Animal Welfare Namibia Project #18172

Support for Have A Heart-Namibia

by Animal-Kind International

Project Report | Sep 19, 2026
AKI-HaH Namibia Update

By Karen Menczer | Executive Director, Animal-Kind International

Ash at the vet, a UTI & a scorpion bite!

They say that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," and if that's the case, we have many admirers of the AKI-HaH Namibia Emergency Fund. Several AKI supporters have seen what we've done with the Emergency Fund and requested to create their own funding mechanisms for their favorite AKI-supported group.

We now oversee a Spay/Neuter & Emergency Fund for Fondation Alliance Verte in Haiti and we're on Good DOG Fund #3 (year 3) for SPCA Grahamstown (South Africa), supporting spay/neuter and emergency vet care for dogs (and cats too) in and around Makhanda.

With success stories like these (just since June!), we're not surprised the AKI-HaH Emergency Fund has attracted imitators:

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Ash (photo above of this beautiful kitty) is a semi feral cat from Mariental with a very dedicated caretaker looking after her and the rest of her colony. All are spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and fed daily. One day the caretaker noticed Ash wasn't well and managed to catch and take her to Dr Erna, who diagosed a urinary tract infection. Ash stayed at the clinic during treatment and when she was 100% better, she was returned to the colony. But later that same day, when the caretaker checked on her, it seems she had been bitten by a scorpion! The bite was very painful and Ash was not happy. Back Ash went to Dr Erna, who monitored her and gave her a topical to decrease the pain. By the following day she was fine, and returned again to her colony, where she's remained healthy and happy since then (end of June).

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Blacky (see photo) from Mariental got in a fight with other dogs and his wound became necrotic. Blacky's family asked Have a Heart for help, and we agreed that Dr Erna could provide treatment under the AKI-HaH Emergency Fund, but ONLY IF the family agreed to neuter Blacky. Treatment required several days of cleaning the wound, and during his stay at the clinic, he was also neutered.

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In mid-August, Tracy (see photo) from Rehoboth didn't feel well and her family couldn't afford a private vet. Again, we agreed that if her family agrees to have her spayed, she can get help from Dr Stephanie in Rehoboth. Immediately they agreed (In all these years, only one person has ever refused to spay his dog in return for getting help from the Emergency Fund!) Dr Stephanie put Tracy on a drip and kept her for the night. Luckily, the next day she felt so much better that she started to eat. Dr Stephanie decided to keep her for another night for observations and the next day she was so much better, she was spayed and allowed to go home later that day.

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Lillie (see photo) is another victim of tick bite fever--especially this past year, we've seen so many dogs show up at clinics all over Namibia with tick bite fever. Lillie lives in Otjiwarongo and her family really loves her. She was previously spayed by Have a Heart, and so she was automatically considered part of the HaH family and eligible for the AKI-HaH Emergency Fund. In June, Lillie's family noticed she wasn't feeling well and brought her to the clinic. It was a serious case and Lillie needed to be hospitalized, but she was so stressed at the clinic that she was allowed to go home if her family would bring her to the clinic every day for a few days for the drip. Luckily her family was willing to do that for Lillie and she fully recovered.

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This beautiful girl from Mariental (see photo) was trapped by volunteers and Dr Erna spayed her. She's part of a managed colony and when her caretakers noticed that she had trouble with her eye, they trapped her again and brought her to Dr Erna for a check up. Her eye must have been very painful. She was scratching at it like she was trying to take it out. Dr Erna removed her eye and as soon as she was awake, you could tell she felt much better. (June 2026)

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We'll end with this really nice story (but there are so many more; it's always difficult to choose just a handful!) Jonathan brought Leao to Dr Erna because he had an infected tick bite. This was definitely a case for the AKI-HaH Emergency Fund; Leao's young owner couldn't afford vet care. Dr Erna treated the tick bite, sutured the lesion, and of course while doing so, Leao was neutered and vaccinated, and he was treated against internal and external parasites - the full AKI and HaH service!

A few days later, Dr Erna received this message from Leao's owner: "Good Morning, I'm the owner of Leao the dog that was treated last week. I just wanted to give credit to the vet that was treating my dog at Vetsweb, I'm so happy and grateful beyond gratitude. In conclusion, none of this would have happened without the support of Have a Heart spay and neuter program Namibia and Animal-Kind International!"

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Certainly, this is a model worth imitating. If only all cats and dogs and their families (and those without families) had access to affordable and expert health care! That's what the AKI-HaH Emergency Fund is all about. Thank you for making this possible!

Blacky with his family-necrotic wound & neuter

Tracy-didn't feel well & was spayed

Lillie-another case of tick bite fever

Kitty's eye was removed

Jonathan & Leao-infected tick bite & neuter

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