Foundation brings four abandoned dogs to Houston to help raise funds for animal shelter

Hailie, Hana, Maria and Tommy arrived Saturday, accompanied by Efrem Legese, president of the Homeless Animals Protection Society of Ethiopia, a group that helped in the dogs' rescue.

Their story began in April, when Dr. Anteneh Roba visited Ethiopia, his native land, to focus on the country's many endangered species. Through the Amsale Gessesse Memorial Foundation he started, named after his mother, Roba also is getting equipment for two Ethiopian hospitals and hopes to open a children's hospital soon.

But when he arrived in Addis Ababa, Roba was heartbroken at the plight of the city's dogs.

"I saw mothers with eight puppies sitting in the middle of the road. They were dehydrated and couldn't move," Roba said. "Others were trying to nurse their puppies with no milk. Some were hit by cars and suffering, half alive and half dead."

Roba's foundation also was helping fund HAPS, Ethiopia's only shelter with an active spay/neuter program. On his return to Houston, Roba got a call from Legese about a cave on the outskirts of Addis Ababa where people had been abandoning dogs for at least 20 years.

"Every month 25 to 30 dogs were being thrown into a 30-40-foot pit," Roba said. "I asked that they go and check the cave out. The smell was atrocious, but they found four dogs that were barely alive and could hardly hold their heads up. I told the HAPS people: 'I don't care what you do, get them out, and I will pay for it.' "

It took about a week to get the four dogs out of the cave. They needed to be fed, and no one was sure how they would react. Legese built a long ladder and managed to carry the four out. Roba paid to have the government close the cave permanently.

The four were taken to the HAPS shelter to be cared for. Hailie had lost an eye, and Maria had lost a litter of puppies, but they soon recovered. That seemed to be the end of the story, until Roba received a call from Legese. The shelter had lost most of its funding and was closing.

That's when Roba decided to bring the four dogs to Houston to find new homes and raise funds to keep the shelter open.

"I know people ask, 'Why care for dogs when children are starving?' " Roba said. "My feeling is that every living being, including dogs, needs respect. My foundation helps both, but our compassion should extend to the animal world, too. They are beautiful dogs, and if people know their story and why we are doing this, I know they will help."

Interesting Links:
Amsale Gesessesse Memorial Foundation
http://www.amsalefoundation.org/

Interesting Pics:

The Barking Dogs of Woyane (from United Eritreans for Ethiopians for Ethiopians Demonstration in Washington, DC)
Source: http://www.ethiopiansforethiopia.org/

>> Download Screenshots of Woyane´s Barking Dogs as PDF Document

>> Download Screenshots of Woyane´s Barking Dogs as PDF Document

Interesting Readings:

>> Surprises of the war
By Mussie Msghina

>> The 'opposition' that forgot that Eritrea is a special case
By Mussie Msghina

>> How the woyane brainwashed the Eritrean opposition!
By Mussie Msghina

>> Destabilization program
By Mussie Msghina

>> The beginning of the end of the camp of treason
By Mussie Msghina

>> The dilemma of the opposition is compounded by its incompetence
By Mussie Msghina

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