# A day out for animal lovers



## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

If anyone is looking for something to do at the weekend you would be welcome to join me at ESMA animal shelter where we are doing a big clean up and some sewing  I smile because I cannot even sew on a button. We are making cat beds from old sweaters as we cannot afford to buy. 

Maiden


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## galeshaheed (Apr 7, 2009)

Where is it ?


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

If you are coming through the ring road towards Pyramids , just get off the bridge on the exist reading Sakkara - Badrashin exit leading down to the Maryoteya canal. Follow on this road till you meet the first mosque, turn right after the mosque and go ahead 200 meters till you reach a small tyre shop, turn right in the very small street after this...


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## alexvw (Mar 10, 2012)

Silly question, but is ESMA the same as SPARE? We wanted to visit SPARE on the weekend, and the direction sounds exactly the same as what you're describing *confused*


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

alexvw said:


> Silly question, but is ESMA the same as SPARE? We wanted to visit SPARE on the weekend, and the direction sounds exactly the same as what you're describing *confused*




No SPARE is another organisation but it is just yards away, SPARE is quite wealthy compared to ESMA.. we struggle each day,


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## Buffy7 (Jan 8, 2013)

MaidenScotland, I am an avid animal lover and have experience as dog-trainer, dog-caretaker as well as having volunteered at several animal shelters in Switzerland. I also have preliminary experience as an assistant veterinarian and have patched up a few of the heavily mistreated dogs in my area in Cairo. I think I am about an hour or so away from you. Once I get settled and my car arrives, I would love to be of any assistance at all. 
I believe I read in another post the shelter you work for has an approximate budget of 1,700CHF (Swiss currency) or about $1,500 a month. How do donations work? Are they given in person or through a bank?


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Buffy7 said:


> MaidenScotland, I am an avid animal lover and have experience as dog-trainer, dog-caretaker as well as having volunteered at several animal shelters in Switzerland. I also have preliminary experience as an assistant veterinarian and have patched up a few of the heavily mistreated dogs in my area in Cairo. I think I am about an hour or so away from you. Once I get settled and my car arrives, I would love to be of any assistance at all.
> I believe I read in another post the shelter you work for has an approximate budget of 1,700CHF (Swiss currency) or about $1,500 a month. How do donations work? Are they given in person or through a bank?




Hi Buffy

We would be more than happy for you to help out at our shelters..

I don't work for the shelter I am a volunteer, we only have a few local staff on the payroll. 

I have never posted how much of a budget we have each month but I can tell you that we are in debt.. no credit in our bank. 

We collect donations in person, through the bank.. and are setting up drop off points at various areas through the city but as you can imagine this is difficult.

We also collect any household items that we can use at the shelter.. just now we are in dire need of blankets for the dogs, it's cold and wet out at the shelter and they are suffering. 

Once again I look forward to hearing from you.

Maiden


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## Buffy7 (Jan 8, 2013)

Blankets? Fantastic. I know we certainly have a couple of sheets and towels to spare, and will probably discover more (we are not only moving from Geneva - Cairo but also changing apartments).
I happen to have one or two coats for a medium sized dog; as I own a Greyhound (extremely sensitive to the cold). Perhaps those could be of use for shorter haired or excessively skinny dogs. I do look forward to settling in and completing this (seemingly) never-ending move so I can begin working on other things!


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Buffy7 said:


> Blankets? Fantastic. I know we certainly have a couple of sheets and towels to spare, and will probably discover more (we are not only moving from Geneva - Cairo but also changing apartments).
> I happen to have one or two coats for a medium sized dog; as I own a Greyhound (extremely sensitive to the cold). Perhaps those could be of use for shorter haired or excessively skinny dogs. I do look forward to settling in and completing this (seemingly) never-ending move so I can begin working on other things!




Thank you so much.. we refuse nothing as everything can always be used.. 
Dog coats will be very very welcome.. I can always arrange to pick the things up from you when your arrive as our dogs are quite desperate to keep warm, Last night it was very very cold and the rain was pouring down.. it is not nice out there are we do not have kennels for all the dogs.. 

Maiden


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## Buffy7 (Jan 8, 2013)

Yes, that would be possible too - but it would either have to be this weekend (12th - 13th Jan.) or towards the end of the month, as we begin moving from our apartment in Rehab to a new one on Monday and things will be a little hectic.
I'll see what plans we have for the kennel my father purchased to transport my dog to Cairo; if we have no further use for it (it's quite large) it will be of better use at the shelter rather than taking up space in our apartment.
At the moment, the only possible advice I can offer that may keep these dogs warm is you can find people to knit/sew coats like the one my Greyhound has. There is a website that offers the "plan" for shape, dimensions, and how to sew it together. If you can find any abandoned rain-slickers or even flexible tarpaulin you simply sew it on top of a cloth base and it will protect the main part of the dog's body from the wet and cold. You can also use the spray people use to protect suede/leather against the water on the underside of the "plastic" layer, allowing it to dry before attaching it to the cloth (to ensure the dog cannot lick or have contact with the spray). Apparently these coats can take 30-45 minutes to make; not sure if it is worth the effort depending on the number of dogs in need but just in case anyway.
How to Make a Recycled Dog Sweater - CraftStylish

This one is for cloth sweaters/coats only, but with a bit of creativity you can find a way to add on a protective layer of a plastic material.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Buffy7 said:


> Yes, that would be possible too - but it would either have to be this weekend (12th - 13th Jan.) or towards the end of the month, as we begin moving from our apartment in Rehab to a new one on Monday and things will be a little hectic.
> I'll see what plans we have for the kennel my father purchased to transport my dog to Cairo; if we have no further use for it (it's quite large) it will be of better use at the shelter rather than taking up space in our apartment.
> At the moment, the only possible advice I can offer that may keep these dogs warm is you can find people to knit/sew coats like the one my Greyhound has. There is a website that offers the "plan" for shape, dimensions, and how to sew it together. If you can find any abandoned rain-slickers or even flexible tarpaulin you simply sew it on top of a cloth base and it will protect the main part of the dog's body from the wet and cold. You can also use the spray people use to protect suede/leather against the water on the underside of the "plastic" layer, allowing it to dry before attaching it to the cloth (to ensure the dog cannot lick or have contact with the spray). Apparently these coats can take 30-45 minutes to make; not sure if it is worth the effort depending on the number of dogs in need but just in case anyway.
> How to Make a Recycled Dog Sweater - CraftStylish
> ...





We are actually sewing dog/cats beds out of old sweaters etc, we have 900 animals and 9 people including me turned up to help sew them..

Sorry I have to laugh at abandoned rain slickers or tarpaulin.. no way would you find this abandonded and quite simply we do not have the money to spray a waterproof coating. I think once you visit us you will see how poor we really are. but thanks for the suggestion 

Maiden


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## Buffy7 (Jan 8, 2013)

My apologies. I have never worked at a shelter in Egypt; only visited pet-shops to walk dogs and clean up a little. The Greyhound rescue organization in Spain does things like that and they are often short on material and such, I thought it could be a useful suggestion.
I have only a little time left in Switzerland but I've collected 100CHF of donations (about 700LE) and hope to get a little more! Looking forward to helping out at the shelter.


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