We Won Big For Dogs In 2024
It was tough but we made it happen
We Connected Community
In 2024 we continued to sterilise, feed, treat & educate right throughout the year & we completed our connecting community campaign.
It’s all very well stepping in to a foreign country & supporting animal welfare but it’s also vital to encourage folks to do for themselves.
If we were to step away all the good we had created would be quickly lost. However, if stray dogs have more status in communities, folks are more likely to want to care for the dogs themselves.
Please look out for our Christmas day videos which show just how successful we have been reaching our community goal.
The dogs had a fabulous party where they were each cooked a traditional Christmas dinner. We have all seen the videos of shelter dogs in small numbers tucking in to a plate of festive food but never before has anyone attempted to do this for hundreds of dogs.
A daunting task, the soup kitchen staff stepped up to help us do the cooking & serving & it was a truly humbling day.
Everybody stepped up for the dogs from shelter cleaners & pot washers right the way through to the director of cultural affairs & the mayor himself.
I had to pinch myself. Just three years ago very few people even thought about the strays. A shelter lay vacant due to lack of funding & interest & here we are today with people valuing the dogs so much they would do anything for them.
The videos will air across all our socials on Christmas morning
A Blow For The Pension Dogs
We currently have several dogs staying in pensions in Ankara. Noah, Bobby, Luis & little Sally in one & Stella in another
We were aware that a price hike was on the cards but nothing prepared us for the blow that was about to come. The cost has doubled.
As the week unfolded news began to reach us from people who had saved dogs from death & put them in pensions as no homes were available. All of the people who got in touch were in a blind panic as they can no longer pay the pension fees. It is looking likely that many dogs will end up back on the streets. We are looking at solutions but whatever we decide it won’t be a quick fix.
Meanwhile we are trying to find kind supporters who are willing & able to support our pension dogs with a small monthly donation of £5
If you are one of those kind people please go here for more information on our pension dogs.
Measuring Our Impact
Looking at our end of year report we were blown away by our achievements, especially given that we are such a small organisation.
We don’t have the following that huge celebrity accounts have so there is no monetisation for us. We rely solely on the kindness of our small but loyal supporters & any income we can make for the dogs from trading, which is negligible.
To have been able to support so many dogs through the year on such a small amount of funding is phenomenal & I can’t help but wonder just how much we could achieve if we had more support.
Clearly there is so much more work to be done to improve outcomes for strays & increase in country successful adoptions.
But how can we do more when we are losing funding?
Not one to shy away from a challenge, our founding director & CEO Michelle is adamant that we will find a way.
Working on plans for 2025 throughout the Christmas break please look out for information on new programmes in the new year.
If you would like to help us without donating please share our media as far & wide as you can. We would also love it if you would sign up to easyfundraising & use the app when you do your online shopping. Every time you shop the retailer donates to us at no cost to you. Sign up here
The Spay Station
We have been fundraising all year to provide a building in the east for first aid, spay & neuter & shelter for vulnerable dogs.
The deadline for this project is 31st December. It was looking very unlikely that we would achieve the target as it hasn’t moved beyond the eight thousand mark & we need fourteen thousand.
Just when we thought it was all over a very kind supporter came forward. They have promised to provide a thousand pounds of funding each month until the target is achieved. To say that we are incredibly grateful to them is a complete understatement.
The funding for this build will be complete by June 2025.
Milo
Our little munchkin Milo continues to amaze us.
Milo is a hit & run victim left with shattered bones, he has a rare bone condition & distemper.
Only two out of ten pups who contract distemper survive & with Milo so very poorly we didn’t think he would make it. It was too much to bear.
He had overcome so much in his little life, to be taken from us so cruelly all but destroyed his entire medical team.
But, he rallied & aside from small bouts of tics & a gastric issue that will eventually resolve he looks to have won yet another battle.
Milo will remain in quarantine with Dr V & his named carer until he has completely recovered & is no longer infectious.
If you would like to donate toward his care you can do so here
As we move toward the end of 2024 we would like to take the time to thank you so much for not forgetting the dogs & our mission in Turkey.
Our theme this Christmas is togetherness.
From the very beginning we have always acknowledged the importance of our supporters in everything we do. Dog Desk Animal Action is not about it’s directors or indeed anybody involved directly with the running of the organisation. It’s about you.
It’s about what we can achieve together.
We would like to tell you just how much we appreciate you & are looking forward to working with you next year, achieving even greater things for the most vulnerable dogs in the world.
Enjoy the excitement that will be building as we approach Christmas. And. once the day is upon us have a peaceful, happy, safe time
With Love
Dog Desk Animal Action