Help Shams Establish a Doggy Daycare and Foster Home

30th DECEMBER UPDATE: This morning, Shamsy’s Little Wolves took in two female pups that were found last night, abandoned and terrified. 4-6 weeks old. I’ve given them somewhere safe and lovely to stay and play, but I need funds to supply them with food, water and medical care. They will probably stay here until we can find someone to adopt them so I need continuous support! Thank you for any contribution you can make <3 And a huge thank you to Hagger and Susanne for rescuing them and bringing them here <3

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NOVEMBER UPDATE: Through the money already raised, Shamsy’s Little Wolves has OFFICIALLY moved into a gorgeous spacious place where the dogs have their own little piece of the desert !! Enormous thank you to everyone who donated in 2022 and made our dreams come true <3

You can follow our journey on Facebook and Instagram:
https://www.facebook.com/shamsyslittlewolves
https://www.instagram.com/shamsyslittlewolves_/

HOWEVER, now we have dogs and pups staying here that need food, water and medical care. As well as this, I have to keep the place running and need as much help as possible to cover the rent long-term and build the garden into functioning sections. Thank you SO much for any contribution you can make Paws and love !!!

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“Dogs are an expression of pure love from yourself.” - Artemisia

Intro:
For the last 18 months, I’ve been taking care of the local dogs in Dahab, South Sinai. Every day, someone asks me to look after a dog or two that needs temporary foster care because the dog is injured, someone is trying to poison/kill them, or simply because they need dog-sitting whilst their human travels for a few weeks/months. The problem is that my 8ft x 10ft garden is too small to house all of the dogs that need it! It breaks my heart to turn down dogs on a daily basis when I don’t have to. They often end up abandoned or dead. It doesn’t need to be this way.

After adopting a couple of puppies of my own and doing this work for nearly two years, I have the expertise, patience, energy and LOVE to take in a small pack of little wolves at any one time, but I need your help to raise the funds to be able to afford a huge garden space for them to run around, chill or heal, as well as pay for medical care and food. So please donate and share to help me help them!!! There’s more info below if you want to find out more. Thanks for reading :)

What I do:
The streets are filled with wild baladi dogs that enjoy living freely (even though a lot of the restaurants and hotels here give the dogs a really hard time). My plan is not to take all the dogs off the street or create a homeless shelter. My plan is to continue dog-sitting the rescued and domesticated dogs that need it, and give medical care to the injured street dogs when they need it. Here is a break down of my key focuses:

1. Short-term dog-sitting for domesticated dogs. (A few hours to a few weeks)

2. Temporary housing and care for domesticated dogs whilst their humans travel abroad. (A few weeks to a few months)

3. Temporary foster care for abandoned pups that need emotional/trauma support and adoption preparation, after they were domesticated by humans and then left on the street again. (Dogs that need temporary foster care until they find long-term adopters.) (As long as possible)

4. Temporary foster care for injured/endangered street dogs that need medical care and/or a safe place to stay until other arrangements are made. (As long as possible, but usually a few days)

To be clear, some of the Dahab dogs enjoy being wild and free, but some of them are traumatised, injured, raised by humans and then abandoned, or need human affection and company whilst their adoptive families are away. With the money I raise, I can keep and maintain a spacious residence with a large desert-style garden that will provide a temporary home to a lot of the pets that need it.

Where the money goes:
The money I raise will cover voluntary care costs, and monthly rent for a place in Dahab with a big garden for at least one year. This will give me a secure base to help as many dogs as possible instead of turning so many away. Any money not spent on rent will go towards food, water, toys and treats, fences/building costs, handyman services, vet bills, medical emergencies, rugs, towels and cleaning supplies.

Any disposable income I get from freelancing already goes into my work with the dogs, but it’s not enough, especially since I have adopted a couple of magick dogs long-term and want to be able to give them a permanent forever home!

When:
Now! The adventure has already begun and moving into a new property can happen overnight. Theoretically, I only need to raise £2000 to put down a three months deposit, and build the foundations of the doggy daycare immediately. I trust that the rest of the funds will build up throughout the year, or at the very least, the support I receive from the opportunity to provide a service to the travellers and families, will help keep the platform stable.

Community:
There are a few kind-hearted initiatives and non-profit charities running within the town, such as Dahab Cats (dahabcats.com) and Animal Welfare Dahab (animal-welfare-dahab.com), both of whom cover the cost of vaccinations and neutering strays for population control. But there is no place for these pups to heal. More recently, a one-woman army named Hagger Moustafa created a petition (https://chng.it/YgWbc7NtRS) to build laws around the well-being of the dogs, and fight legally against the cruelty imposed upon them. She also houses many lost and injured puppies, kittens, cats and doggos, and has worked tirelessly for years assisting animals, locals and tourists in any way that she can. I plan to support and work alongside these initiatives.

Real life, real time example cases:
Enzo Hummus is a beautifully gentle golden 2 year old with massive ears like Dobby from Harry Potter! I knew of him from an adoption post I’d seen circulating on Facebook. He was raised by humans, but left on the street when they went back to Europe (apparently temporarily). One day I saw him quietly walking the streets of Lighthouse. He started following me from the moment we met, became like a brother to Rey, and lived with us for 3 months. From January to April, I gave him long walks in the mountains, shelter from the rain, and top-quality flea and tick medicine. One day, he stopped following me and apparently found another European woman (which is ok, I don’t want to force them to stay unless it’s absolutely necessary). Then two months later, there was another Facebook post from his ‘owner’ in Europe asking someone to adopt him again until September. When I begged to take him, she said that the other woman had already offered. Five months later, I had moved into my little studio but had agreed to take on Karma for two months, a black, Belgian/German-Shepherd-looking 6-month-old who had just had surgery. One morning, we all found Enzo wandering the beach. He followed us home where the three of them ate and slept. When I sent some messages to find out where I should take him, I found out that the second woman had also gone to Europe for two weeks and Enzo had been left on the street again. I didn’t have the space to take him in, it was too cramped. So I walked him all the way back to a rug he sleeps on and tricked him into staying there with food. It broke my heart knowing that he could’ve been with me this whole time, or that he could’ve been with me now. But with my place being too small, there was just no other option. Enzo was initially promised a home in Europe, but apparently this is getting less and less likely as time goes on. I want to be able to take him in and give him the cuddles he deserves until someone can adopt him and give him a forever home (even if that eventually ends up being me).

Jon Snow is a massive, white, 5-7 year old gorgeous monster! Total polar bear vibes! But despite being fatter than a horse, he wouldn’t hurt a fly. Unless it was a goat... After some deeply personal and tough circumstances, Jon Snow’s adoptive family had to rush back to Europe and leave him in Dahab for a few years, being passed on from one man to another. ‘He comes with the house’ is what an English guy, Andy, learned when he moved in and had to take responsibility for old Jon Snow. There are a LOT of goats left to roam around Dahab, in fact, the Goat vs. Dog situation is very tricky (I won’t even go into it). But one night, Jon Snow jumped over the garden wall and bit a goat on the bum which - unfortunately - wasn’t the first time. ‘Two times too many’, and the Bedouin owner told Andy that Jon Snow has to move somewhere else, otherwise they’d kill him (Jon Snow, not Andy). Since Andy has 2 other dogs as well as 14 cats and kittens, he couldn’t risk having poison thrown over the garden wall, so he desperately looked for somewhere else that Jon Snow could stay. He reached out to me, and with it being a life or death situation, I voluntarily took Jon Snow in. He was incredibly well-behaved and easy, sleeping all day. He barely needed any of my time, effort or energy, he just needed the space. But my place is simply way too small and stressful for a polar bear. So after a few days I had to hand him back over and reluctantly couldn’t take him back. His adoptive family heard about the situation and are attempting to come back and fly him to Europe. But until then, Jon Snow will need temporary accommodation for a few months whilst all of the papers and vaccines get sorted. I wish I could have him whilst all the necessary arrangements are made.