| Look what your kindness made possible.
AFA UPDATE - JUNE 2026
Dear friends, First, thank you. We have not sent a proper global update in a while, and you deserve to know what your kindness has been doing. Behind every appeal, every urgent photo, every frightened animal and every exhausted rescuer, there is one truth we never forget: none of this work happens without you. Because of you, Animals First Aid has been able to stand beside rescuers in country after country. Some are registered shelters. Some are tiny sanctuaries. Some are independent women and men with no staff, no reserves and no backup plan. But all of them are doing the same impossible thing: saving animals who would otherwise be left to suffer. This update is grouped by country, because your compassion has not reached just one shelter or one campaign. It has moved across borders, into flooded sanctuaries, poor townships, remote villages, cemeteries, junkyards, mountain roads and places where animal welfare help barely exists. Please read what you have helped make possible. |
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| | | | Every Life Counts In Romania, your support reached Every Life Counts in Râmnicu Vâlcea, a shelter fighting every day to keep its animals safe. This is not a large, polished operation with endless funding. It is survival level rescue. Ioana and her team care for dogs, cats, donkeys, sheep and goats, while also feeding around 100 stray dogs every weekend. These are animals who depend on someone showing up, again and again, even when the money is gone and the work feels impossible. When we appealed for Every Life Counts, the situation was frightening. The shelter was under pressure and the animals had nowhere else to go. Because supporters responded, Animals First Aid was able to send campaign support to help keep this lifesaving work moving. That means food. It means daily care. It means a shelter that was close to breaking point did not have to face that crisis alone. For the animals at Every Life Counts, your gift was not abstract kindness. It was another meal. Another safe night. Another day where someone could say: we can keep going. |
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| | | | | Lanseria Ferals
South Africa remains one of the places where your support is deeply felt. In Lanseria, Nina Wilson of Lanseria Ferals continues the quiet, relentless work of helping feral cats who are almost invisible to the public. These cats live around business parks, communities, hospitals and industrial spaces. Many have never known a home. Many have never been touched gently. Without sterilisation and feeding, their suffering simply multiplies. Recently, Nina stepped in at Lanseria Business Park after cats who had once been fed were suddenly left without support. She set up feeding stations, began trapping cats one by one, and worked to sterilise them so the cycle of kittens born into hunger could stop. She even crawled beneath a diesel storage container to rescue terrified kittens. A feral mother was trapped, sterilised and cared for properly while her kittens were weaned. All the kittens were female, which means your support helped prevent yet another generation of unwanted kittens from being born into hardship. There was also Pebbles, one of Nina’s feral cats, who suddenly disappeared from breakfast and was later found limping in pain. Because Nina had support behind her, she could act. That is what your gifts do for feral cats: they turn “someone should help” into “someone can help now.”
Soshanguve In Soshanguve, north of Pretoria, your support reached Tebogo and the team at Soshanguve Animal Shelter. One recent rescue says everything about their work. A starving mother dog was found hiding under a tree with six tiny puppies. She was weak, hungry and exhausted, yet still stood guard over her babies. The team brought the whole family to safety. When food was placed before the mother, she ate desperately. It was clear she had gone without for too long, trying to keep her puppies alive with nothing left in her own body. Because supporters like you care, that family was not left under the tree. They were seen. They were fed. They were protected.
BlindLove And then there is the equine work. At a small Community Care Station in South Africa, animals including Africa, Princess, Roxy and Morgan have been fighting through terrible injuries. Africa arrived with infected wounds crawling with maggots. Princess suffered a broken shoulder, likely after being hit by a car. Roxy, only eight months old, had a devastating bush cutter injury that nearly severed her hoof. Morgan’s leg was ravaged by screwworm maggots that damaged much of his tendon. In cases like these, euthanasia can become the easy answer when funds are not there. But because people step forward, there is another answer: pain relief, wound cleaning, bandage changes, veterinary care and the chance to fight. The veterinary costs had already climbed beyond R13,000 and were still rising. But these animals are still here. Still fighting. Still being treated. That is your compassion in action. |
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| | | | Paws of Smederevo Serbia continues to be one of the hardest places for the animals we support. Through Paws of Smederevo, your kindness is reaching dogs abandoned in cemeteries, junkyards and forgotten places where no animal should be left. Volunteers search in places most people avoid. They find frightened dogs hiding among graves, behind rusted metal and in dark corners, hungry and confused after being discarded. Mrvica’s story shows the cruelty they are up against. She spent her life on a chain, small, neglected and unwanted. When Paws of Smederevo took her in, she had to learn the basics of trust, walking, touch and safety. These are things she should have known from the beginning. Instead, she is learning them now because someone finally refused to look away. Vucko’s story is just as painful. He was dumped like rubbish, old, sick, wounded and exhausted. His body was covered in sores. He had signs of serious illness, tumours, liver concerns and giardia. Yet when rescuers came for him, he wagged his tail. After everything people had done to him, he still trusted. That is why this work matters so much. These animals still believe in us, even after humans have failed them.
VeraVita Your support also helps Vera Vita and Jelena, two women carrying impossible burdens for the dogs and cats in their care. For Vera, the crisis has been painfully simple: food is almost gone. She has been stretching what little remains with ground corn just to keep the animals from starving. At the same time, fleas and ticks have been spreading fast, especially among the cats. Last year, parasite wounds caused terrible suffering. Vera is desperate not to see that happen again. The need is not glamorous. It is emergency food. Parasite treatment. Medicine. Shelter repairs. The kind of support that keeps animals alive quietly, day after day.
Jelena Jelena is facing the same crushing pressure. Her sanctuary carries more than 90 dogs, 20 cats, 7 sheep, 2 pigs and 2 goats. When she needs puppy vaccines urgently, there is no large reserve to pull from. There is just the hope that someone will care enough to help. Because of you, Animals First Aid can keep answering these calls. Not always as much as we wish, and never as fast as the need deserves, but we are there. And for Vera, Jelena, Paws of Smederevo and the animals they protect, that matters. |
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| | | | Tangier Sanctuary Morocco remains one of the places where the need never seems to stop. At the Tangier Sanctuary, also known as SFT, Sally and her team care for more than 130 rescued animals, including dogs, cats and donkeys. Many of the dogs are disabled. More than 20 are wheelchair bound. These are animals who would have had almost no chance anywhere else. Then the floods and mudslides came. Outdoor areas were swallowed by water. The cat house flooded. Mud tore through the property. Animals had to be moved to safety in the middle of the storm. A place built to protect broken animals suddenly became a disaster zone itself. When supporters gave, it allowed Animals First Aid to stand with Tangier Sanctuary during a frightening moment, not as distant observers, but as a lifeline. Your support helped us respond to a sanctuary that was already carrying animals with complex needs before disaster struck.
You Can Save Me At You Can Save Me in Morocco, Fatim and her team continue to take in animals others would turn away. This is a partner who has become family to Animals First Aid. Together, with your support, we have helped a once overwhelmed rescue become a real lifeline for cats and dogs in crisis. But the cases are getting worse. A cat was left in a box at their gates with a mangled tail. A Husky girl arrived with a painful contagious tumour and needed urgent chemotherapy and surgery. Another cat, hit by a car, had three immediate surgeries after losing her babies, breaking her jaw and losing one eye. Today, that cat has recovered and is being cared for at their second site so she can regain strength. That is what your compassion makes possible. A cat who should have died becomes a survivor. A shelter that refuses euthanasia can keep saying yes. An animal dumped like trash receives care, dignity and time to heal.
Association Zina Association Zina in Morocco is also facing relentless pressure. Fadwa shared that a female dog was taken to the doctor and started on treatment before surgery. At the same time, she managed to buy food for other dogs and cats, while still searching desperately for a place where animals can be sheltered safely. Landlords are refusing to rent to her because the tenants would be animals. Then another veterinary bill arrived: 3,895 Moroccan dirhams, about $422, for care already given at Dr. Said El Madani’s clinic. For a small rescue, a bill like that is not just a number. It is food that may not be bought. Medicine that may have to wait. Another rescue that may be delayed because yesterday’s emergency has not yet been paid for. This is Morocco. One life saved. Another waiting. One bill paid. Another arriving. And because of you, we can keep standing with the people who keep showing up. |
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| | | | Luc, in Tanzania, your support is helping us respond to overlapping crises affecting dogs, cats and working donkeys.
Taweso TAWESO, led by Dr. Thomas Kahema, has been facing both individual emergencies and wider disasters. One dog, Macho, was emaciated, struggling to breathe, coughing severely and having difficulty walking. TAWESO began treatment for suspected chronic respiratory disease, knowing recovery would take time. At the same time, severe flooding in parts of Tanzania left animals suffering badly. Dr. Kahema told us they were prepared to reach thousands of affected animals with rescue, feeding, veterinary care and rehabilitation if support could be secured. Before that, Tanzania’s drought crisis had already pushed working donkeys into desperation. Animals who carry water, bricks and food for poor families were left without enough feed or water themselves. These are not animals with options. When drought hits, they keep working until their bodies fail.
Organization for Creative Impact (OCI) Through OCI in Mbeya, we also received urgent reports of flooding along the Kiwila River in Kyela District after heavy rainfall on March 25, 2026. Villages were affected, homes and infrastructure were submerged, food supplies were lost and families were displaced. For working donkeys, the situation was critical. Approximately 30 donkeys had already drowned, and around 1,346 were at high risk. Survivors were left without adequate food, dry shelter or veterinary care. OCI requested emergency support for feed, clean water and treatment for injured or sick animals.
Animal Defenders League
Then there is ADEL. After refugee camps in Tanzania emptied following peace agreements, an estimated 2,000 dogs were left behind. These were not wild animals. They were former companions, guards and comforters to families living through instability. Now they are hungry, unvaccinated and at risk of mass killing as fear of rabies grows. ADEL is working for a humane solution: rabies vaccination, sterilisation, veterinary care and community education before panic becomes cruelty. This is where your support matters most. It gives our partners a way to prevent suffering before it becomes slaughter. |
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| | | Sangkhlaburi Animal Sanctuary In remote western Thailand, Sangkhlaburi Animal Sanctuary is working in a place where there is almost no safety net for animals. Sangkhlaburi is rural, poor and far from proper veterinary services. Street dogs and cats are injured, sick, breeding constantly and often left without care. The sanctuary currently cares for 23 dogs, runs a donation based clinic for local pet owners, provides vaccinations and emergency services, and carries out outreach across the town. In many cases, the closest veterinary help is four to five hours away. That means without Sangkhlaburi Animal Sanctuary, suffering animals simply wait. One cat, Tung Yai, was found deep near the Thailand and Myanmar border with one eye gone. Infection had set in. Flies gathered around the wound. She was weak, frightened and hiding in the undergrowth. A compassionate woman on a rubber plantation tried to protect her with traditional remedies, but the wound needed real medical care. Because support was available, the sanctuary stepped in with antibiotics, pain relief and wound care. Slowly, this little survivor began to heal. That is the difference your giving makes in remote places. It puts treatment within reach where there would otherwise be nothing. |
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| | | Strays of Alanya In Turkey, Animals First Aid has begun standing with Strays of Alanya, a rescue built by Elsa Maria Handberg and Renate Kniep for cats no one else would save. These are the abandoned, the injured, the elderly and the forgotten. For many, the shelter is the only safe place they will ever know. But rising costs have pushed Strays of Alanya into crisis. Food, rent and veterinary care are all increasing. Every day is a struggle to keep bowls filled and doors open. The rescue needs a reliable monthly lifeline of around $2,000 to keep going. One cat, Kristin, was found severely underweight and dangerously ill. She needed urgent care, time and a place that would not give up on her. Your support helps give cats like Kristin more than survival. It gives them safety. It gives them someone willing to fight for them. |
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| | | Animal SOS In Madagascar, Animal SOS has been a lifeline for nearly 20 years. They rescue, treat, vaccinate and care for dogs, cats and working animals, often without meaningful government support. Then severe cyclones devastated communities, leaving animals injured, abandoned and forgotten. When disaster strikes, animals are often the last to be counted. Families lose homes. Food disappears. Communities struggle to recover. And animals, including pets, are left behind in the chaos. Animal SOS did not walk away. Recently, they rescued a dog trapped beneath a thick, matted coat, suffering from neglect and in need of immediate care. Within hours, he was being treated. That is what local partners do when they have support. They act quickly. They reach animals who are otherwise unseen. They keep working even when disaster makes everything harder. Your compassion helped Animals First Aid begin standing with them. |
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| | | Olfa Independent rescuer In Tunisia, we are now standing with Olfa Ferchichi, an independent rescuer caring for around 70 cats and dogs with almost no resources. Olfa has no large shelter. No paid staff. No safety net. Just determination, compassion and animals arriving faster than help does. One of those animals was Farfoucha. Just before midnight, during a brutal heatwave, Olfa saw what looked like a skeleton walking along a dark mountain road. She was alone. Stopping was risky. But the dog wagged her tail gently, as if begging someone to notice she was still alive. Olfa stopped. That decision saved Farfoucha’s life. She was starving, dehydrated, weak, severely anaemic and dangerously low on blood sugar. Olfa took her in, treated her, vaccinated her, sterilised her and refused to give up. Today, Farfoucha is safe in a forever home in France. But many more are still waiting. Kittens are dumped near feeding sites. Dogs collapse on roadsides. Mothers try to give birth in unsafe places. Olfa keeps stopping. She keeps rescuing. She keeps saying yes, even when she has almost nothing left. Your support helps provide food, emergency treatment, parasite control, boarding, sterilisation and lifesaving care for animals who would otherwise disappear without anyone knowing their names. |
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| | This is what you have done, Luc. You helped feral cats in South Africa stop producing generations of kittens born into hunger. You helped a starving mother dog and her six puppies reach safety. You helped wounded donkeys and horses receive treatment instead of being written off. You helped Romanian animals stay fed. You helped Serbian dogs rescued from chains, dumps, cemeteries and junkyards. You helped Moroccan cats and dogs receive surgeries, food, shelter and urgent care. You helped partners in Tanzania respond to floods, drought, disease and the threat of mass killing. You helped a remote clinic in Thailand treat a cat who would otherwise have died unseen. You helped cats in Turkey and disaster affected animals in Madagascar. You helped Olfa in Tunisia keep stopping for the animals everyone else passes by. Please know this: your donations are not disappearing into a system. They are moving through Animals First Aid into the hands of real rescuers, in real places, facing real emergencies. And we are grateful beyond words. But we also need to be honest. The need has not slowed down. In many places, it is growing. Our partners are exhausted. Food prices are rising. Veterinary bills are constant. Emergencies are arriving faster than funds. So today, after showing you what your kindness has already made possible, we are asking you to stay with us. A gift of $35, $50, $100 or more today will help keep this global rescue line moving. It will help feed animals, pay urgent vet bills, support emergency treatment, provide parasite care, buy shelter materials and keep our frontline partners from facing the next crisis alone.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart, 
Audrey Sam
Global Partnerships and Donor Relations Lead
Animals First Aid
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| We cannot do this without you. Please consider making a donation today, telling a friend about our work or setting up a recurring gift. Every contribution, big or small, saves a life and makes our community stronger. Thank you for helping us change the world for the animals. |
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| Luc, by donating this cause you will be helping
“All our Partnering Shelters across the globe” |
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| | Phone (US): +1 773 300 2544 |
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| | Animals First Aid (AFA) is a dedicated nonprofit organization committed to saving and improving the lives of animals in urgent need. Through compassionate partnerships and global collaboration, we provide immediate care, shelter, and long-term solutions for abused, abandoned, and neglected animals. Every donation directly supports life-changing interventions, ensuring animals receive the love, safety, and healing they deserve. Animals First Aid is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the United States (EIN: 99-1042428), and donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law. Together, we can continue making a difference, one precious life at a time. |
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