Actualizado: June 2023
Dear donor and friend, Felia is a feral cat, born without human contact and captured with the intention of sterilizing and then releasing her. But she had other plans, as she was pregnant with 5 beautiful kittens, which today, three long months later, have been adopted by loving and responsible families. Watching them grow up was a very special experience, but what would Felia's future be like? During all that time of upbringing, she has never got used to home life, to her caregiver. She missed her former life, and we made the difficult decision to give her back to freedom. Why? Because love means letting go, releasing for animal welfare. So, finally her big day arrived. Felia lives actually in her new paradise, where she will be fed and protected, if she wants to. Welcome!!! We wish you a long and happy life, new adventures and friendships.
Message from Felia
I feel your thoughts and your energy and I want you to know that I am okay. I was born free, without any contact with humans. I appreciate the care and nurturing of my kittens, but I sorely missed my independence. I don't need blankets or a roof to feel protected. I love the smell of the earth, when I snuggle under the bushes and listen to the music of the rain. I love the sun and the stars. My kittens grow with kibbles and toys. I prefer to hunt my food and play and dance with the moths or some dry leaves. Have you ever climbed a tree, human, to swing between the branches? You know how happiness smells? I communicate with the wind, the rocks and the fairies. I don't need you, human, but I keep accompanying you in your dreams, I see you from my hiding places, and who knows? Maybe one day I'll leave you a mouse as a gift. Don't worry about me, I still have many lives to live. Thanks for giving this one back to me.
Since then, we never saw her again.
Actualizado: June 2023
Dear donor and friend. You are doing such a wonderful job and we are so excited to share our progress with you. So far, 320 dogs and cats got neutered, and counting!! The whole project has turned into a great lesson for all the participants. At first, we felt so sorry to return the dogs to the street, but we learned that the majority of the strays are well adapted to their life and happy to continue making new friends, begging for bread and meat and barking at the motor-cycles. The very convincing example is Rocky, who spent his postoperative week with all the luxury he as a stray could possibly dream of. But in spite of enjoying his vacation, he lost weight and got depressed. When we finally opened the door to let him out, he directly went to a puddle for a tasty gulp. And then he put a big smile on his face and went directly to the bakery to ask for bread. Not every stray wants to be rescued, but they all want to be noticed, they love a friendly word or a juicy piece of sausage. However, there are the vulnerable and the tiny ones, which we can’t return to a dangerous or hostile environment. They stay at a foster home, until we find their perfect match. Thank you so much for your support, for being so generous, for making the difference. You are already an important part in the hearts of 320 dogs and cats, ….. and counting!!!!!!
Actualizado: June 2023
Dear donor and friend, let me present our new member, Uncle Tom. His story begins on the side of the road, and almost ends there. They left him there to die, and when Martha found him, he was agonizing. There was no time to think twice, he needed veterinary attention immediately!! Due to an old injury, dehydration, the lack of muscle mass and a dramatic weight loss, he was in a lot of pain and had to be hospitalized during one week. Like any human anorexic patient, he was connected day and night to a cocktail of physiological serum, painkillers, and medicines to stabilize his kidneys. One week later he was ready to start his next adventure and a new life in the shelter. We were so excited, when we welcomed him, we didn’t expect such a brave, sweet oldie. Effortlessly, he limped and hobbled into our hearts, his honey-colored eyes full of gratitude and wisdom. Actually he enjoys his life as a pensioner, he loves sunbathing, he loves his soups á la carte, he loves being petted and he loves gossiping with the elders. The others look at him with pity, opining “it’s time for a wheelie, ol’ boy”, but he proudly shakes his head “not yet, buddies, not yet”.
Updated: September 2021
Dear donors and friends, Every dog and cat has its own story, which might be forgotten when we accept them into our spay/neuter program and they turn into numbers once it is officially registered and microchipped.
That is why we don’t practice mass sterilizations, because we want to know our buddies and it is so amazing to witness that our project really changes lives. Only one dog picturedbelow had to be sent back to the street, a survivor, a modern Steppenwolf. Let me introduce our June-to-September-group and let me tell you that we are so proud of you for being a part of this project.
051: A homeless tabby cat had a litter of kittens, which easily were given away into forever homes. A local vet also found adopters for the mom and we spayed her before she went to her new home, enjoying tuna and her gym.
052-053-054: Two female puppies and a female poodle mix, abandoned on the parking lot of a restaurant. A famous place not only for hungry tourists, but also a meeting point for all the stray dogs left there. The puppies presented complications after surgery, but after their recovery they luckily found forever homes. So did the poodle mix!!
055-056: A male and a female puppy were found hidden on a construction site. With the help of caring neighbors and our publications, they were q adopted. Their new families signed a compromise to get them neutered and two months later we all met at the vet’s.
057: They didn’t want her anymore and left her at the vet’s. The groomer gave her a lady-look, she was spayed and she got adopted in a wink.
058: A champion of the streets, an impressive big yellow female dog, who was released after being spayed. It’s a shame that we forgot to take a pic.
059: Pittielove!!!! Though she has a family, she was destined to give birth every so often. After various tries to convince her owner, he finally gave in and she was spayed before he could change his mind again.
060: Enana, a beautiful Jack Russell mix, didn´t have an easy life. She was reported as an abandoned and injured senior dog, hit by a motorbike, and stayed about two months hospitalized, recovering from a hip fracture. Everyone fell in love with her, she is such a sweetie, who after sterilization finally found a loving family.
061: Barbas has quite a story to tell. He was abused by his former owners, beaten and tortured because he was a feared chicken-killer. We got informed by the community and he came to a foster home, was neutered and sent to a groomer, just when a family showed up willing to adopt him. The first nights were glorious, because he slept in the same bed together with his human brother, a boy of six or seven. But then again some naughty chickens stepped into his life and the family’s dream was over. Poor little boy. They lied to him in order to explain the inexplicable. Barbas was luckier. A “city woman” (no chickens!!!) saw his pic on Facebook and now he lives in an apartment with two sister cats and a loving mom. And they lived happily ever after.
062: A peasant came to ask if we could help him to spay his Beagle , because she had puppies twice a year. We were happy to help her to have a better life. There was no time for a photo, sorry.
063: The creole Spaniel lives with our local recyclers, and as they told us, it has been quite a productive life so far. A volunteer fostered her during some postoperative days and now she’s back with her family, no worries, no more puppies!!
064: This sweet Yorkie is a recent puppy mill rescue. One of our volunteers saved her from an urban puppy mill and adopted her right away. Surgery proved that she must have had a lot of litters. She is safe now, a sweet little whirlwind ready for a new life.
The credit is due to all of you!!! Thank you so much for your generosity.!!!
Updated: January 2022
Every rescue has a story. Some are risky, while others are tricky, funny, dramatic, traumatic or even cinematic. All rescue stories are worthy of sharing because they are strongly connected to our work and reflect our engagement and philosophy. Cat Felix represents painful rescue, at least for me!!
There is always a plastic house with some kibbles and a blanket in our front garden, which is visited by feral cats or opossums at night. By daylight, we never noticed any movements, until that day in September three years ago, when I saw a black and white furball hiding under the car. I didn’t even notice that the little house was permanently inhabited, but this stranger clearly had been using it as shelter for some time! In order to give him the opportunity of being neutered and adopted, I went looking for a cat cage and when I was sure that the cat was sleeping innocently in his temporary house, I prepared a challenging move from one cage to another. Though I knew that a panicking cat can quickly turn into an attacking panther, there was no time to hesitate. It had to be done. A scared thunderball came out and instead of jumping directly into the safest cage, he tried to escape and the attempt to rescue him would have been in vain. So I grabbed him, just like the mother cats hold their newborn kittens. But this one was no newborn kitten and I understood he would fight to free himself desperately. And he did. He scratched my arm and he bit my hand, until I finally could throw him into the cat cage and the wrestling match was over.
The next day we headed to the vetin order to get him neutered and found out that the fierce fighter still had some surprises for me: he was already sterilized and he wore a collar with his name and a phone number on it. What a lucky Felix!! How brave and determined he was!!! I immediately called his family who almost did not believethat their beloved pet who went missing for four months, had been found 50 km away from his home. After the vet cleaned a deep wound caused by the collar that had slipped under one of his arms, the family was happily reunited.
For me the story ended in a hospital bed, with a swollen hand and some badly infected bites and scratchesh wounds. The moral of the story: if you want to rescue a cat, be prepared!! … and use some leather gloves.
Updated: August 2021
Dear donors and friends!! May I introduce TOPO to you? He stepped into my life exactly one year ago, so brave, so determined to start a new life and enjoy it. Nobody knows his age, but he is arthritic, slightly deaf, completely blind and senile (Canine Cognitive Dysfunction). And he was a stray, then additionally with a strong vestibular problem that caused equilibrium loss, because of dehydration and malnutrition. He was a mess, terribly disorientated and no one would ever adopt him. So I took him in and made him my master. I learned that disability is a concept made up by humans.
I am so amazed by his willingness to adapt to a totally new lifestyle, by his endless joy and laughter, yes!!, laughter!!! And by his patience, when he butts against obstacles or gets stuck under the chair.
He inspired me to learn more about canine dementia, sundown syndrome and brain games, and eventually he encouraged me to create this very project Safe Haven. Topo is the lucky one. But there are so many strays out there and though they have learned to defend themselves while they are still young, becoming deaf, blind and confused altogether, is not the best combination to survive on the street. Thank you so much for your support, for opening your hearts for the most vulnerable elderlies and for being an important part of Safe Haven.
Updated: February 2020
They found him on the side of a rural road, among garbages, such as old mattresses and plastic bags. He was enclosed in a large trash bag, but a neighbor saw the bundle moved and opened it. Something monstrous came out, big, almost hairless, with terrible scabies, that disfigured his face, with swollen eyes, also with machete cuts on his face, legs and body covered by fungus. He spent two weeks lingering around, hiding from people, too gentle to even kill a chicken. He escaped twice from people who wanted to kill him, the first time with an injection, the second time with poisoned food, which another dog devoured, sacrificing himself for Tintín.
He became part of my life very humbly, because he simply laid down in front of my house, too weak and tired, waiting for his death and vultures flying around.
I finally got the message, that this monster was not a threat, but an opportunity.
I started to give him food, which he always celebrated with joyful leaps and pirouettes. With the help of a veterinarian we healed his wounds, his terrible skin problems.
For several years, all too few, that Great Manakin formed a very important part of my family. He never stopped doing his famous pirouettes before receiving his food, as a pure tribute to life.
When he died, a legend died, but his spirit remained, which still fills us with courage and tenderness. It all started with him, he is the real founder of VIVATMA, and each rescued dog carries his message of wisdom and unconditional love in their eyes, their soul.
Our first purpose in this life is to help others (Dalai Lama).