(MENAFNEditorial) Save Salamina's Strays UK Salamina is the beautiful small town in the Colombian Andes that I now call home. As do a large and growing number of stray dogs. The people here are generally very kind and the dogs were well fed and for the most part really happy living free on the streets. Until along came a new mayor and his desire to ‘clean up' the streets for the tourists. The solution? Round them all up dog catcher style and imprison them all together 24/7 in a confined caged space that never gets cleaned. They never get let out to run around and barely get fed. When they do it's with pellets of chicken food because it's cheaper. The problem is increasing as all of the neighbouring towns are dumping their strays here as we have a ‘home' for them. The dogs are now becoming ill and in such a confined space it's spreading like wildfire. As yet there have not been any vets involved in the process and the mayor doesn't seem to care about their welfare. Out of sight, out of mind.
After seeing the conditions these poor dogs are living in first hand I vowed to do something about it. Luckily, I came across some caring locals who already had the same idea. They are part of a charity called "Mi Mejor Amigo" or "My Best Friend". They have taken it upon themselves to clean the cages, supply real dog food and find help for the numerous health problems that these dogs are facing. All this whilst working with an animal rights lawyer to try and force the mayor to change the way these dogs are being dealt with. They are hoping to build an outdoor space where the dogs can be allowed to run free whilst looking at real solutions like adoption programs.
This is where you come in…
With your help we can raise the funds we need to make these changes and save the lives of these poor innocent dogs. Minumum wage here is the equivalent of £200 per MONTH so I know that you guys have more to spare than the locals here. Anything you can afford will go a long way and will go diretly to help the dogs along with all that I and the other volunteers can afford to contribute. Even if you can forego one coffee and donate the money you would have spent this would go a long way. I have set my aim at £2000 but really we are happy with anything we can raise.
Your money will help towards:
Food
Veterinary care and a sterilisation project
Construction of an outdoor space for the dogs to run a little more freely
An adoption program
Any costs associated with figting for the rights of these dogs
Possibly the creation of an entirely new home for these dogs run by people who care (depending on funds raised)
This is a UK page so donations are in pounds charged in the UK. I have also opened a page for donations in Australia which can be found here https://www.chuffed.org/project/save-salaminas-strays
If you would like to transfer using PayPal you can transfer money directly into my account [email protected]
If you would like more information about where your money is going and how it is being spent please follow "Fundacion Mi Mejor Amigo Salamina" on facebook. We will upload photos of our progress and I will translate any posts into English to make it easier for you guys to follow. The photos below were taken by the foundation and I will upload more as soon as I can to give you all a better understanding of the problem. I understand that there is a constant influx of sponsorship requests on your social media but that's just because you are a hell of a lot more fortunate than most. Count yourself lucky and please help us if you can. For every donation I promise a free stay on our farm in Salamina where you can pick your own coffee and drink it right where it grew!
Luz y Amor.
Team Members Susie Fox
Holly Chapple-Hyam
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