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Sawah is the name for rice fields in Bali. They attract thousands of tourists each year. But they also hold a dark secret. Many, many people dump their unwanted kittens and puppies to die along the roads that run past the rice fields. Of course that is not the only place they are dumped, but as I drive along the road from my house through the rice fields to Ubud, known for its arts and more recently its yoga practice and festivals, I find these defenseless babies who cannot fend for themselves. They are starving, usually sick and often in need of emergency veterinary care.
And that is how I started Sawah Sanctuary. I know what will happen to them if I don't help when i see them.
I rescue the the kittens and cats, puppies and dogs when I can catch
them. Sometimes it takes days and the help of other people and
organizations (special thanks here to Elizabeth at Villa Kitty and
Ebony at act 4 bali Dogs).
I clean them up, take them to the
vet (and they always need a vet), deworm them, vaccinate them,
sterilize them, bottle feed the tiny baby kittens every two hours
including through the night if they are that young, keep the hot water
bottles warm for the babies, clean up after them and make sure they
all have nutritious food.
Sometimes they require very expensive medical care and hospitalization. When that happens, I dig deep and I pay the vet. Of course they all need ongoing checkups, vaccinations and minor vet care. Every month it addss up to quite a lot. But I will not let them go without the best care I can find for them.
Of course, sometimes when I find an abandoned cat or dog, she is pregnant, in which case I help to bring the babies into the world. Then if I can, I find the babies homes. If I can't, they stay with me.
Here are just a very few of the cats and kittens I care for. (Keep scrolling to see some puppies and dogs).
I currently have 40 cats and kittens and 17 dogs and puppies in
my care. These are the ones I have been unable to rehome with a safe,
loving family. I may still find homes for a few of these, but more
will take their place.
Above on the left is
Paisley before I picked her up. Thrown away because of a curable skin
condition, she was afraid of people. It took me days and a net to
catch her. It was very hard to feed her, because she barked warnings
when I got near. On the right is Paisley a few months later. Today,
she is a loving, healthy dog who is the first to greet me when I come home.
The larger rescue organizations, who I know well, are all overrun and can't keep up with the demand. They often simply cannot take more animals because of overcrowding or disease outbreaks. Many animals who survive are never adopted. This is why so many animals still need help.
I saved Echo above who was cornered by dogs, though I don't think her wound is from a dog. Kids thought it would be funny to throw her over a high wall to the dogs. After she was stitched up and I gained her trust (chicken helped!) she became a loyal and loving cat.
Jack Darby, above, was thrown over my fence half-dead in a rice sack a few months ago. (Yes, now the neighbors leave animals in the dead of night!) I thought the sack was just trash until I realized there was a puppy inside. I rushed him to the vet. His condition was so bad I didn't think he would make it, but I had to give him the chance. He was hospitalized for two weeks and had a blood transfusion. He was on medication and supplements and special food after all that, and God bless his tough little Bali dog soul, he made it. And you can see what a happy puppy he is today.
Above are more of my babies. Two of the puppies in the tub
found homes and one is still with me. All the rest in the photo above
still live with me along with the other dogs and cats who have not
found other homes.
Ivy in the upper right of the photo above was in a cast for two months and mostly healed though she still walks with a limp. I saw her as I was traveling through Denpasar. Her owners didn't even try to help her after she was run over by a motorbike a week earlier, and they were happy to have me take her . Some of her bones were broken, and she would have died from her blood parasites without medical treatment. I bathed her, removed her many ticks, took her to the vet, gave her medication and for two months rewrapped her bandages under vet supervision. Today, she is a happy, goofy little dog.
My life is filled with heartbreak, because I find some of these cast-offs too late to help them. But it is also filled with love. Sometimes it's both.
I grieved for days when I saw a dead white puppy at a turn in the road near my house, killed by a car. If only I had known and got there sooner! But a few days later I was driving into town and saw a puppy that looked just like the dead one, no doubt a litter mate. He was hungrily pulling at a dead snake. With the help of a Balinese friend who lived nearby, I got the puppy home, fed him and got him the medical attention he needed.
And here he is. Above on the left is skinny little Riley shortly after I found him, and on the right above is Riley today, a magnificent dog.
I could go on and on posting photos and telling stories. All these babies have a sad story.
I can't save them all. The need is too great for individual rescuers like me and the rescue organizations. But for the ones I do save with your help, it is everything to them.
When I rehome, I vet the people very carefully and require a home visit. No cages, no chains and no free-roaming. I must know these babies will be kept safe.
I feed them good food, because I have found that if I feed cheaper food some of them get urinary problems. Also, some have chronic diseases and require special foods. I keep up all their vaccinations. I get them all sterilized. And if they get sick, I take them to a good vet, because there is a big difference here in training and equipment. I don't want one of these loving souls to die or suffer because I took them to a cheap vet who didn't know as much or have the right equipment.
So I am asking if you are so inclined to contribute toward
* Vet bills: Every month with this many animals I have substantial vet bills. Bills are particularly high now as a couple cats had to be hospitalized and other animals required out patient vet care in the last week. this is on top of the substantial amount paid recently for dog who needed hospitalization and blood transfusion and another dog with broken bones. (See above.)
* Food bills: Food bills have escalated quite a bit recently due to puppies dumped on my property and finding litters of kittens and also puppies who are growing into healthy adults.
* Ongoing vaccinations for these 57 and others I pick up
* Sterilizations
* Medications (Some animals have chronic conditions and there are always animals who need some kind of medication.)
* Bedding
* Fence maintenance and additions to keep new dogs who may have viruses separate from the others and to keep dogs who don't get along separate.
These animals need help now, though the need is ongoing both for the
animals already here send new ones who need help.
I never meant to stay in Bali full time. Though I have a US address, I live in Bali all but a few weeks out of the year. But these cats and dogs are all unique personalities, and now they are my charges. You might call me an accidental rescuer. Most of us here who rescue, including the larger organizations, started rescuing not because we had planned it, but because there is such a desperate need.
Help me to help the ones who are here, find homes for ones who are adoptable and save the ones I will find tomorrow. When I find kittens, it is usually 4 to 6 at a time struggling to survive without their mothers. And when I find puppies they are usally in very rough condition.
People toss these baby animals by busy, dangerous roads, they tie them up in garbage sacks and throw them into the trash or the river, or they drive to secluded rice files and just dump them. Please help me to help them. I promise to do all I can to ensure they have a happy life.
Gofundme will pass on funds you give with no minimum, and they take only a small administration fee. Every penny I get through this campaign will go to the animals. Well, most of my own money already goes to the animals, so that's not hard.
Thank you for considering them and please share if you feel it is the right thing to do.
If you prefer to pay my primary veterinarian directly, you may also pay to my account at Drh Listriani in Renon, Bali.
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