Please help the stray dogs of Sierra Leone

Karsha‘s puppies were born under an abandoned car in a dump. She tries desperately to provide for them even though she herself is starving.

Forced to scavenge in the dirt for scraps to keep her own strength up, her withered frame soon becomes even more emaciated through selfless nurturing of her puppies.

The puppies too are struggling. The smallest of her litter is unable to get her share of her mother‘s meagre supply of milk, which means that her tiny body is even more susceptible to infections such as worms, mange and rabies.

Worse still, she and her brothers and sisters risk being cruelly drowned - to spare them slower, more painful deaths from starvation.

Today, over 100,000 stray dogs live on the streets of Freetown in Sierra Leone and the spiralling rate of breeding means the local population can‘t care for them. Just like Karsha they face starvation, disease and death on a daily basis.

Public fear of the spread of rabies also leads to inhumane killing of these innocent dogs. Which is why we urgently need your help now to stop the agony and distress of stray dogs like Karsha and her pups.

Dr Jalloh is the head of the Sierra Leone Animal Welfare Society (SLAWS), a WSPA partner since 1988. "We provide as much as we can to help these dogs. Before SLAWS existed, there was no hope for them at all."

With your generous support now, together with SLAWS we can offer these beautiful animals the help they so urgently need by:

• Providing urgent veterinary care for the dogs, ensuring they receive the treatment they need to protect them against the agony of painful but preventable diseases.
• Vaccinating the dogs for rabies to keep them safe against this killer disease and remove the fear that leads to cruel attempts at controlling the spread of rabies.
• Expanding humane population control programmes to neuter the dogs, preventing the breeding of puppies who cannot be cared for.
• Educating the local population in schools and local communities to respect and value the animals around them, and provide the care required for their dogs to live a healthy life

The situation in Freetown is desperate. So many dogs - over 100,000 - are at risk right now. But we can make a difference if we act immediately. By making an urgent donation today, you can help to offer them a means of escape from starvation, disease and inhumane treatment.

Please give as much as you can today, and help the stray dogs of Sierra Leone - and other animals around the world - to live lives free from cruelty, suffering and disease.

Thank you so much.

Margaret West
Regional Director
WSPA Oceania

To support our work online, click here. For phone donations please call WSPA Australia on 1300 13 9772 or WSPA New Zealand on 0800 500 9772.