Nieuwsbrief van de 'Catmen of Aleppo' dierenvrienden die honderden dieren redden en verzorgen in Syrië

 https://ernestosanctuary.org/

ERNESTOS NEWSLETTER Happy new 2022 Ernestos Newsletter January 2022 This month we have a new year at Ernestos to look forwards to and an old year to look back on. But first, King Maxi would like to say a few words.    “Dear supporters and friends of my kingdom, I’m here to ask you to consider setting up a monthly donation of Green Kisses to my Piggy Bank.  Every month, you'll help animals in need, and giving a regular donation helps me in a special way too. Knowing how many Greens I can expect over the months and years means I can plan ahead. This means I can make our work even better and reach more animals that need help.  My slaves do all they can to stop animals suffering. But they can’t do it without your support. It’s only the kindness of people like you that makes all this possible. Please consider setting up a monthly donation today. The process is easy and will make a difference to the animals in our care, and those we are yet to reach.  You can set up a monthly donation on our website here – https://ernestosanctuary.org/donation/ Thank you - Green Kisses are a Kings Best Friend. -https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lorraine-winson-medsfood420 Our fundraisers this month are- https://myevent.com/new2022forernestos https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lorraine-winson-medsfood420 Our Paypal is - https://www.paypal.me/ErnestoSanctuary   and here Maxi's christmas song for you : I don't want carrots for Christmas There is just one thing I need I don't care about the tears of my slave  underneath his cap where I peed  I just want green for my own More than you could ever know Make my wish come true All I want for Christmas is you  Yeah OUR RECENT VACCINE CAMPAIGN Last week, on the 16th of December some of the vaccines made it safely to Ernestos. We are so grateful for the donations that made this possible. We have opened the quarantine area again for more cats who need help, and we are patiently waiting for the rest of the consignment of vaccines to arrive. At the beginning of the month, we were making decisions about who could be vaccinated and who could not. We were down to our very last vaccine. It isn’t a situation we want to repeat anytime soon. It is hard to decide who gets the vaccine and who does not. I think you can understand the difficulties we faced. Cat diseases are killing cats all over Syria and our area is being hit very hard by a viral outbreak. Only the lucky ones in our sanctuary and farm are protected and we want to help the animals outside too.  If you want to help us to save more pets lives in our country, please continue to support us.  You can still donate to buy lifesaving vaccines and other much needed medicines on our new Myevent fundraiser here – https://myevent.com/new2022forernestos And we have opened a new fundraiser on JustGiving for medicines and food here -https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lorraine-winson-medsfood420 In January 2021 we were still very busy rescuing the street dogs of Sarqin. The municipality had ordered that the dogs were to be shot. We were granted a stay of execution while we rescued as many as we could. The team were kept busy building kennels at the farm and the incoming dogs were vet checked, vaccinated and the males neutered.   We were happy to report that 41 dogs were rescued and adopted. All of them are doing well. We paid for a taxi to bring a cat to us from an area far from Ernestos. He was paralyzed in his back legs and rehabilitation and physio started immediately. We sadly lost 4 cats to a virus. Liam, Nesrine, Huo and Assinat. We think the virus was carried by Hou - a new arrival. We immediately lengthened our quarantine periods. The team worked hard to clean every square inch of the sanctuary and the deaths stopped. The freezing weather caused concerns for the cats who don’t like to sleep in the house - so the canopy area was enclosed with heavy duty polythene and heaters and rugs were put inside. It was sufficient to raise the temperature by several degrees and the cats moved in.  We welcomed Miss Nour to the sanctuary to join our team. She is adored by the cats and works hard to keep them happy and comfortable. A new area and buildings (designed by Abu Ali) were constructed. The buildings were for the sole use of mothers and kittens. They were well occupied over the next months. Covid 2 was on the rise in Idlib and the Syrian pound began to lose value. The borders began to close tightly, and the war was still only kilometers away from us. February 2021 began with the rescue of a mother dog and pups from the streets. We were informed that they were being tormented by children and that mum had been beaten. They were brought to Ernestos. We posted photographs on our website and in a couple of days a request was received from a family who wanted to adopt them all. They were all vaccinated and will receive free treatment from our clinic for the rest of their lives and we will do what is best for them at all times. On the 2nd February we were devastated by the death of Lolo our beautiful little dog from Winsons Farm. Lolo had been rescued from a heavily bombed area by Abu Ali. She was a favourite of Ayman the farm caretaker and his family. She was kind and sweet and gentle and she left a hole in our hearts. She had suffered a massive hernia and despite the immediate and best efforts of our team she passed away.We had opened a fundraiser for dried food as we desperately needed to buy a large stock before the borders became more tightly closed between Syria and Turkey. Donations were slow and we worried that we might not be able to pay our other bills. The beautiful tabby that had arrived to us in a taxi last month began to regain the use of his legs. After a month of daily treatments he was mobile. There was still a little wobble on one leg but he was walking around the sanctuary as if he had been there for years. We were able to announce to our groups that every male cat in Ernestos had now been neutered. This was a great achievement for us. Two beautiful white cats were surrendered to us as the owners didn’t want them when they realised that both cats were deaf. We were happy that they hadn’t been abandoned on the streets, which is the fate for so many unwanted ones.  Our residents at the sanctuary numbered 1000 this month and the free vets clinic was busier than ever. The vets team treated inguinal and spigelian hernias in sheep, cats and dogs. Straightened the leg of a foal born with flexural deformity, removed tumours, repaired prolapsed wombs, treated cuts and stitched wounds. In March we welcomed Violetta. A white cat who had taken refuge in a printers shop. We were called to rescue her and take her away. She was covered in purple dye and she was also pregnant. The month turned out to be a hard month for us. Four of our cats died and they were some of the favourites of many of you. Deano, Marnouch, Zanoubia and Dali.  They were loved, they are remembered and they will never be forgotten. We had a lot of questions asked about their deaths and we could only answer that they died because we work in an country torn apart by war. We have limited access to drugs and medicines and equipment and there are sanctions in place from the rest of the world that make access to any medical equipment extremely difficult. Because of the deaths of these cats we started to try to access better quality drugs and vaccines and transport them over the difficult border crossing. We opened a new fundraiser to help us. Several cats arrived to us from the bombing areas. They were in poor condition and one had lost an eye. On international womens day 2021 we wished Miss Nour “ Happy International Womens Day”. King Maximus enthusiastically threw himself into organising St Patricks Day and St Gertrudes Day and renewed his appeal for some Green Kisses For The Royal Piggy Bank. His Royal Outfit Was A Triumph This Year. King Maximus is also the Marketing Cat of Ernestos and Takes His Duties Very Seriously.  Violetta the purple cat gave birth to three healthy kittens. The dye had come off her very quickly and we thought it was probably food dye.  Abu Ali was kept busy making birthday cakes this month as many of you requested to share your day with the cats and the team. We were even bought a new set of kitchen pots and pans by two kind birthday donors A small puppy was brought to us. One of a set of twins whose mother had been killed in a road accident. Sadly the owner wanted to keep the male pup but not the female. Fortunately we had Alina our Supercat. She was introduced to the puppy and immediately enetered into mothering mode. She supported and nurtured this little dog as she had mothered so many others in the past. Dr Youssef operated on a sheep with a massive abdominal mass - when he opened her up he was faced with 60 plastic bags, which were removed and the wound site stitched closed. The owner was given advice to keep the sheep away from rubbish. War planes flew across the skies above Ernestos this month and the area remained very volatile. In the last week of March the team watched the bombs dropping - just a couple of kilometers from the sanctuary.in the second photograph, you can see the canopy in our yard. It was a very near miss. In April the rescue of a cat with two young kittens touched the hearts of many of you. We were alerted by a group member in Holland who had heard that there was a family of cats in trouble near the Turkish border. Dr Youssef travelled there to find them. The mother had an eye so infected that Dr Youssef knew it would have to be removed. The owner surrendered the cats to us and Dr Youssef returned to the clinic where the cat was given pain relief and her kittens were given to Mela one of the nursing mothers. The eye was enucleated the next day. This was a first for Dr Youssef. With the vets team on hand he didn’t falter and the operation was a success.The cat recovered quickly and the next day her kittens were returned to her. The cat was named Rawa after the friend that contacted us. This was truly an International Rescue. The new buildings for mothers and kittens became fully occupied in April, and was now home to 40 kittens and their mothers. The tortoises began to emerge from hibernation - a sure sign of the warmer days. Cats and kittens began to arrive daily. Some were the pets of people moving away from the bombing, some were given to us because their owners just could not feed them anymore - unfortunately this is the reality for many people here in the war zone. One family of  a mother and 5 kittens came back from a shopping trip with Abu Ali. He only went out to buy vegetables 3 puppies were left at the clinic and after being treated for ticks and fleas they were taken to the farm and placed for adoption. Please remember that our care does not end when we have dogs adopted. They are still supported and vet checked by Ernestos. Winsons Farm continued to be a happy and contented place with the animals receiving the best of care. Sadly our black lamb Lil, was bitten by a scorpion and couldn’t be saved. There were a lot of days this month when we didn’t receive any donations at all and days like these add to our anxieties - because without our donors, we cannot survive. In May Samira was joined by a slightly older puppy who presented herself at the sanctuary and refused to go away. She was named Amira, and Alina took this pup under her wings as well. Soon the two pups became too large and too boisterous for Alina and they moved to the farm to be with the other dogs.  At the beginning of the month a car bomb was detonated near us. After the explosion rescuers brought in a dog in a terrible condition. He had been caught in the blast and was in a terrible condition. He had taken a massive impact to his face, and his muzzle and nose and jaw were shattered. Dr Youssef worked for over 4 hours, delicately removing fragments and slivers of bone and cleaning the wound as thoroughly as possible. The dogs whole face was swollen and skin and tissue was burned and destroyed by the force of the explosion. The vets team was under equipped to deal with such an injury and euthanasia was briefly discussed. The decision was made to give the dog a chance. He was kept pain free, on antibiotics and fed with a syringe. At the end of two weeks the swelling started to reduce and new tissue was beginning to grow. He started to gingerly eat ground meat. We appealed for your prayers and good wishes. It was extraordinarily busy at the vets clinic. We were inundated with cats and kittens that were surrendered to us. Others had been abandoned and rescued by the team. Over a two week period 60 kittens were received at the clinic. They just kept on coming. Many more adult cats arrived and we found ourselves in an emergency situation. The cats all had to be health checked, wormed, treated for ticks and fleas and the males all had to be neutered. Some of the cats had problems that required months of treatment. But most importantly we had just had a poor month of fundraising and now we faced huge rises in the cost of food and we launched a food fundraiser for the month of June.  At the Free Vets Clinic the number of patients rose steadily throughout the month - until we had treated 340 animals. Including cats, dogs, goats, donkeys, rabbits, peacocks, pigeons, hens, monkeys, cockatiels, sheep, horses, turkeys, a fox cub - and lions and hyenas. The team sewed lip injuries in rabbits, cleaned maggots from wounds, mended a broken leg on a hen, treated coughs and high temperatures and eye infections. They neutered many male cats and carried out regular health checks on our residents. The vets team were called out by the owner of a small zoo. The team attended immediately but by the time we arrived a young lion was already dead. We were sad because had we been called earlier the lion may have survived. Parvo virus was suspected and an injection could have saved him. We left our contact details offering hin free checks and vaccines. The zoo owner seemed sceptical but to our surprise a few days later they called us and asked the team to return.The animals are well fed but live in small cages to be shown to humans for fun and for money. But we are not judges and our job is to relieve any pain and check their health - which we did. If we can improve the living conditions and the health of these animals in the future then we will. At the farm Lou Lou the cat gave birth to 1 kitten and Kheela our mare gave birth to a filly. Both babies thrived. Abu Ali rescued a monkey that was being kept in a small bird cage and shown for money.He was rescued and will stay at the farm. A new resident arrived. A tiny fox cub, just a few weeks old. Stolen from his mother, (who we suspect was killed), and incarcerated in a bird cage. AbuAli saw him advertised for sale and went and bought him. He was terrified of humans. We intended to release him but he was so small and thin we decided he would stay with us for a while. Alina was delighted to mother him and moved herself in with him. The cub was content in her company. Rawa the cat who had had her eye removed in April weaned her kittens and began to take an active part in sanctuary life The Summer : In June we decided to ask for help raising money for an xray machine. Dr Youssef had found a second hand xray machine in good condition and we also needed an aspirator and a cauterisation machine. The vets team had worked miracles on badly injured animals but we knew that so much more could be achieved with better equipment. We opened a fundraiser in order to be able to afford it and you obviously agreed with us. Never in our wildest dreams had we thought that by the end of June you would have donated enough money for us to buy all three of the machines. But you did - and soon we were transporting and fitting the equipment at the Free Vets Clinic. The month brought more and more cats and kittens - they arrived in boxes, bags and sacks. One lady brought her cats to us. She was forced to give them up because of personal circumstances. Of course, we accepted them. The very next day we were called out to rescue a colony of 34 cats. The person who had fed them was forced to move to the refugee camps and the landowner said he would kill them. They were rescued and all the males neutered within 2 days. Vaccines were given and infections and injuries treated in quarantine. Dr Youssef sustained minor injuries when he health checked a horse and her new foal. The mare charged at him and bit his shoulder, tearing his tee shirt and vest and followed up with a kick to his shins. Fortunately his pride was injured more than he was. Our baby donkey Dakota was one year old this month and a celebration was held for him at the farm. The clinic started an education campaign among the cat owners in the area. A bag of dried food was delivered along with a leaflet on the benefits of sterilisation. We planned to repeat the campaign every few months. A few owners brought their cats to the clinic for neutering and we were happy with this small success. We were asked to “remove” two families of cats from the streets. The residents didn’t want them there and they were rescued and brought to the sanctuary. The team were called to rescue a dog injured by bomb fragmentation. While they were trying to find the dog Alessandra received a phone call that the team had “inadvertently entered into a minefield” and then communication was lost for a while leaving a frantic Alessandra fearing for their lives. Fortunately they found their way out safely and collected the dog. She was given immediate pain relief for the large wounds in her chest and abdomen and taken back to Ernestos. She was pregnant.  Two badgers were rescued from their incarceration in an old water tank in the scorching heat. They had no water and no shelter. We found some money from our accounts and bought them. They spent the night at Ernestos and after a good meal they were released into a suitable area far from the town. A call came to the clinic about a cat with kittens, who had been in a car accident. The man wanted to know if she could be saved or if he should end her pain and her life. The team travelled to the border to the cat. She had a compound fracture of the femur and was in lots of pain - but she was still trying to nurse her  babies. An emergency operation took place at the clinic in the middle of the night and this brave cat was saved and rehomed at Ernestos. She was named Madelyn. In July we launched a new appeal for dried food as the stock room was almost empty. A fundraiser was launched for 100 bags. The fox cub that had been Alinas last orphan was now living with Lucy the Saluki as her companion. A new run was being prepared for them at the farm. Foxy was still very frightened of humans. Dr Youssef and Abu Ali were called to a military area near the border to treat some dogs. They had huge levels of tick infestation. It took over 4 hours of painstaking work to remove every last one - they were then treated to prevent further infestation. Abu Alis wife received a message that there was a cardboard box abandoned by the roadside with kittens in it – and the kittens were close to death. She immediately went to collect them and after a health check they were accepted by one of our nursing mothers.  In August a man posted online that he had found 11 puppies in a box. Anas saw the post and he and Ali went to collect them. Alina was beside herself with joy. The pups were bottle fed by 10 of our team and we thought they stood a good chance - so we were shocked when despite the best efforts of everyone they all passed away a few days later. We share our successes with you and we must also share our defeats. The team were devastated. The temperatures in August soared and the staff worked hard to keep our cats cool and comfortable. Ice was placed in the fountains and in shady corners and the whole sanctuary was sprayed down regularly to lower the temperature. Unfortunately the heat also brought an outbreak of a virus and claimed the lives of lots of the kittens that had arrived. A mass disinfection of the entire sanctuary took place. The staff worked hard under blisterig conditions and the virus was quickly controlled. A new husky dog was surrendered to the farm.She was named Azura for her beautiful eyes. On International Cat Day we celebrated by helping an old lady of 103. We had helped her out a few years previously but we were told she had moved away -  then we found that she was still in the same place. It made us sad that we had been misinformed. She gave us 10 of her cats from her colony and we took them to Ernestos. We called again with some supplies for her and dried food for her cats and we will remainin contact. Foxy and Lucy continued to bond and Foxy became more confident and relaxed. Plans developed for their move to the farm. In the middle of the month we had great news. We had been looking for another vet to work with us for a long time. Most vets in Syria are only trained to specialize in farm and livestock animals and it isnt easy to find one who had experience with pets. By chance we met a young doctor who had graduated in 2020 and had the experience we needed. He was able to neuter, recognise diseases and to neuter and spay. He also has tact and compassion. After evaluating his qualifications and work history we decided he was just what we wanted. Dr Ahmed joined our vet  team at Ernestos. He is kind, capable and enthusiastic and works hard alongside Dr Youssef. The figures from the Free Vets Clinic  for February to August showed just how much we needed him. In those 6 months 2285 animals were treated by our team. 60 cats had been neutered. All the daily checks and work at the sanctuary and farm still carried on around this work. A poisoned donkey was saved by the team. We think that he had eaten a toxic weed which had found its way into his food. He was treated with antidote and a serum drip and made a good recovery. The cat with the compound fracture of the leg had her plaster cast removed and was beginning to move around at the sanctuary. She was named Madelyn. She had refused to take her kittens back and 2 of them had been nursed by Alina. Sadly Oscar the Grey didn’t make it but Lillo, the other one thrived under Alinas care.           September  Once again the war caused the movement of lots of people and cats were left with us or sometimes just abandoned. The war planes were in the skies again above Ernestos and a lady living nearby was killed in a bomb strike.  A female cat was brought into the clinic by its owner to be spayed. This always makes us happy. We rescued a cat and her 4 kittens from a refugee camp where they were not wanted, and a restaurant called us to take away 2 ginger and white cats because they were jumping on diners tables. Lucy and Foxy were moved to the farm where they were given a bigger enclosure with separate sleeping quarters if they wanted and a fountain. Lucy is exercised with the other dogs and Foxy is happy to watch the activity at the farm. Slowly the other dogs are being introduced to him. He is still badly traumatised and wary of humans. We cannot let him roam because the farm is not enclosed and we have no guarantee we would be able to catch him. Ayman is working hard to gain his trust. Ayman our farm keeper was ill with Covid and we were very worried about him. Thankfully after two weeks he began to recover. Lucy the dog presented with a high temperature and was taken to the sanctuary for a few days until she recovered. She was then returned back to the farm and Foxy. A lot of animals were abandoned not far from us. We collected a dog with an amputated leg and nine cats. Two days later we collected 3 female cats from the same place. A German shepherd type dog was injured in a car accident. She was pregnant and the team went out to her. She was given pain killers and her injury treated but the team noticed that her chain collar was too tight and had caused further injury to her neck. She stayed with us to recover and her owners were given a lecture on suitable collars for the dog. We believe that this injury was caused more by ignorance than conscious cruelty. In October  we were devastated when Alina died suddenly. With no fuss, no illness, no suffering, she left us and she left this world - leaving us stunned with shock and grief. Four years ago, Alina was found at the side of a busy road by Abu Ali. She was starving and homeless and was brought back to Ernestos sanctuary. She settled in well and was a sociable cat. She suffered with epilepsy and was given medication to control her fits. Alinas driving force in life was to be a mother.  Unfortunately, although she gave birth twice her kittens were always sickly and didn’t survive. So, Alina became the best foster mother in the world instead. She mothered so many abandoned kittens in her 4 years with us. But Alinas heart knew no barriers – she adopted puppies and fox cubs too. Sometimes her love and care saved the lives of hopeless cases. A tiny puppy savaged by big dogs, pups that needed comfort and love, a terrified fox cub. Alina welcomed them all. Samira and Alina the pups, Foxy the fox cub, Smudge, Lord, Mila and her kittens, Oscars kittens, Lillo and Oscar the grey were just a few of the animals that were nurtured with loving care by Alina. We will be lucky if we see her likes again. RIP Alina. You were amazing, generous and loving and we miss you terribly. for her and for the memory of many cats we want to buy medicines and vaccins with your help https://www.paypal.me/ErnestoSanctuary this campain will help us so much also https://myevent.com/new2022forernestos in November we said goodbye to our lovely old donkey Donald. He was ancient when we got him. He was rescued from a life of hard work, under the blazing sun and in the low temperatures of winter. He was used for transporting goods and he was very lame and his hooves were a mess. He was also almost blind. Of course we bought him and he was brought to the farm where he lived a life of good meals and days in the sun and the shade with other donkey friends. RIP Donald - you deserve your rest.  and to not make this newsletter very long we will back to you soon with other archiviment of this year in january , for now we want to wish you happy new year and merry christmas from all Ernesto's team inside and outside Syria

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