Vito goes out to play!

The hard-working volunteers at Rifugio Fata make sure that all of the rescue dogs are taken out regularly to play and run freely.

Our next move!

So, here it is:

1] Our first goal is to complete Vito's rescue by raising the funds to airlift him into a brand new life. Adoption possibilities are very limited in Southern Italy, so we are working with a Dutch friend who has offered to pick him up and find a loving home for him in Holland. 

Cost: 300 Euros

2] Our second goal is to raise money to donate to Rifugio Fata in order to feed as many of the rescue dogs as we can, in support of Francesca's incredible efforts. Rifugio Fata has, literally, saved Vito's life and given us the time we need to secure his future.

Cost: 120 Euros per dog per year.

So...

THE MISSION: 

Can you help us complete Vito's rescue and contribute as much as we can towards Francesca's next food bill?! If we can rehome just one of those dogs (Vito!) and feed some of those mouths, it will be an enormous help to Rifugio Fata.

We are estimating that Vito's vet and transport bill will be around 300 Euros. Once Vito is saved, we'd like to support Rifugio Fata with a gift, in Vito's name. They have done so much for him--it is a way for Vito to give back! It costs Francesca, on average, 1500 Euros a month just to feed all of the dogs living at Rifugio Fata! I asked Francesca this morning how many dogs they currently have in residence, and she told me 182! Unfortunately, the number of abandoned dogs increases during the summer vacation period. 

That is 182 mouths to feed!

It costs approxiamtely 10 Euros a month to feed each dog at the shelter. That's 120 Euros to feed ONE of our four-legged friends at Rifugio Fata for a whole year! 240 Euros feeds two dogs for a year, 360 Euros feeds three dogs for a year, and so on.

Let's see if we can raise 300 Euros for Vito, and feed as many dogs as we can at Rifugio Fata for a year!

All money received for Vito and Rifugio Fata will be documented on this blog, and we will keep you updated on our progress. We very much look forward to posting a photo of Vito in his new home, and announcing the amount we have raised for our four-legged friends at the shelter.

Please give whatever you can, and pass this along. Every little bit will help. 

If you want to take a look at who you will feeding at the shelter, please go to Rifugio Fata's Facebook page and click on photos! They will thank you sooooo much!

https://www.facebook.com/rifugio.fata.1?fref=ts

And if you want to see how Vito might react to your donation, check out his video at the bottom of this page! (First blog entry)

Donating to Rescue Vito is easy. I have set up a PayPal account in order to receive donations. You can give by clicking on the 'Donate' button on this page (at the top or bottom.) 

If you have a PayPal account, it will give you the option to log in. 

If you don't have a PayPal account, you can donate using your credit card (without being a member of PayPal) Once you click on the 'Donate' button, you will be taken to PayPal's secure page. Look for the "Don't have a PayPal account?" heading and click "Continue" to donate directly with your credit card.

Please help us complete Vito's rescue and support Francesca's wonderful efforts. Thank you!

Meet Vito

It has been nearly three years since we rescued Dino from the roadside in Calabria, Southern Italy. I am happy to report that - thanks to a community of animal-lovers online - Dino is still doing brilliantly today. He is full of life, healthy and such a good boy!

We have just been back to Calabria, Southern Italy, near to the place where we found Dino, and we found another young shepherd mix, abandoned by the roadside. So sad! He was living alone in the cemetery, just outside the village, sleeping in an unused tomb for shelter. He was thin, ostracized and without hope. We were told by some locals that he had been there for about a month.

Like Dino, he was very nervous. We took him some food and when he saw us coming, he was so excited that his tail literally wagged his head! How could somebody dump such a sweet boy? We called him Vito. 

After feeding him for a couple of weeks, we had to leave. Sadly, we couldn't take him with us. We asked around, but, as expected, we were unable to find anyone to take him in. Stray dogs are a huge problem in Southern Italy. Resources are extremely limited and any shelters that do exist are often poorly run or totally overwhelmed. 

So, on our last day, we left him a big pile of food and wished him luck. It was hard to walk away from that sad little face, I can tell you!

But we couldn't give up!

If it was a challenge to rescue Dino while we were still in Calabria, I knew it was going to be very difficult to rescue Vito after we had left. 

Our unlikely mission was this: Find somewhere for little Vito to stay, and then - harder still - find someone willing to go and find him, pick him up and take him there.

We spent two weeks emailing and chasing every possible lead we could find. It was tough, but I have fantastic news! Thanks to a network of incredible people we met online, I am thrilled to report that we finally managed to organize for Vito to be picked up. He played his part beautifully, staying safe in the cemetery and obediently coming out to meet his rescuers when they arrived.

In our search for a temporary holding place for Vito, I am also excited to report that we have discovered an amazing, one-of-a-kind dog shelter in Calabria, Southern Italy, called Rifugio Fata. It is run by a woman called Francesca who has dedicated herself to making a difference to the lives of stray dogs in the South. What an oasis!

At any one time, Rifugio Fata is home to around 150 dogs. Unlike other shelters that receive government money and often short-change the dogs, leaving them in crowded cages, neglected and suffering, Rifugio Fata is part of a dynamic, loving, non-profit organization. The dogs are well looked after, cuddled regularly and given space to run freely. Francesca helms adoption programs, she treats sick dogs, rehabs traumatised dogs and promotes initiatives to educate the public about our four-legged friends.

As you would expect, Rifugio Fata's walls are full to bursting and their resources are stretched thin. But, amazingly, Francesca has agreed to give Vito a temporary home. Not only that, she has offered to provide low cost microchipping, neutering and vaccinations for him. When we asked what she would charge for his bed and board, we braced ourselves. "Nothing," she said. "You can make a donation if you like."

So that's the story so far! 

Vito is staying temporarily at Rifugio Fata, being looked after by Francesca and her team of dedicated helpers. And he is patiently waiting for our next move!  

After two weeks of feeding Vito, he put on weight and gained confidence. Always so excited to see us and to have some company!