Building New Shelter for Dolly

Created on 06/17/12
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/122593?a=646580

About us:
Dolly was found by a Mercy Animal Shelter volunteer two years ago, sitting quietly by a local train station in Zaporozhe, Ukraine. As can be seen from her pictures, Dolly did not have an easy life. The front portion of her mouth and nose are missing and it is suspected that the damage was caused by a firecracker. When Mercy found Dolly, she was in danger of being euthanized by animal control, which received complaints from locals who found Dolly’s appearance to be quite a nuisance. After Dolly was taken in by Mercy, it was discovered that she was also pregnant and in a few months gave birth to 8 puppies, 6 of which were adopted and 2 of which stayed with their mom.
Right now Dolly is the shelter’s superstar and the face of Mercy. In fact, her injuries didn’t slow her down a bit – she eats well, plays well with other dogs and when she sees someone staring at her with worried eyes she sticks out her tongue as far out as she can as though she’s saying “Don’t worry, I’m alright!”
My name is Dasha and I work with various animal organizations in Ukraine. One of these organizations is Mercy, which saves stray animals that have been poisoned, hit by cars, abused by people or just ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. The volunteers at Mercy act in emergency situations by taking animals that have been hurt to the vet, providing temporary foster care, while searching for forever homes. Volunteers at Mercy pay for the care out of their own pockets and rely on donations from friends and neighbors. Currently, Mercy owns a private shelter which houses 10 dogs and 40 cats, most of which are either disabled or very old and unfit for life on the streets. For more a picture slideshow of Mercy's residents please look here: http://youtu.be/SHwhqMChwVg.
In the wake of the preparation for Euro 2012, it is estimated that 250,000 stray dogs were killed or hurt by local authorities in Ukraine in an effort to “clean the streets.” As a result, the amount of disabled dogs has increased tremendously in various cities including Zaporozhe. That is why Mercy needs your help to build a bigger shelter.


What we need: A bigger shelter!
Mercy has found a parcel of land in the suburbs of Zaporozhe. This land has a built-in structure that can house about 50 dogs and 80 cats, 80 animals more then Mercy does now. Mercy has already collected 1/3 of the funds needed and needs our help to collect the rest.
Breakdown:
$750 to complete the purchase of the land
$100 to build an enclosure
$50 to transport the current residents of the shelter to the new location
$90 will cover indiegogo fees and the cost to transfer money to Ukraine


Goal reached!

With the help from all our funders, we have reached our current goal! All extra funds we collect will go into purchasing the necessary equipment and supplies for the shelter. The money will also be used to purchase food for the animals as well as pay for emergecy vet care in the future. Thank you all for having such kind hearts and helping us achieve this dream!


Impact:
With the new expanded shelter, Mercy will be able to save many more animals then it does now. Mercy will be able to foster animals before they get adopted and provide a permanent home to disabled and elderly animals, like Dolly.
Mercy's group page: http://vk.com/miloserdie_zp