Thanks for your help from all at Twala!

Oct 17, 2023

Abandoned puppies arriving at Twala

Dear David and your Substack subscribers,

The past weeks have been a whirlwind of activity at Twala. It has been one of our busiest times ever in terms of the Doggy Tuesday programme, as well as the rescue and rehabilitation of wild animals.

Food and medicine being provided at Doggy Tuesday

The steady increase in attendance at Doggy Tuesday shows a commitment from the dog owners to access food and care for their dogs no matter what else is going on. It has been really good to see that people who normally cannot bring dogs because they working the farm and mining labour jobs that are the major source of employment in Goromonzi took advantage of the recent public holiday to bring their dogs to us rather than just enjoying a day off!

Before …

The difference Doggy Tuesday makes in a month

Cases seen at Doggy Tuesday : Mast cell tumours – 1, Lipoma removal – 1, suspected mammary tumours (monitoring) – 1, Parvovirus – 6, dog fight wounds – 8, Seizure – 1, suspected rabid dog - 2, bites from suspected rabid dogs – 1 puppy & 1 adult dog(treated, vaccinated, kept for monitoring), mange – 5, Tick bite fever – 2, laryngitis – 2, eye infection – 2, pneumonia -2, open wound -3, necrotic glans – 1, enteritis – 5, transmittable venereal tumours – 3 (each dog receiving a 1 month course of chemotherapy at Twala), abdominal swelling -1, ear infection -1, road traffic accidents – 3 (one dog has paralysed back legs and remains at Twala for long-term care, 1 dog minor head injury was treated and sent home), multiple abscesses in mammary glands – 1, spirocircosis – 1, kidney failure – 1, flea allergies – 4, spay sinus (old spay site opened up) – 1, sterilisations – 10, puppy vaccinations – 19, puppies surrendered – 14, old dogs surrendered – 3, cats and kittens surrendered – 9, rabies vaccinations – 58, 5 in 1 vaccinations – 23, de-worming – 61 dogs and 10 cats, malnourished dogs kept for feeding – 9.

After: this dog is now well fed, vaccinated and sterilised

We had some happy endings for dogs and cats who we found wonderful homes for this month. Fiddles, a 12 year old tabby cat who was surrendered when her elderly owner passed away, has been placed with a family who can provide all the love and tranquillity she so deserves. We also have 5 beautiful kittens in our cattery, surrendered with 3 adult cats and we hope to find homes for them soon.

An angelic rescue

Beautiful Buster

Buster, a Doggy Tuesday regular, was handed over to us as his family were moving. The parting of Buster and the distraught young person who cared for him since puppyhood was very sad and Buster was very traumatised by his change in circumstances.

Fortunately we quickly found him a truly perfect home in Victoria Falls, and arranged to fly him from Harare to his new home. Buster arrived safely in sunny Victoria Falls and has settled happily in to his new life where elephants pass by his garden gate each morning and the spray from the Falls is visible from his favourite spot on the veranda.

Below: a warm welcome for pups from their new owner!

We are so happy to have been able to place several surrendered puppies (see top photo) into good homes in the rural Goromonzi community. These puppies have replaced elderly Doggy Tuesday dogs who have been retired at Twala over the last few months. We were able to have the great pleasure of caring for these lovely dogs for nine years, and to then give them the retirement they deserve with the Waggley Tail Club.

Seeing a new generation of dogs now join the families who have taken such good care of their dogs has been so uplifting, and the three volunteers we had in August from the UK and USA were thrilled to be able to assist in getting the surrendered puppies healthy at Twala, and then being able to hand the pups over to their delighted new owners, with kennels and supplementary food provided. To now see the puppies arriving at Doggy Tuesday, proudly carried by their owners, makes the best day of the week even more special for everyone.

From our wildlife rehabilitation centre, we were able to release two thick tailed galagos back to freedom - one was injured by a predator on a nearby farm, and after a week in our hospital we were able to facilitate a raucous reunion for this galago with his family. The second one came in 3 months ago, caught in razor wire and with such a catastrophic injury to his arm that we had to amputate it. We were monitoring him with a camera trap to check his ease of movement and were confident that he could manage a soft release at Twala, so he is free roaming with several other rescued and released galagos who live a safe, free and happy life in our gardens, with supplementary food provided for them.

One of the galagos (bush babies/night apes) now released

We released 2 rehabilitated barn owls after they came in as injured fledglings and were also able to release a spotted eagle owl after he recovered from being hit by a car. Our vet nurses are also doing a fantastic job with the challenging rehabilitation of a spotted eagle owl poisoned with an agricultural pesticide.

Syringe feeding a baby hedgehog

Two baby hedgehogs came into the hospital, and another adult hedgehog being kept as a pet in horrible condition is now in our care.

I am very proud of the vet nurses and carers – they are under a great deal of pressure at the moment with a long and complicated case list each day, working long hours and yet always dedicated and positive.

We are so very grateful for the generous support from you and your subscribers, that helps significantly with the Doggy Tuesday programme, enabling us to house critical patients in a secure and comfortable space in the quarantine centre funded by you, and making our community visits to rural dogs in low income households possible.

With love and thanks,

Sarah and Vin

Twala Trust Animal Sanctuary, Zimbabwe

Hi Readers,

David here. I like to publish Sarah’s letters in full - she writes them so beautifully and always accompanied by photos which bring home the immediacy of how we’re helping.

Raising funds for Twala, and our other charities, is one of the main reasons why I write this newsletter. Of all the great virtues, Buddha taught generosity first. In giving we receive - immediately, in the happy knowledge of the virtue we are creating. And longer term in creating the karmic cause to experience future abundance.

If you are able, our little community here on Substack would love to welcome you as a paying subscriber. What you get each Saturday is an article or story from me, sharing the wisdom I have learned from my own lamas. More important in some ways is what you give: love, compassion and hope, manifest in the most practical ways, as Sarah illustrates above.

I very much hope that you may join our community of kindred spirits on this journey of compassion and wisdom.

Warmest wishes,

David