a bad wound on his side from some kind of sharp object. Anto and her uncle treated him, and when he was fully recovered he was given up for adoption.
Her own rescue was started in 2016. At this time Anto belonged to a bigger rescue group and was sent to rescue Pluto. Poor Pluto had been badly beaten and neglected. He had numerous critical injuries when found and sadly only lived for a month, although this was probably the best month of his life when he finally had love. Although Pluto’s story was sadly too short, her rescue has been named after him and hundreds of dogs have been fed and provided with emergency treatment in his name.