Aside - CLAW

I also run a group on Facebook mimicking this blog. yesterday a guy called Paul asked if i needed any financial help, which was very sweet.

I answered him by saying: Give money to CLAW. They pull dogs like that out of townships day after day.

I thought i would dedicate an entry to that. I have been lucky enough to get to know Cora Bailey and she is someone i trust with animal well being completely. This brave woman goes into the townships, where so many animal rights people are too affraid to travel. Claw not only rescues abandoned and ill-treated animals, but also builds vet clinics in Soweto, organises free food and
classes for the underprivileged people, runs an AIDS outreach program etc. Through all of that they not only help people but teach them to look after animals properly, as many of the township people simply don't know.. It's incredible. This is exactly the kind of people we need, people prepared to do field work, target the problem directly and change the world bit by bit

here is their new site
http://www.claw-sa.org/
they are a no-kill shelter, so give them a shout if you find an animal in need.

Skinny dog - day 3

Today already she is much stronger. Mostly sleeping all day but a lot more responsive and happy looking. She does the cutest little stretch, crosses her front legs and lets them slide forward alond the floor. Adorable

We had our first walk in the garden today, but she wasn't really interested in exploring, more in searching for food. I have increased her 3-hourly dose to a tablespoon and a half of dog food mixed with water.

Oh, and we had a de-fleeing bath today. Afterwards she ran around in a circle and rubbed herself on the floor. It was too funny for words.

Had some visitors too. My Uncaged group (we organise animal rights stuff), and a friend, Justin. She is still quite wary of people, but much calmer.

Had a power-out in the evening. Shame, poor thing doesn't like lightning one bit.


Me and my new friend :-)


So damn skinny


Caught trying to break her diet stealing bread i threw out for the birds





I feeeel preeety...


Oh so preeety :-)

Skinny dog - day 2

First thing this morning - rushed to the vet to get the dog. Kept thinking ''what if she didn't make it through the night''...

She made it and was already looking better, after the bath and some food. I wish i could have taken a picture of her the previous day, to show how terrified, dirty and skinny she looked, but i was otherwise occupied.



So here she is. The vet's diagnosis is:
terribly malnourished, to a point where too much food could burst her stomach or kill her kidneys. I have to feed her puppy food mixed with water, a table spoon every 3 hours.

her one eye seems to be on its way out, or as the doctor put it ''ready to pop'' (*shiver*). Possibly due to a sustained injury. I am given an eye ointment to apply 3 times a day. The doctor says the eye may have to be removed all together. She would have done it there and then, as it may be causing pain, but the dog won't survive the anesthetic in her current state, so we have to wait and see.

I don't want her to lose an eye. I fear it may make finding her a home more difficult. No one likes a freak dog... but i will do what i have to do.

Her teeth are missing on one side. She can eat, but it leads me to believe she may have been hit by a car, or a person, which would explain her adrenaline-pumped dash across Emmarentia. After she stopped running she collapsed in a heap, barely able to prop herself up. We were worried her legs were damaged, but it's just malnutrition.

No-one can explain to me what a dog in this state was doing in my middle class suburb. I can only gather that she may have come from far away. A dog driven by pain and hunger can cover a lot of distance.

We took her home. The vet gave me a free collar and a lead and asked me to come back on Monday.

The bad eye

When we got home i first put her in the garage. I was still worried about her temperament and couldn't let her near my dogs as i didn't know how they would react to her.

here you can see how thin she is

I made her a bed, in which she slept all day. She was too weak to move much, just to eat once and to wee. I worked from home so i could keep feeding her. I put food right under her nose, as she couldn't get up much. She was a lot calmer around me and actually enjoyed human touch. I would stroke her head and she would fall asleep. i was to freaked out to stroke anywhere but her head, she was all bones and the feeling scared me.


Just ate :-)


I can touch her now and she likes it




Here she is sleeping like an angel. God knows what she must have been through. There is an air of pain around her that makes me cry, but she is just so sweet.

remember - as soon as she is better - she will be looking for a home.

Skinny dog - day 1

Let me first explain why I am doing this.

I don't mean to come across as a sentimental freak. I guess I am outraged by the artist being asked to exhibit again, and since i am not in the same country and unable to protest outside the gallery - I want to make my stand in some way.

Also I have a dog on my hands. I need to find it a home. My last dog i rescued was a beautiful Chow and it found a home in no time. This new girl, lets face it, is not a looker - as you will see soon when i post pictures. She is cute in her own way, but not gorgeous. She is no pedigree. She is not a puppy. I figure the best way of making her appeal to people who look at adoption pleas in their inboxes every single day is through her survivor story. Hopefully someone will want to give her a good life. She has been through hell and deserves it.

So, her story:

I was sitting with Aragorn and Anne from Beauty Without Cruelty at Further (our little shop) when we saw a tiny dog running like mad in the road.

We ran out after it. It was terrified and wouldn't let us near it. Aragorn managed to trap it with a jersey and we brought it back into the shop, as it made the most horrific wailing sounds.

Once in the shop it huddles in the corner shivering like crazy. What a site she was. Skinniest dog I've ever seen. One blood shot eye. Angry. Shivering. It wouldn't let us near her, unless it was to throw it tiny pieces of Vegan polony, which it gulped down like it's never seen food.

We once again managed to trap it with a jersey and put it in a cat box, which we rushed off to the Vet

For all of you in jhb area - Linden vet is brilliant. They worked with all my animals for years, and don't frown when i bring these filthy wild dogs. She - Claire that is, but the other two doctors are also nice - is wonderfully helpful. She looked at the dog, gave it some shots, did all the tests on it and offered to keep her (yes it's a girl) overnight for observation as well as to give it a bath etc. She only ended up charging me the consultation fee and for one ointement. The rest was on the house.

I was now faced with a situation. I had this dog on my hands. I didn't know how sick she was. I didn't know how wild she was and whether i would ever be able to even touch it, let alone take care of it without it biting my head off.

Most importantly i knew i cannot keep it permanently. I already have a full house and my dogs won't stand for it, plus I am renting and not allowed any more pets. Giving it to a shelter was an option, but i first wanted to see if i could make it healthier again and in the mean time find it a home.

Background on Guillermo Vargas Habacuc

The story below has been haunting me for sometime. It makes my blood boil and i hope, for the ''artists'' sake that our paths never cross.

The other day i heard that he was asked to do this installation again, which was the day before i found my dog. I felt i just had to do the blog.



In the 2007, the 'artist' Guillermo Vargas Habacuc, took a dog
from the street, he tied him to a rope in an art gallery, starving him to
death.

For several days, the 'artist' and the visitors of the exhibition
have watched emotionless the shameful 'masterpiece' based on the dog's
agony, until eventually he died.

But this is not all... the prestigious Visual Arts Biennial of the
Central American decided that the 'installation' was actually art, so that
Guillermo Vargas Habacuc has been invited to repeat his cruel action for the
biennial of 2008!!

Go to:
http://www.petitiononline.com/13031953/petition.html
to sign a petion to stop him to do it again, then
digit the name Guillermo Vargas Habacuc to find the petition to sign.

If you want to double check all the above informations you can
google the name of the 'artist' to see all I have just said corresponds to
truth