The world is pretty grim right now, right?
Glance at your phone and the list of bad news is endless... War. AI taking all our jobs. Politics. Stock market crashes. Global tensions. Cost of living crisis. I could go on and on.
Working with street dogs also has it’s fair share of knocks on a daily basis but I wanted to share some stories today as a sort of antidote to all the gloom.
These aren’t just any stories either, they are picked because they highlight humans at their very best and they show us that the world is maybe not as doomed or as bad as our social media feeds on our smartphones would have us believe…
A Retirement Village For Senior Street Dogs
The wonderful team I work with built this on a small budget with lots of love, creativity and passion over the course of 10 days. We have 5 of the oldest and sickest dogs here and they were joined by number 6 this week when Mr Atlas got his golden ticket after having his huge mass removed in Tina’s Hospital.
It was crowd funded with people sending donations for flowers and trees. Someone even asked me if they could pay for a water feature!
I know scientifically they say dogs don’t smile but you do have to look at Anthony in this picture below and wonder. On the left was when we brought him in from the streets and on the right returning from a walk this week with his friends about to be served his dinner and have a comfy nights sleep.
These street dogs had nothing but pain and a sad end ahead of them. Some had cancer. Bridget fell off a bridge and a few of them are nearly blind. Now they know nothing but love and care. From the vets who treat them, the people who donated, their walkers and the ladies who prepare their food, it is humans who have done this.
Three Beautiful Little Families
We are very lucky to find homes for some of the street dogs. 3 of them recently landed on their paws and I spotted some little details this week that show humans in their absolute best light…
Spock. He was adopted this week after recovering with us for 6 months following a broken leg. It was his third time being hit by a car on the street. When I chatted to his owner and asked him what drew him to Spock he told me he also had a broken leg with screws and plates in it. He could relate. Also that Spock had been waiting so long for a home. I thought that was just beautiful and Spock took to him immediately. Two good boys with their patched up legs!
Bob. His new family have brought the joy back into his life after losing his beloved Angelina. He is now running, playing with toys and spoilt rotten. I met him last week and to see the love they shower on him was a thing of beauty. They’ve brought his confidence back.
Stormzy. We all know his story of recovering from a brain injury and his wonderful new home. His family bought him a yellow plant like those on Hope Avenue so it would remind him of his time ay Happy Doggo as they both grow. Priceless.
Humans really can be awesome.
It Takes A Village To Save A Dog
This week saw one of the most dramatic rescues we’ve ever had. If you ever watch one video we’ve ever made I’d urge it to be this one.
We spent a 8 days and nights trying to catch the dog. He was very wild and scared.
His injury on his muzzle was full of maggots and getting bigger by the day.
We eventually managed to dart him and catch him deep in the jungle
Our vet team in Tina’s hospital not only saved his life by are also working on saving a large amount of his face also.
We’ve diagnosed it as TVT cancer and he is in isolation in the hospital getting Chemo
I called him Apollo and his story is one that shows what about 15 people working together can do for a dog.
While the rescue itself is amazing some of the little stories of the lengths people went to save one dog is what blows me away…
The catchers spent evenings and early mornings non stop trying to save him. It would have been much easier for them to give up and move on but they didn’t
When we were racing back with Apollo I messaged the group asking if 1 person could come in to help as it was after 8pm. I arrived and 7 people had shown up. Our whole medical team.
The lady in the green shirt above feeds the dogs locally and alerted us to his case. I watched her break down and cry with happiness as we caught Apollo. She had felt powerless and unable to catch him as she walked miles every single day hoping to catch him but he was too scared.
This is a lady who is out there every morning and evening feeding street dogs when she has free time from work. She doesn’t have social media. She battles tough conditions and hostile locals to try keep “her dogs” all safe. There are people like her all over the world doing their little bit on a daily basis.
I could have picked 100 little moments like this or dozens of humans doing great things. Our smart phones and social media feeds love feeding us the worst news in the world but it’s worth remembering just how much good there is out there.
A little bit of kindness always goes a long way.
Have a lovely Sunday night wherever you are in the world.
Big Love,
Niall
P.S You can support the mission by just subscribing here on X or donating to Happy Doggo here.
