African Pet Foundation
18 Yusuf Salami Close
Igando, Near Ejigbo
Lagos, Nigeria
February 5, 2010
Dear Sir/Madam,
HELP AFRICAN PET FOUNDATION
Thank you for taking your time to read this letter thoroughly. My name is
Francis Adebo and I represent the above foundation which I co-founded with
Lillian Njemanze in April 2009. It was partly due to a childhood experience that
left me devastated and angry for a major part of my life.
I was given a two-week old puppy by a favorite granduncle when I was 11 years
old. I was happy and above all exhilarated because that was the first time I
felt I had something I could call my own. My joy knew no bound. I named him
Felly and took him everywhere I went everywhere and longed to play with him
after school. One week later, my granduncle came and told me that he had to
castrate the Felly. I did not know what it meant that time but he told me it
would make him to grow fast, be robust and agile. That added to my joy. However,
I was taken aback when I saw my granduncle and his friend held Felly upside down
and used some small knives to make incisions. Felly cried and I cried with him.
I rushed and held my granduncle’s hands begging him to leave Felly alone. He
told me that it would be alright. Felly was in pain and weak afterwards. I found
out later in life that they should have used anesthetic for the procedure. I
took care of Felly afterwards and he got better and well. I was thrilled to have
a vibrant Felly some days after and I took time grooming Felly to do simple
things like where to pooh-pooh, urinate, “sit”, “stop”, “come”, “fetch”,
training and nurturing him. I was happy because Felly grew in size, strength and
became a big dog in less than one year. I learnt a lot. Dogs are fascinating,
unique; they have emotions and feelings similar to our own.
I come from a society where dog meat and other pets like birds are eaten, they
are considered delicacies. There is a big market for dog meat. Some erroneously
believe that dog meat has some medicinal values. Some believe that the meat
drives out evil influences and bad omen and the water from the meat cures
ailments. I knew that my granduncle liked eating dog meat because he had many
dogs that I did not see after some tine. One day I came back from school and
there was my granduncle with his friend talking with my grandmother. They called
me and started talking to me that they needed to take Felly away. I was angry. I
told him that he gave me the dog that it was mine. He said he would return him
back to me in a few days. I cried, said no and ran away with Felly. We did not
come back until late in the night. My grandmother was angry with me for staying
out late but I told her I had to protect Felly.
Early in the morning I heard footsteps. I knew deep down inside of me that it
was my granduncle because I had bad dreams that night about Felly and I was
waiting for dawn to come so I could check on him. I was praying that the
footsteps I heard would be someone else. Then I heard a loud chilling shriek
that brought goose bumps on my skin. I knew something must have happened to
Felly. I rushed to where Felly slept, and to my chagrin saw my granduncle
wielding a long piece of metal rod used for harvesting or digging out yam from
the ground. Felly was writhing, his legs were twitching, and twisting and
stiffening, around his neck was a sharp mark. It was obvious to me that my
granduncle hit him on the neck with that rod. All of sudden every movement
stopped, Felly was motionless and I knew he would not wake up again, never! I
would never get to play with my dog, my friend and my companion. Rivulets of
tears started cascading down my eyes. I was in so much pain that my head started
exploding and my body started shaking. My granduncle was saying things to me but
I did not hear. His voice sounded distant to me. He was a killer, a murderer and
hate came upon me. To cut the story short, my granduncle and his friend took
dead Felly away and I learnt that they ate him. I cry each time the memories
come to me. I hated my granduncle afterwards and avoided him. I transferred the
hate to his entire family and avoided them. I was scarred inside and was deeply
afraid of getting another dog.
As I got older I got better emotionally and tried my best to let the experience
go. I succeeded in letting hate out of my heart but I avoided my granduncle even
when there was a family reunion. I went to the university and my roommate family
owned different breeds of dogs. I became close to the family and they gave me a
terrier on my graduation. It is a gentle and intelligent dog, strong and full of
life.
My granduncle died in March 2009 and I decided to attend his funeral after
persuasion from some family members. One of the reasons that propelled me to go
was to see how it would heal me - help me to bring closure to some feelings. And
it did! One of the things that came out of it was the idea for this foundation.
Maltreatment, abuse and eating of dog meat have not abetted. It is on the
increase. In some parts of the country they have open markets where they sell
live dogs to be slaughtered for meat. In such markets they also sell dog meats.
They call the meat “404”, “Eke Uke”, The Meat”, etc.
Lillian Njemanze is a cat lover. She has three of them. I met her on a trip
to a vet doctor with “De Man” (that is the name of my terrier). I have come to
love cats. Lillian has brought a positive energy into this foundation. She has
brought the cat dimension which I do not know much about.
With limited funding we started this foundation and our main objectives are:
OBJECTIVES
To change the people’s orientation and mindset on how they perceive dogs/cats
and other pets. Dogs are man’s friend and they should be treated with love
instead of being abused. I was called the other day because armed robbers
intruded a home and shot the dog when it barked. The owners did not bother to
take the dog to the vet doctor but abandoned it to die. We took care of Nkwa
(that is her name) and now she is in our care waiting for adoption.
Dogs are not meant to be eaten because we do not eat our friends.
Dogs/cats and other pets should be given medical care by taking them to vet
doctors. The other day we had to retrieve a dog that the owners abandoned
because it started going blind. Our part-time vet doctor confirmed that the dog
is suffering from glaucoma. People do not take dogs with broken legs or wounds
to vet doctors, rather they live them to heal on their own and most of these
dogs contact other infections and other diseases and die or get permanently
disabled.
It is okay to adopt and groom stray cats or dogs, give them a sense of belonging
and happy lives. We can learn how to relate and care for people especially
strangers if we can learn how to be kind to these intelligent creatures that do
not talk.
To encourage people to train and groom their dogs to do tasks and improve on
their potentials. Dogs protect from intruders, they have ability to see things
and perceive when danger is coming, and they can be trained to lead the blind.
WHAT WE HAVE DONE SO FAR
We have been able to take in thirteen stray or street dogs and two cats groomed
and trained them. We provided medical care to some of them and have had ten of
them adopted. We have provided medical care to 23 dogs and four cats that were
brought by the owners who could not afford the expenses. Seven of them are still
in our care since they require extended medical care. Some of the diseases range
from bacterial, viral, fungal to parasitic.
We have trained some owners on how to give proper care to their pets and when to
take them for medical attention, first aid, feeding and simple things like
bathing and scrubbing, taking care of lice and fleas.
We have carried out awareness programs, distributed pamphlets, printed and
handed out bumper stickers to people in communities that eat dog meat to
dissuade them from such. Some of the stickers read like this: “Your Dog is your
Friend. Don’t Eat Your Friend”, “Great Minds Love Dogs”, “Ask Your Kids If They
Need a Friend in Dog”. Some of the areas we targeted are Calabar in Cross River
State, Rivers State, Anambra State, Akwaibom State and Lagos State where the
practice of eating dog meats is prevalent. My digital camera with the pictures I
snapped over the time of this practice was confiscated when we visited a
military barrack in Lagos where they have restaurants that serve dog meats. We
were manhandled as well.
OUR PLANS FOR THE YEAR
Last year I spent my earning and some meager contribution from loved ones to
execute the works of the foundation. Many people think that we are out of our
minds; there is little or no encouragement not to talk of funding. Government
has no animal protection laws. It is so frustrating but we have more than
determination and I appeal to you to help the foundation financially and
otherwise. We are determined to make the changes.
The foundation’s budget for the year is $350,000.00 (three hundred and fifty
thousand U.S. dollars).
Things to pay for or buy:
A bigger office/site so that we can expand, accommodate more pets and offices
and work areas for staff
Employ more staff to help in our outreach programs and in the site
To establish offices and employ staff in five areas in the country where we know
that slaughter of dogs for meat are alarming. Some of these places are about 10
– 12 hours drive from our location
To buy computers and other equipments like digital cameras, printers, scanners,
video camera/camcorder, editing materials
Web page hosting so that we can have a presence on the web where you and other
contributors can read our progress, view pictures and watch video of some of the
pets, our campaigns and other events
Pay for web hosting and computer technician who will handle our
computer/printing department
Pay for a fulltime or a consultant veterinary doctor to give proper medical care
to the pets
Pay for vehicle to help us in our outreach programs
Pay for outdoor broadcasting equipments
Pay the staff and other workers
Pay for pet foods, toys, hygiene cares and other cares
Pay for stickers, handbills and bumper stickers
Other things planned for the year:
We want to sustain the momentum, double our efforts with more staff and continue
with our targeted campaigns and awareness programs
We will work with local officials to make laws to protect pets and animals from
abuse. We want to take the campaign to their offices and encourage them to adopt
pets. We hope to go for national laws in the years to come
We will intensify the Adopt-A-Pet program. We plan to give puppies to school
children with the consent at Parents-Teachers Association meetings
We will educate the children on how to care for the pets and also do follow-ups
with them
We will follow up with adopted and rescued dogs/cats
As you can see, we have a lot to do this year and everything depends on how
much funding we will be able to attract. We appeal to you and we depend on you
to accomplish these. Please help us today by making a donation to African Pet
Foundation. Any amount will go a long way in making a difference, so no amount
is small.
Thank you in advance.
Contact the following people on how to send your material and financial
donation:
Francis Adebo
Phone: +234 805 393 7599
Email: afripf@gmail.com ,
frankadebo@yahoo.com
Lillian Njemanze
Phone: +234 813 387 3264
lillianAPF4eva@gmail.com ,
lillianAPF4eva@yahoo.com
Sincerely,
Francis Adebo
