Feed Friends on the road!

The small island of Curaçao, a paradise is the sun but also home to many stray dogs. They are either born on the streets or dumped by their owners, in both cases left to fend for themselves. Because of the many stray dogs and the big shortage of fosters and people willing to adopt, Feed Friends Foundation was founded in 2015 with the goal to care for these stray dogs on location, meaning on the streets. 

This was the only option to care for so many dogs that were “left out” because the local shelter and other fosters are full and cannot take in any more dogs. Currently, there are a little more than 100 stray dogs in the feeding program. You might ask yourself, how can more than 100 stray dogs be fed every day? This is done through a great network of feeders, volunteers willing to use a little time to feed one or more stray dogs via a feeding schedule. 

This means that the foundation provides the food and the volunteer feeds one or more days per week on a specific location. As soon as it becomes possible, the dogs are spayed or neutered and placed back on their original location. If possible, the dog is put up for adoption as well. This happens when it is a very friendly dog and when the foundation thinks that the dog can still get used to living at a home, but also when a recently dumped dog is found that is not used to living on the streets. 

These dogs are cared for by fosters until they are ready to go to a forever home.

The dream of Feed Friends Foundation is to start a big dog sanctuary where these dogs can lead a happy and healthy life in a safe environment. A big goal but it would help the stray dogs so much!

The foundation depends on food and monetary donations to be able to continue with their work. Feel free to donate! 

Take a look on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/feedfriendsfoundation/ or donate via Paypal: http://paypal.me/feedfriends 

In the video you will see a couple of locations where stray dogs are fed through the feeding program. Feel free to let us know what you think or contact us through Facebook if you have any questions. Enjoy the video!

Website: http://feed-friends.com/

Hurricane Irma & Maria Animal Aid St Maarten, Dominica, Barbuda, Martinique, Antigua

This morning when we had a look on the Marine Traffic website, we saw that the ship of Sea Shepherd ( John Paul Dejoria ) had already arrived in the harbor. This was sooner than expected, which is fantastic!

When we arrived there, we received great news from the ship's manager that they will also stop at Barbuda and Dominica, which were unfortunately also destroyed by the second catastrophic Hurricane Maria. There is nothing left on these islands. The people have been evacuated and again, most of the animals were left behind.

These abandoned animals have the highest priority for us. Therefore, the collected goods will not only be used for the animals on St. Maarten but also for the animals on these completely destroyed islands.

The ship will arrive in Sint Maarten in about 2 weeks. The animals will not be forgotten!

It's a win-win situation! 🤗 Together we are strong!

In the meantime, of course, we also want to provide food for the animals in St. Maarten. We still have a budget for it, but of course donations are more than welcome! https://www.paypal.me/rescuepawscuracao

Janet from St. Maarten will also transfer money to Rescue Paws via 'Inzameling voor Sint Maarten' s Dieren' (Collecting funds for the animals in St. Maarten) to buy animal food for all kinds of animals i.e pigs, birds, horses, etc. Renno Ranch will also join us and use their received donations for food for the animals, which will go straight to St. Maarten.

We have also been able to make a great deal with an animal food importer for very sharp prices on food, which is fantastic!

We won't give up on these poor abandoned animals. We will keep on fighting for them!💪❤🤗

"Inzameling voor Sint Maarten's dieren", Renno Ranch and Sea Shepherd, THANK YOU, of course a BIG thank you to everyone that donated! We couldn't have done it without you! Masha danki!

Inzameling voor Sint Maarten's dieren:
https://www.facebook.com/JanetMulderLelystad/

I-Animal:
https://www.facebook.com/I.Animal.Foundation/

Animal Defenders St. Maarten
https://www.facebook.com/Animal-Defenders-St-Maarten-473917442739407/

Nature Sea Side Park:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nature-Sea-Side-Park/294171340602477

Sea Shepherd Global:
https://www.facebook.com/seashepherdglobal/

Renno Ranch:
https://www.facebook.com/RennoRanch/

Please share this video with all your friends. Together, we can make people more aware of this problem on the island.

This dog was left to die on the streets, wait till you see what happens!

Feed Friends Foundation received a message from someone who spotted a very skinny dog near a busy road. Many dogs are found dead near that road on a yearly basis. When the message came in, it was clear that immediate action needed to be taken.

The search began and after driving up and down the street several times with no luck, there she was. Standing on the side of the road, waiting for her owner who would not return. She was shy but not extremely afraid. Curious and hungry she decides to approach her rescuer. Her wagging tail showed that she wanted to be able to trust again. And that she needed food! Her rescuer was able to lift her into her car and named her Olivia, because of her beautiful eyes.

The vet declared her healthy but very skinny and in urgent need of TLC. After a short stay at a temporary fosters she was brought to her long-term fosters. A little shy at first, she explored her new home. Soon she showed her loving personality to the other dogs. She started to gain some weight and looked so different already!

By befriending one of the other dogs (also a rescue) she even helped her come out of her shell and enjoy life more. Olivia’s name was changed to Livy. She now leads a happy and healthy life with her fosters and the other dogs. Best part about the story is that her fosters love her so much that they decided they can't let her go. It's a classic foster failure! Her new life has started and she is ready for it!

Please help Feed Friends with a donation: https://www.paypal.me/feedfriends

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/feedfriendsfoundation/

Please share this video with all your friends. Together, we can make people more aware of this problem on the island.

HELP ANIMALS ON ST MAARTEN!

Hurricane Irma is the fourth hurricane of the Atlantic hurricane season 2017. The hurricane is the most powerful since 2005 and had the lowest central pressure recorded since 2007. It is known to be the first category 5 hurricane to hit the Leeward Islands region. Category 5 is the highest category hurricane and is therefore the most destructive.

St. Maarten took the hardest hit of Leeward Islands, the damage of Saba and Saint Eustatius is not as significant as on St. Maarten.

St. Maarten consists of 2 parts: a French part and a part that has been a separate country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands since 10-10-10, just like Aruba and Curacao. It was also previously part of the Netherlands Antilles.

The Red Cross estimates that 9 of the 10 buildings on St. Maarten are damaged, whereas one third is completely destroyed. There are still approximately 200 people missing and 4 deaths have been reported.

Among the victims are also many animals. Many people who had to evacuate, left their dogs, cats and other animals behind.
According to witnesses there are many deceased animals and the island is beginning to smell. Many horses are also victims.
It’s difficult to get drinking water for the people, let alone for the animals. Due to the tropical climate, water is indispensable. Dogs are being maltreated and even hit by cars when they try to grab some food.
We as an animal aid organization cannot ignore this tragedy for the animals, hence we would like to help.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is is an international non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organization. In addition to some smaller vessels, the Sea Shepherd has multiple ships.

One of the ships is now on its way to Curaçao, where it will load donated food, water and other necessities to transport to St. Maarten. Rescue Paws Curaçao and I-Animal were honored to be involved with the gathering of food and water as a donation for the animals in need in of St Maarten.

People can donate goods, but can also transfer money instead. With that money we will buy the necessities in Curacao, which will be shipped to St. Maarten.

Mercedes de Windt of Animal Defenders in St. Maarten will coordinate the distribution of the food and water.

For donations please click on PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/rescuepawscuracao

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RescuePawsCuracaoFoundation

St Maarten video credits:
Dick Drayer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8swHK-KgGU&t

Please share this video with all your friends. Together, we can make people more aware of this problem on the island.

Dog relieved from enormous tumor

She had no name, probably never had been petted and is afraid of everything around her. She had an owner, who loved her in her own way. Someone who wants to properly care for her animals but due to circumstance can't. Because all dogs deserve a name, we named her Kadushi. A pretty name that means "cactus".

Kadushi was spotted walking along side a busy road with an enormous growth on her stomach. A growth that must have been there a while because by now it was dragging on the ground. Someone said she had had it for 9 months, someone else said she had been walking around with it for years.
It was time to help Kadushi. The scraping growth posed a big risk for infection and in consultation with the owner we decided to catch her. The call for donations was answered and the plan to catch her could be made. With a team of seasoned catchers we thought we could get it done swiftly. She was in a yard with a good fence after all.
The trap cage was snared but because of her fear Kadushi didn't even see it, regardless of the delicious meat inside. She escaped the yard through a hole in the fence but did return a little while later. When we tried to catch her again we managed to grab a paw, with help from the dog pole we managed to put her in a bench.
At the vet we saw Kadushi was still very frightened, so for safety we muzzled her and kept the dog pole, loosely, on her neck. Her temperature was taken, which was a little high. The blood test showed she had tick disease but no heart worm. The growth turned out not to be in the stomach lining, as the vet had seen on x-rays. We decided together to save her from further stress and to operate immediately. The growth was removed without any complications worth mentioning. Kadushi had been dragging around a 1.4kg/3lbs burden. To recover in peace and have an opportunity to sterilize her later, Dierenoppas Curaçao( Petsitter Curaçao) offered her a safe and quiet spot. Very soon Kadushi will go into surgery for( hopefully) the last time to be sterilized and then she can go home.
In the yard are a total of 10 dogs; 6 grown ups and 4 puppies. We hope we'll receive enough donations so we can sterilize and castrate all these dogs, but also to give them NexGard and to deworm them. We are trying to find homes for the pups so the situation doesn't become too overwhelming.
We'll post a follow up video soon.

Feed Friends Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/feedfriendsfoundation

Like and share this video with all your friends please. Together we can raise people's awareness of this problem on the island.

Dumped dog gets Forever Home

Many of you watched the video "Animal Rescue in Curaçao #11". In this video Ollie had the lead and he was being rescued by a team of very kind people from the place he was dumped a few months prior. We thought he was very timid which meant he could temporarily stay at Animal Protection. That way he could be evaluated in a safe manner, to see what his character was like and if he could be placed.

Even before catching him we were approached by Marja, who admitted to having fallen in love with Ollie. She also indicated that, if his demeanor allowed it, he could come live with her and her husband.
They took great care of him at Animal Protection and he underwent and passed some important health tests whilst there. His character turned out to be good and Ollie quickly showed he was just a nice and loving lug who wants nothing more than attention.
Last week Ollie, now named Buddha, was allowed to go to his new home and meet the 3 female dogs already in residence. He has a ways to go but we have plenty of confidence that Buddha will turn out just fine. With the right attention he will quickly develop into a snuggly pet. Buddha has his on Facebook page where you can follow his new life: Buddha " the Awakened".
We would like to thank everyone who helped in one way or another or expressed concern or gave support, thank you very much. In particular, a big thanks to José, Mirjan (Rescue Paws), Karin, Denise,  the Animal Protection Agency, Marja and her husband and vet Sjoerd de Groot.
By sharing the various rescue videos you are helping raise awareness for the work we do. That in turn helps in finding Furever Homes for the dogs rescued. Support us by liking our "Feed Friends Foundation" Facebook page and sharing the videos on this YouTube channel.

Feed Friends Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/feedfriendsfoundation
Facebook Page Boodha: https://www.facebook.com/Buddha-de-ontwaakte-1238997749511154

Like and share this video with your friends please. Together we can make people aware of this problem on the island.

Dog with eye wound helped

We received a report of one of our feeders that a dog in our feeding program had an issue with his eye. It was severely swollen and red and we decided to medicate it to see if it would ease up. Unfortunately the medication alone was not sufficient and we decided a trip to the vet was warranted. Luckily it concerned a friendly dog who has been in the feeding program for a while so we knew catching him wouldn't be that difficult. 

When we tried to catch him, we found out he and 3 other dogs in our feeding program were walking in someone's yard. The inhabitant told us that the dogs were dumped a long time ago and they eventually walked into his yard since his gate was open. They are not his dogs but they are allowed to sleep in the yard and have a dry spot for when it rains. Financially he was not able to contribute but luckily we had received donations for the operation. When we arrived at the vet's he concluded that the dog had probably been bitten and that his eye lid had permanent damage. An eye lid correction was not feasible and the eye had to be removed.The operation went well.
The dog is happy to be back in his spot and was heartily greeted by the other dogs. This operation was possible due to the fabulous donations we received. Thanks to you this dog can happily live on. Many thanks!
Feed Friends Foundation feeds about 100 dogs daily and it happens regularly that a dog needs to see a vet. To help these dogs donations are still, and always, very welcome. Support our effort and contribute to a bitter life for strays in Curaçao.

Facebook page Feed Friends: https://www.facebook.com/feedfriendsfoundation

Like and share this video with all your friends please. Together we can raise people's awareness of this problem on the island.

Feeding strays with Ariadne

I started feeding dogs when I was at Seru Mahuma and saw a severely ill dog walking around. That dog was kicked out by his "loving" owner and abandoned. That was over 3 years ago. From 1 dog it ultimately turned in to 12 but I have had more. It is very grateful work but it shouldn't have to be needed. The dumping needs to stop as well.

All our dogs are former strays. We have 2 new pups again, since February 17th and we are now at a total of 9 dogs at home plus 12-15 on the streets.
Of course all the dogs have a name and I keep track of everything in a spread sheet( I wouldn't remember everything otherwise).
On my Facebook page, Ariadne Bird, I frequently post pictures of the doggies.

Like and share this video with all your friends please. Together we can raise people's awareness of this problem on the island.

Feeding stray dogs with Fen van Noordt

My name us Fen van Noordt. As an individual without a source of income, I try to feed stray dogs and cats and try to save them from a miserable existence.

Currently there are 4 dogs being fed on Montaña Abou and in the Kadushistreet there are 5 dogs. Previously also on Rooi Santu, but these dogs are now at our house! From an economic point of view, we boil rice in the morning. "Afval pa kacho" (scraps for dogs) and kibble are added.
Many thanks to Boosty who helps us in this endeavor by donating left over French bread of the past week!
And how did it all start?
33 Years ago I landed back on my native island, and on the very first day I was confronted with two mangy female dogs and a mother cat with 6 kittens. Feeding them, treating the mange and the sterilization of the dogs was a must from the get go. We rescued dogs and cats off the streets and took in pets from owners who were emigrating.
Many stray dogs or cats are loyal, friendly companions by nature, unless abuse and neglect leads to the animal's pain, injury or severe issues with their well-being! The two white ones on Montaña Abou are a good example! Very shy and timid, they are happy to see me, but I am not allowed to touch them!
During the past few years, since 2011, Stichting Dierenhulp Curaçao( Foundation Animalhelp Curaçao) has helped me enormously with sterilizations/castrations and I am very grateful to them! Still there are unexpected costs, such as vet fees but particularly the costs for remedies against fleas, worms, ticks, etc.
Jar Nobrega, from all animal lovers, we are grateful for your videos and hope these little films inspire people to help others! Thank you very much for your effort for more animal welfare on our island! Happy New Year!!

Please like and share this video with all your friends please. Together we can make people aware of this problem on the island.

Dog dumped as trash rescued

He was dumped in one of the most awful spots of Curaçao, Shut. A place where every 15 minutes pump trucks filled with sewage, sucked from cesspools, search around the North side for a place to dump their load. A spot where multiple times a day garbage is dumped and where you will find all sorts of discarded items, from broken washing machines and fridges to yard waste, clothes or construction debris.

This is also the spot where people dump their dead animals. Some in bags or wrapped in sheets, others just dumped in the open air by the side of the road. All horrible. But we think what's the worst is the dumping of live animals, animals who are no longer wanted and put out of the car by their owners. We see them walking around, searching for water and food. By including them in the feeding program we try to alleviate the suffering a little.
Ollie was dumped in October 2016 and we immediately included him in the feeding program. We saw he was older and had a swelling on his hip. Of course it's a mystery why Ollie was dumped, but we fear the swelling had something to do with it. Ollie was fed every day but he didn't seem to trust us, as soon as you came near he walked away. We couldn't imagine leaving him there to live out his last few years and decided to catch him.
During feeding we found out he had a regular sleeping spot where he slept and we had expected to find him there. It was disappointing to see he was not there. We decided to put out some food with tranquigel, a medicine that would make him sleepy. After waiting a while Ollie appeared and ate the food and the medicine.
We knew we had to keep an eye on him now, because if we lost track of him now it would be hard to find him. He decided to lie down and after half an hour we gave the go ahead for the actual catch. Very slowly, without any sign of stress, we managed to get the dog pole around his neck. This pole is used to affix him so he can't escape. Very calmly we could retrieve him from the bushes and then we were certain: Ollie is safe!
He was quickly loaded up and brought to the vet. At the vet it turned out there wasn't really much wrong with him. He is almost bald due to scabies, but it is a very treatable type. He also has fleas, ticks and lice but those can be gotten rid of as well. Now it is important to monitor him so we can find out what his character is like and if he can be placed. We are going to take it easy with Ollie and give him an honest chance for a better life. At least he is safe now, thanks to a great team. On to a better future!

Feed Friends Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/feedfriendsfoundation

Like and share this video with all your friends please. Together we can raise people's awareness of this problem on the island.

This Dog Survived a Car Accident

This is Robbie’s story…

Robbie was still a young pup when he was living on the streets with his mom and brother. They had always managed to survive on their own and had never been in contact with human beings. People were therefore scary creatures to them! That became apparent during the rescue of Robbie and also throughout the days he had spent at his foster home…something that was just heartbreaking to witness, since one could clearly see the fear in his eyes.

Nevertheless, Robbie had to be rescued from the streets after he had been involved in a terrible car accident that had left him with a broken paw and many wounds. Nursing on the street was definitely not an option. This was obviously a dog that needed a whole lot of TLC (Tender Loving Care) after getting him the urgently needed medical attention.

Little by little Robbie started to trust those surrounding him at Casa Bak (Shelter). Then came the day of the surgery, which was very exciting as we all wanted to see this little fellow back on his paws! The confinement period with restricted activity after the surgery was a bit difficult, especially for such a young pup. However, Robbie did extremely well! The fear to trust continued to fade away even more during this period, thanks to the care and attention given to him by his loving fosters at Casa Bak.

Unfortunately, just when things started to look up for Robbie, his paw took a turn for the worse…and the only option left was amputation. It was a tough decision to take, but in the end it saved Robbie’s life. Not only that…Robbie was visibly happy after that awfully painful paw had been removed. He got used to life on 3 paws pretty quickly and is just as fast as any other dog with 4 paws!

Shortly afterwards, someone had heard about Robbie’s story and decided to adopt the little fellow. It was once again very scary for Robbie during the first couple of days. Yet his fear made way for excitement since he got a super mommie, who is willing to give him all the time and attention he needs.

We’re happy to see that Robbie has gotten a loving home after all that he’s been through in his short life. However, he is not the only dog that is in dire need of intensive care and attention. Rescue Paws can certainly use your help to make this possible for other dogs as well. Will you help us to help them? Your donation can make a difference.

Donations: https://www.paypal.me/rescuepawscuracao

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RescuePawsCuracaoFoundation

Please share this video with all your friends. Together, we can make people more aware of this problem on the island.

This Dog was Found on the Juliana Bridge, and then this happened..

On May 17th 2017 Jules had been found by 2 of our volunteers, walking over the "Queen Juliana Bridge" in Curacao. He had been totally underweight and had scabies all over his body. There wasn’t a single spot on his body that had not been infected.

The first step had been the check up at the vet. Jules had been underweight of course, and his blood test results were not very positive. On top of that he appeared to have a dislocated hip, probably caused by an old traffic accident. Obviously he had never been treated for this, and had been walking around with a lot of pain for years. According to the Vet he should be approximately 9 years old. Jules' teeth were damaged and some of them even were gone, probably caused by chewing on a chain or eating little stones.

We had left the vet that day with a bunch of medicines, and that was the beginning of a long recovery.
I still remember the smell in our car…it was caused by his scabies and was really horrible. Poor Jules was so afraid of what was coming next.

When we got home, Jules met our other dog "Wolf". Though they accepted each other, they would never be friends. It was obviously Jules had lost his trust in humans and pets. We couldn't blame him for that.

Those first days at home showed no improvement what so ever in regards to Jules’ condition. The thought crossed our minds that Jules would not make it, since he was in a really bad shape.
However out of the blue a miracle occurred and Jules started to eat..and eat.. and eat.

Yet unfortunately Jules didn't put on weight in the next week and his blood was far from OK. Nevertheless, he needed the surgery to fix his hip.
It took a couple of weeks for Jules' blood to stabilize, in order for him to be able to get anesthesia for his surgery.
Sadly, the hip trauma was so severe that 3 vets couldn't manage to put his hip back into place.
So with even more medicine we left the vet again. Jules needed to become strong enough for a surgery.

The days that followed afterwards showed improvement and Jules was doing great under the circumstances. He started to put on more weight and developed more fur day by day.
So little by little his condition got better, which meant that he was finally allowed to have the surgery.

The operation was tough but Jules did a great job.
The whole intention of the surgery, was to free Jules of the terrible pain he had been suffering for years. Yet the recovery and physiotherapy eventually cost him a lot of pain. I had to cool his wound 3 times a day, move his hip and leg so that the muscles around the hip would get strong again. Jules hated physiotherapy, but I found a way for us both to make it fun and easier. We swam every day and I saw Jules' paw getting muscular each day.

He developed his social skills more and more. In the beginning he obviously had an issue against men, but now he let them pet him as well. And I can tell he loves the attention. He is also friendlier when he meets other dogs now, primarily because he feels good and isn't in pain anymore.
Jules has turned into a lovely, beautiful dog. And if you gain his trust he will be the most loyal and dedicated dog for the rest of his life.
He deserves a good home and a new loving owner who cares for him. So we are in search for a forever home for Jules.

Rescue Paws can certainly use your help to make this possible for other dogs as well. Will you help us to help them? Your donation can make a difference.

Donations: https://www.paypal.me/rescuepawscuracao

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RescuePawsCuracaoFoundation

Please share this video with all your friends. Together, we can make people more aware of this problem on the island.