Help feed, medicate and sterilise stray cats & dogs

In December 2023, on a surf trip to Morocco, I encountered stray animals everywhere. Despite enjoying my holiday, I was deeply saddened by the plight of these animals, especially when I found a dying dog, Papaya who had 6 puppies. Papaya had been poisoned. This is common practice in Morocco where animals are culled by poisoning or shot to reduce numbers. The defenceless stray‘s die a cruel death in open sight of locals and tourists.

Sadly four of the six puppies died of parvovirus, I found rescue centres to help the two surviving pups and Papaya.

Weeks later, I returned, visiting Morocco Animal Aid (MAA) and Adrar Animal Project, seeing Papaya and the pups. Whilst there I cared for other sick and injured animals. I made it a daily mission to feed as many strays as possible and devoted my trip to just that.

Heartbreakingly, one of the puppies I was going to adopt, Sari, didn't survive, but I'm committed to caring for the remaining pup and Penny (you‘ll need to read the full story to find out about her ).

My goal is to raise funds to enable me to bring Papaya, her pup (name pending) and Penny to England to live with me and give them the life they deserve. I would like to raise funds for, SARA Morocco, Adrar Animal Project and Morocco Animal Aid to provide shelter and food to all these innocent animals, who don't have a voice and no fault of their own are being killed. These funds will also help fund their Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, and Release programme, which is proven to be the most humane way of tackling the issue of strays.

5km, everyday in March will be a tough challenge, that will test me to my limits (I am not built for running) but for this worthy cause I am determined. You to can help, your donations, no matter how small, will make a big difference in the lives of these animals.

Please help me to help the less fortunate, together we can make a difference. Your support is valued and truly appreciated.

Updates and transparency will be provided on how your donations are used.

If you want to read my full story in detail, please read on!

Thank you for reading x

—————————————————--------------------In December 2023 I went to Morocco on a surf trip; sun, sea and surf, what more could I want? However when I was there I became aware of all of the stray animals: big dogs, small dogs, cats and new born puppies seemed to be everywhere I looked.

The dogs were casually roaming the streets, relaxing on the beach, looking for love and attention. I discovered a dog ‘Papaya’ who had 6 puppies, I visited them each day on my 10 day trip.

On the fourth day Payapa was nowhere to be seen, I looked in her usual bush where the pups and her mother, Citrus, were but there was no sign of Papaya. I found her a few hundred meters away, severely dehydrated, dying on the beach. She had been poisoned. I scooped her up and carried her to a shaded area, giving her water whilst a local lady contacted Adrar Animal Project, who came and collected Papaya. I later found out that what happened to Papaya was due to ‘government organised shooting and poisoning of stray dogs’. I was in total disbelief that this was actually a thing! The Moroccan government regularly poison these beautiful animals-they are left to suffer on the streets and beaches until they finally succumb to the poison, a long, slow and painful death which is unacceptably inhumane.

I continued with my holiday, surfing, site-seeing but with a heavy heart. Naturally I continued to visit the pups, who were doing well with their ‘nan-dog' Citrus who was even giving them her milk. I bought them tick and flea treatment and provided them with food and water. There appeared to me, an untrained eye, to be doing great.

On the last day I went to visit the pups one last time before flying home, however they didn’t come out of the bush to see me like usual. I could see one but he wasn’t moving, I keep calling them and lent into the bushes to discover two of pups lying there, cold and stiff. They had died.

The two smallest pups were missing, I looked everywhere but I couldn’t find them.

I was only able to find two of the 6 pups, clinging onto life, limp. I immediately took them to Morocco Animal Aid who were able to quarantine them until a diagnosis was made. I later learned that this was due to parvovirus and the two smallest pups that were missing had most likely died along with their siblings.

I felt an immediate responsibility for the survival of these two pups and their mama Papaya.

When I returned home, I kept in contact with both rescue centres for updates and agreed to adopt the two pups.

I knew I had to go back and help where I could, so I did just that and returned in January 2024. My first stop was to see the pups at MAA. I can’t tell you how happy I was to see them! They appeared to be doing amazing, Sari had grown, she was clearly the leader of the pack and confident in her pen with the other rescues.

Whilst there I was lucky enough to spend some time assisting by take some dogs for hikes, caring for animals’ (donkeys, cats and dogs) everyday needs, as well as helping with the care of severely injured dogs, some of which didn’t recover. When I wasn’t at the centre or visiting Papaya, I was feeding the strays.

Soon I found a pack of 12 pup’s and 3 mamas, the smallest pup I named Penny, feeding them and watching them play. I A German Shepard, who on the last day of my trip, after feeding her all week, showed she trusted me by leading me to her 7 pups. This filled my heart with joy, the trust of this vulnerable mum, but this also filled me with sadness and dread, knowing that they might be poisoned and shot like so many other dogs in Morocco.

I had dedicated my trip to feeding as many strays as I could, to help the innocent animals of Morocco, who should not be suffering this terrible fate.

Shelters such as SARA Morocco have a Trap, Neuter, Vaccine and Release Programme. The TNVR programme is a proven method of controlling the number of strays and is a humane way to tackle the issue. I would like to raise money to support these 3, the amazing work they do and to bring Papaya and the pups back to England, where I will provide them with safety, security and love they deserve.

Sadly, Two weeks after I returned home, I received an update, excited to see how the pups were getting on and receive new pictures of them, however there were no pictures, it was an update I had feared, Sari, had passed away, she hadn’t fully recovered from the parvovirus.

Penny has since been spotted alone, afraid and not eating. Adrar Animal Project and SARA Morocco have kindly agreed to locate Penny for me, she will be taking Sari’s place and coming to live in England with me and the other pup.

I’m going to be ‘running 5k, each day, for a stray’ for the whole month of March. Please if you can donate to this page then please do. Your generosity, no matter how small a monetary donation will help towards improving the conditions and lives of these innocent animals.

I will ensure that videos, photos and updates will be made so you can see how where your money is going, the good work it will allow and the lives it will save.

-All receipts will available for full transparency-