Unfortunately due to lack of funds they are closing down their operation. Nowhere to go the dogs who went without food or water for 2 months thrown into a cave about 20 to 30 ft. deep...were going to end up killed or homeless. So, I decided to get them to the USA for adoption, but also to raise awareness about the terrible plight of animals in Africa and see if I can get money to help reopen the only shelter for homeless animals in Ethiopia. Anything you can do to help is appreciated.

PHOTO, LEFT: Dogs tossed into cave pit outside of Addis Ababa saved from death.
www.network.bestfriends.org/unitedkingdom/news/18071.html
PHOTO, RIGHT: Anteneh Roba and Efrem Legese are responsible for bringing the Cave Dogs to this country. Steve
Campbell: Chronicle. www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/features/5266389.html

BECOME A HAPS SPONSOR. MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
To donate $5,000 or more, contact: Dr. Anteneh Roba, Amsale Gessesse Memorial Foundation, aamsale@aol.com

FOUR LUCKY DOGS ARRIVE IN HOUSTON. FUNDRAISER HELD IN THEIR HONOR — The four dogs who narrowly escaped a slow painful death from dehydration and starvation in Ethiopia arrived in Houston on October 27 accompanied by Efrem Legese, co-founder/president, Homeless Animals Protection Society (HAPS)...

That evening, 70 friends celebrated their arrival at a fundraiser at which Mr. Legese was the guest of honor. Proceeds from the dinner will cover the cost of the dogs’ transportation and benefit HAPS... At the dinner two documentary films were shown. The first, “Animals of Ethiopia,” demonstrated the great variety of wildlife found in Ethiopia, and the second, “Gido Cave Rescue,” told the story of the rescue of the four dogs, named Haley, Tommy, Maria, and Hana, who arrived in Houston earlier that day.

The film documented the rescue of these four dogs from the infamous Gido Cave by the Homeless Animal Protection Society with the assistance of the Amsale Gessesse Memorial Foundation in July 2007. If they hadn’t been rescued, they would have died slowly and painfully from dehydration and starvation. The Gido Cave, a deep pit with steep walls and a canopy-like top built by the Italians during the 1930’s, has long been used by owners to get rid of 20 to 30 unwanted dogs each month.

Ethiopian television broadcast the rescue nationwide. As a result of publicity, and at the request of the Amsale Gessesse Memorial Foundation and the Homeless Animal Protection Society of Ethiopia, the government permanently closed the cave two weeks later. The rescue was memorialized in a song “One Small Dog,” by British singer/songwriter Maria Daines, to call international attention to the plight of Ethiopian dogs and raise funds: www.maria-daines.com/home.html

The four rescued dogs were brought to the HAPS facilities and examined by a veterinarian, spayed/neutered, vaccinated, wormed, and put up for adoption. Unfortunately, just when things were looking up for these animals, the HAPS facility was facing closure due to lack of funds. Should HAPS close, these animals would likely suffer a gruesome death from strychnine, the drug most commonly used for animal euthanasia in Ethiopia.

PHOTO, LEFT: Haley, left, and Hana play in a fenced area at the Pet Palace in Webster.
PHOTO, RIGHT: Maria follows Stephanie Jones, kennel supervisor of the Pet Palace, where the dogs are being cared for. Steve Campbell: Chronicle. www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/features/5266389.html

To prevent a cruel demise for creatures who’d already escaped death once, the Amsale Gessesse Memorial Foundation undertook a public education and fundraising campaign to bring the four dogs to the U.S. and keep HAPS open. Thereafter, long range funding is necessary to create a state-of-the-art animal hospital with six surgical rooms, an educational and community outreach center, and a shelter that can accommodate 50 to 60 dogs. This facility would also function as a teaching facility for animal and veterinary professionals from all over Africa, educating them to perform medical procedures and teach the latest information about animal welfare...

BECOME A HAPS SPONSOR. MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
To donate $5,000 or more, contact: Dr. Anteneh Roba, Amsale Gessesse Memorial Foundation, aamsale@aol.com

Proceeds from the fundraising dinner (10/27/07) raised only a fraction of the money necessary to pay for the dogs’ trip to the United States for adoption and keep HAPS open to expand its vital work to the whole of Ethiopia. Additional private and corporate sponsorships are immediately needed to continue this important work.

The Amsale Gessesse Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit corporation founded in 2006. Its mission is the respect of all living things and the alleviation of needless suffering for human beings and animals.

PHOTO, LEFT: Haley, a female mix, is one of the four Cave Dogs.
PHOTO, RIGHT: Efrem Legese, one of the men responsible for bringing the Cave Dogs to this country, plays with Hana and Haley. Steve Campbell: Chronicle. www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/features/5266389.html

PHOTO, LEFT: Tommy, a small male mix is one of four Cave Dogs of Ethiopia. Steve Campbell: Chronicle. www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/features/5266389.html
PHOTO, RIGHT: The four dogs rescued from the cave have been saved. Sadly, however, hundreds of thousands of dogs in Addis Ababa are now perhaps in greater danger than ever. The city intends to resume the killing of dogs by strychnine in the near future... Efrem Legese, President of HAPS, has written a letter stating that a government program of killing dogs... would represent a huge step backwards in their long struggle to bring to Ethiopia, and to the rest of Africa, a new era of kindness and compassion towards animals. HAPS has always pursued an un-compromising no-kill policy.

Dr. Anteneh Roba, of the Amsale Gessesse Memorial Foundation, is working hard to bring together the support and backing — both in terms of funds and in terms of technical know-how — so the only real humane alternative, a spay/neuter program, can become a viable option... http://network.bestfriends.org/international/news/19258.html

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