Welfare for Animals Guild Rwanda

WAG-Rwanda's mission is to improve the health and welfare of domestic animals, specifically dogs, in Rwanda. WAG began in 2014 as a grassroots initiative to help stray dogs in Rwanda find homes. Using foster care homes and a recently established small shelter space, WAG dogs receive food, veterinary care, love and socialization until they are adopted. At the core of our project's mission is that every dog, regardless of age, breed or sex receives equal investment of resources and care. In addition to rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming street dogs, WAG provides emergency assistance to dogs in crisis (severe injuries, rescue from abusive situations etc). We also play a role in advoc... read more WAG-Rwanda's mission is to improve the health and welfare of domestic animals, specifically dogs, in Rwanda. WAG began in 2014 as a grassroots initiative to help stray dogs in Rwanda find homes. Using foster care homes and a recently established small shelter space, WAG dogs receive food, veterinary care, love and socialization until they are adopted. At the core of our project's mission is that every dog, regardless of age, breed or sex receives equal investment of resources and care. In addition to rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming street dogs, WAG provides emergency assistance to dogs in crisis (severe injuries, rescue from abusive situations etc). We also play a role in advocating for animal welfare, support spay and neuters, vaccinate against rabies and serve as a valuable resource to dog owners. WAG is run by volunteers, and employs one full-time and one part-time shelter staff members to care for our dogs. Alongside our core activities of rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming street dogs, we are involved in conducting research and working with stakeholders in rabies elimination and humane reduction of street dog population. We are currently running a research project mapping the dog population and demographics in one district in Kigali, funded by the Royal Society of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. This is with the aim of producing the first research on dog demographics in Rwanda and creating a tool for dog enumeration across Rwanda. WAG is also represented on Rwanda's National Rabies Elimination Technical Working Group, with the Government of Rwanda and World Health Organisation. Despite being a relatively small project, we are currently the only organisation exclusively working with dogs in the country. Our work is based in Rwanda's capital city, Kigali. Three recent notable achievements include: Opening a pilot dog shelter: After acquiring official NGO status and government support of the project, WAG opened a pilot dog shelter in December 2020. This shelter is the first of its kind in the country. This space has allowed us to expand our rescue efforts by providing a temporary landing spot to dogs prior to placement in foster homes, some right to adoption. It can also host up to 20 dogs who may need additional support. The dogs housed at the shelter have been thriving and we have plans to replicate this project on a larger scale within the next 5 years. Rehoming: In the last 3 years WAG has rehomed 176 rescue dogs with loving, permanent families. These dogs were stray or abandoned with varying degrees of health or behavioural challenges prior to rescue. They have all been spayed / neutered and vaccinated. Of note, these stats were impacted by COVID 19, with no adoptions able to take place between March - June of 2020 and again in December - February 2021 due to public health guidelines. Promotion of humane dog population control and responsible dog ownership to key stakeholders: WAG presented at the first Annual Conference of Veterinary Doctors in Rwanda, run by the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources and the Rwanda Council of Veterinary Doctors, on the topic of the Rescue, Rehabilitate and Rehome model to humanely reduce dog populations in Rwanda. This has since led to WAG being part of the Rwanda National Rabies Elimination Technical Working Group, where WAG advocates for sustainable and humane dog population control and the role of responsible dog ownership in policy to improve dog welfare, human-dog relationships and reduce human-dog conflict. WAG is in early-stage talks with the Government of Rwanda stakeholders and World Health Organisation in ways forward to support the government in rabies elimination and stray dog population management by expanding our model both in and outside Kigali. Now we are successfully operating our pilot shelter, and have support from the Government of Rwanda, we are seeking to expand our fundraising efforts to employ a part-time staff member to oversee adoptions and community engagement which will increase our capacity and ability to help more people and dogs. We are looking for more sustainable ways to guaranteed funding to allow us to do this, as well as expand our work into conducting vaccination and sterilisation projects in the community, which has the strong support from the local government but requires funding.