Help to Fiji Street dogs by The Flicka Foundation: 2010

First donations

My biggest supporter, helper and donator has up until now been my partner Tony and his company Subsurface Fiji.
Then through the post on my facebook the Flicka Foundation received it's first donation from Mikaela Hagström in Finland with the amount of EUR 40.00 deposited to my account.
The second donation was also through the same post from Jen Scanlon and her family in Australia who donated AUS $80,00.
This money was used to purchase 60 kg dry dogfood for SPCA west. They were so happy when they received it.
So, it has already begun.
The Flicka Foundation has started.

Mrs Miserable.....

Mrs miserable is all I can think of calling her. We found this street dog, or should I call it beach dog(?) on our beach September 29, 2010 while she tried to get some nutrients out of an old rotten coconut. It wasn't hard to reach out to her as friendly as she was, with a tub of food and get her to trott along with me across the street back to our home.

She was very smelly and full of scabs and wounds, mange and whatever else apart from her absolutely thin body.

It was
heartbreaking.
I was amazed that she still had the strength of walking. I had only 2 choices here. Leave her to die on the beach or take her home over the weekend and then to SPCA and put her down. It wasn't hard¨to choose.

To ensure her some peace, from my other dogs and neighbor dogs, I locked her up in my veggie garden, covered a corner with a sheet for shade.

During the 2 days I got to know her very well.

I fed her every 2 hours and made it as comfortable as possible for her and talked a lot to her. I was hurt by looking at this wreck of beautiful natured dog that has been so neglected and to be honest it was hard to touch her at first.
I was just worried she break if I did.

There was only kindness and gratefulness in her eyes and in her personality. How could this have happened?

The last night it rained. I covered her corner with a tarp and gave her a raised bed with a mattress on so she could stay dry. She loved it! I then sat with her for a long time, talked to her and pat her bony body and cried for her. What a shame to have to put her down. If I had had a place with a pen I would have given her a second chance in life. This is also one of the purposes with this fund. To create a second chance shelter for these lost street dogs in Fiji.

On Monday it was time.

I picked her up gently wrapped in a sheet for a car ride to Nadi to SPCA.

She wasn't worried at all about getting in the car nor the ride itself. She seemed rather enjoying it.

Miserable was put down on Monday the 1st of October and that was a real challenge. There was no veins to use on this bony body so it took a while. I felt really bad for Miserable just sitting there waiting to get it over with as well as for Sue at SPCA west whom really struggled. Finally she was knocked out and it was easier to give her the shot straight into her heart. Then she was put to rest.
I was truly sad to have to do this but SPCA have no shelter here in the west nor does anybody else either. They are also lack of food, cages etc. and staff to be able to make such a rescue a happy one. This is when I wrote on my facebook. I urged for donations to Fiji Street dogs.

That is how the thought of this blog started.....and became real after Flicka died.

When Flicka was found

We found her on the side of the street on our way home from work. This was on July 1, 2009 at about 6,00pm. I had to make myself very small and crawl into the bushes very slowly, not to frighten her, and grabbed her as soon as she was within my reach. Once I got her I noticed she was completely covered with tics. It was so much I didn't even know how to hold her and not get any on myself. Since it was in the evening there was no vet avalable and I sure was not prepared with anything to remove them. I simply had to leave her outside on our veranda in a box after we had fed her. She went to sleep. Next morning she was gone. I was devastated and couldn't find her since it was dark. I went back home after sunrise and found her on other side of house, crying, cold and scared. Too weak to move. It was an urgent trip to the closest aid.

This is what Flicka looked like before I took her to the agriculture vet assistant. He said he had never seen as many ticks on a dog before and made sure she got enough poison in her to kill off all ticks and more.