On Sunday, we had call for help from our friend Denise who found a dog next to her stables which was in a terrible condition and needed urgent attention. We duly attended to assess the situation and see what could be done.

On seeing the poor dog, it was obvious things were very wrong and he was very ill, covered in large ticks and blood, and was very skinny.

I called Lucy of MAA to see if she had a carrier box as this animal had to go to the vet and trying to transport a dog who has never been in a car before has to be done safely inside a carrier box. We agreed to meet up so whilst I went to the meeting place, Karen tried to get some water and food in the dog, and get him in the shade (temperatures of 36 degrees at the moment in Aourir).

When we arrived back, the dog had drunk lots of water but had taken no food but at least he had moved to the shade. On seeing the animal, the decision was made to catch him, crate him and get him to the vets immediately – things we not looking good for his survival. With limited equipment, Lucy tried to get a towel and blanket over him to keep him calm and to protect herself in case he struggled but as she picked him up, he cried in pain so she put him down again.

Renata, one of the other helpers, went to comfort him but he was so scared he accidentally bit her hand (he did not mean to but just was scared) – again reflecting on the need for more safety equipment and proper dog handling tools. The dog was frightened, probably in fear of humans (in Morocco people throw stones and sticks at the feral dogs so they are afraid of people) and confused as well as in a great deal of pain.

Lucy tried again and between us we managed to get this poor dog inside the crate and in the car. Then we set about patching up Renata. Turns out she had been bitten a few days before too – so we must get safety equipment before a real attack happens. I always carry a first aid kit in my car, so we had the necessary products to deal with this – but again this needs to be arranged for all volunteers to carry – we desperately need funds to support the staff and the animals.

At the vets, we expected the worse but the vet said that the dog was quite young, probably 3 – 4 years old, and he would recover with medication and care, but the next few days would be critical. Our vet is a great guy and is passionate about animals so will never put a dog down unless it is suffering and there is no hope, so after some much needed medication, the dog was taken to the Association (the Foyer) to be cared for.

Time will tell if this dog will pull through, but at least he now has a chance – he would surely have died slowly and painfully otherwise.

This is not an isolated story – we see this everyday here in Morocco so we need your help.

Morocco Animal Aid is a small group of caring animal lovers who give up their time and money to take care of all the street dogs and work with local vets and the Association coeur sur la patte in Agadir to care for feral and street dogs and cats. They have virtually no funding and it is all through donation. Together with the Association and MAA, there is a neutering and vaccination program in place to reduce the population and remove diseases like rabies from Morocco.

If you can spare just a small donation to the MAA please let me know – we really need your help.