Help COPA Guadeloupe Save and House Stray Cats and Dogs
$4,327.31
Raised
153
Donations
$50,000
Goal
Hi, I'm Ralf Little and I have set up this page in collaboration with the nonprofit organization COPA Guadeloupe to continue my efforts to help connect stray animals in the Caribbean with adoptive families who can give them the love, support, and safety that they need.
If you're reading this, you may know me for my role as DI Neville Parker on BBC One's Death in Paradise, which is filmed on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. Since joining the series in 2019, I've spent enough time in the Caribbean for it to feel like home. Even when I'm not filming, my partner Lindsey and I enjoy exploring its many islands.
However, as an animal lover, it has been hard for me to turn a blind eye to the countless stray dogs and cats on the island's streets. Dora was one of these "street dogs" when she happened to wander onto the set of Death in Paradise and, from there, into my heart. A year later, I also found and fell in love with Suzy, another stray dog on the island. After adopting Suzy and bringing her back to America, she was tragically killed by a car. In her memory, I did a fundraiser for the Saint Marten based organization SXM Paws, who had helped me get Suzy into the United States. Thanks to your generous support, we were able to donate over 25,000 pounds to SXM Paws! I am now happy to announce that I am partnering with a Guadeloupe based animal rescue organization called COPAG.
This past year, while on the set of Death in Paradise, a gorgeous puppy I came to call Canelle wandered on set and...we can all guess what happened next. I knew I was going to have to rescue her.
I contacted COPA Guadeloupe, a volunteer-run organization that is always ready to come to the rescue of any animal in need of love, care, and protection. The amazing volunteers at COPAG make sure that all stray cats or dogs receive medical attention and socialization, and are matched with a foster family while they wait to find their forever homes in mainland France or Guadeloupe. With their help, Canelle received immediate care and was soon matched with her forever family.
One of the most amazing things about COPA Guadeloupe is that they believe every animal is worth fighting for and deserves a second chance. COPAG rescues an average of 4-5 animals every day and, since their creation in 2016, they have saved nearly 8,000 cats and dogs. Because COPAG does not turn any animal away, regardless of health or age, they spend an average of 15-18,000 Euros per month on veterinary bills. As COPAG is entirely run by volunteers and does not profit from their work, they are dependent on the donations and charity of others.
Due to the number of rescues COPAG does, they have been struggling to find foster homes for all of their animals. For this reason, COPAG has plans to build an on-site housing area for any cats and dogs that haven't been matched with foster families yet, pending approval in 2023. The structure will be able to hold 9 adult dogs and 9 adult cats at a time, as well as kittens and puppies. This would enable them to help even more animals find their forever homes.
100% of donations received will go directly to COPA Guadeloupe and will be used to fund spay and neuter operations as well as heart worm treatments. Animals who are spayed and de-wormed have a much higher chance of being adopted. Once COPAG's building project is approved, funds will also be used to pay for the construction of the on-site housing units for cats and dogs waiting to be matched with their forever families
Right now, there are so many dogs and cats with such a great capacity to love living on the streets of Guadeloupe. If you were one of the people who followed the stories of Dora, Suzy, and now Canelle, please consider donating to this amazing organization. Or adopting one of their cats or dogs. Many of COPAG's animals are shipped to mainland France, so if you are located either there or in the UK and you fall in love with one of the animals on their website or social media channels, you can adopt.
This is obviously an ambitious goal and I wholeheartedly believe in COPAG's mission and would be incredibly appreciative of any donations. But, please only donate if you feel you are able. Even just sharing this link and raising awareness would be much appreciated.
Thank you x
Ralf Little
Link to COPA Guadeloupe's Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/copagwada
Link to COPA Guadeloupe's Website:
https://www.copaguadeloupe.com/
Link to COPA Guadeloupe's IG:
https://www.instagram.com/copa_guadeloupe/
Ralf and Canelle
Rescued Animals
COPAG by the numbers in 2022
Donor Wall48
Tracey Knowles-Brown | £41.89
Marius de | $10.70
Merci pour Franck ❤️
Le35 Bleu des Îles | €100
Darren W Brown | $120
Ralf, Thank you for the extra effort in your appreciation of your fans and my wife Deb. I wanted to pay it forward X2 for this very worthy cause.
Clare
Thanks for the important work you do
Clare
Bethan Humphreys | £20
Thank you for caring
Rebecca | £8.05
Samantha Joyce | $20
Thank you for the wonderful work you do x
ana hogg | $20
Best of luck!
Liz | £20
Nicole Scarato | €20.02
Hélène Deray | $21.08
Jacqui Ottewell Cole | $20
Amazing work you guys are doing ❤️❤️❤️
seamus mcevoy | £21.03
Love to visit this location
Lydie TERNARD | €20
Quelle belle initiative, bravo.
Mrs H A Taylor-Nicholson | $10
Wish I could make it more but hope it will help xxxx
Clare | $10
Susanna | $10
Jamie Lewis | $5
Joy | $10
Thank you for all your hard work and compassion in rescuing so many animals. Please use this small donation to help you to continue. Huge thanks to you too Ralf.
Erika | $10
Thank you for all the work you do and thank you to Ralph Little for making his fans aware of it!
Karen Nielsen | $10/M
Mary Beldi | $10
Lucy | $10
Love this!
Leann
Thanks for your hard work on behalf of the animals.
Sophie | $10
🐶🐱💞
Yaima | $25
Thank you Ralf for setting this up and volunteers for all you for this beautiful furry kids . Wish could donate more . Regards from the USA
Alison
Well done with this important work! Kudos to Ralf for setting up this page and the volunteers for all their work. Wish my donation could be bigger.
Sara Bolton | $100