SOS Italian Setters

It’s a magic day today!!! These three beautiful girls are OUT! We have sprang them from their jail, a public pound with thousands of dogs. We thought we should act quickly to avoid loosing sight of them forever…

One is obviously ill and needs to be taken to the vets as soon as possible.

Blood tests only for each of them will cost us EUR 370. Any help towards their vet bills is much appreciated. Thank you! ❤️

You can make a difference by donating today to SOS Italian Setters. SOS Italian Setters rescue dogs from the highways and byways of Southern Italy, from public pounds with thousands of dogs incarcerated in small enclosures, and directly from hunters who don’t want them anymore. We help them recover with excellent veterinary care and begin a new life in a home where they will be cherished.

We found Karl forgotten in a pound. His conditions told us a story of neglect and huge suffering. Karl spent 6 years in that enclosure before being rescued last week. He is now 9. Our vet found he had several tumours ulcerated and removed the biggest lump on his abdomen. When I saw him I wanted to cry… I feel very sad for the life wasted, but hopeful for the life that has just started.

Welcome to SOS beautiful boy! We will do everything we can to make you better, feel better at least and let you live the time you have left, loved and cared for.

Please help us support this poor doggie. It will not be easy but we will do everything we can to make him better.

You can make a difference by donating today to SOS Italian Setters. SOS Italian Setters rescue dogs from the highways and byways of Southern Italy, from public pounds with thousands of dogs incarcerated in small enclosures, and directly from hunters who don’t want them anymore. We help them recover with excellent veterinary care and begin a new life in a home where they will be cherished.

Our beautiful girl Anna was finally supposed to head to her forever home, but a heartbreaking medical discovery has changed everything. Anna has tested high positive for Leishmaniasis, which is now affecting her kidneys. This comes as a double blow after her previous battle with mammary carcinoma for which she had surgery last August.

Vito (16) and Silvia (14) have spent their entire lives in the shadows of a dreadful pound—forgotten, until now. Last week, our wonderful rescuer Luana Passerini finally brought them into the light. But a lifetime of neglect has taken its toll. Their bodies are tired and fragile; the vet fears Vito is riddled with cancer, while Silvia battles failing kidneys and suspected leishmaniasis.

Both dogs were supposed to go for adoption in Italy but that will never happen. They are too ill, too weak, too fragile to go anywhere. They won't be leaving for adoption. Instead, they are staying right where they are.

When SOS Italian Setters created Bailey's Fund, we made a promise and a commitment that we would help terminally ill dogs. And we will support dogs who have not much to live, in any way we can because every life matters until the very end and no dog will die alone. We are committed to support Luana to provide Vito and Silvia with the hospice care, comfort, and dignity they have been denied for over a decade.

Please donate for Vito and Silvia. Thank you!

You can make a difference by donating today to SOS Italian Setters. SOS Italian Setters rescue dogs from the highways and byways of Southern Italy, from public pounds with thousands of dogs incarcerated in small enclosures, and directly from hunters who don’t want them anymore. We help them recover with excellent veterinary care and begin a new life in a home where they will be cherished.

We have a tough update about our little Alma, and we really need your help and positive thoughts right now.

Alma was seen by the vets on Thursday, and the news is concerning. The ultrasound scan confirmed a mass in her abdomen. The vet thinks it could be a haematoma (a collection of blood) caused by the trauma of an accident, but it could also be something more serious.

We need answers, and fast. The vet has strongly recommended a CT scan and a biopsy to determine exactly what this mass is. The sooner we know, the sooner we can act.

On a positive note, her leg injury is healing well! We believe she was involved in an accident, and we are praying with all our hearts that this abdominal mass is just blood from that trauma.

We Need Your Help: The Next Step is Costly

The estimated cost for the essential CT scan and biopsy is €750 (about £660). This is a huge, unexpected bill, and we desperately need to raise this money before we can go ahead with the procedures.

Alma is estimated to be about 5 years old, and she is an absolute gem—so incredibly good and patient with every dog she meets. She deserves every chance we can give her.

I am once again asking for your support. If you are able to donate, even the smallest amount will bring us one step closer to getting Alma the diagnosis and care she needs.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for caring.❤️

You can make a difference by donating today to SOS Italian Setters. SOS Italian Setters rescue dogs from the highways and byways of Southern Italy, from public pounds with thousands of dogs incarcerated in small enclosures, and directly from hunters who don’t want them anymore. We help them recover with excellent veterinary care and begin a new life in a home where they will be cherished.

Poor poor little girl… She was run over by a rubbish lorry and she was left there in agony. We were only called 2-3 days after the accident. The pain must have been excruciating being her leg fractured and infected. We took her to see a vet straight away and an orthopaedic surgeon has now assessed her. She needs surgery urgently and this will happen tomorrow. Her leg is badly injured and the surgeon will do his best to let her regain her normal mobility and function. During surgery, the orthopaedic surgeon will see whether it will be possible to preserve the limb's functionality or will have to resort to arthrodesis, which will mean that the dog will remain with a stiff limb. Arthrodesis refers to orthopaedic surgery in which two or more bones in a joint are fused to become one larger bone. Please keep everything crossed for Bea. Yes Bea, that's her name! More information about SOS Italian Setters: SOS Italian Setters rescue dogs from the highways and byways of Southern Italy, from public pounds with thousands of dogs incarcerated in small enclosures, and directly from hunters who don’t want them anymore. We help them recover with excellent veterinary care and begin a new life in a home where they will be cherished.

This week, Southern Italy has been the scene of two heartbreaking discoveries, highlighting the plight of abandoned Setters in the region which becomes particularly bad during Summer. In separate incidents, two girls were found in terrible conditions. One, a mere 9-month-old puppy named Ginevra, was rescued from a dire state, her young life already marked by hardship. She was found near Naples. Matilde is 4/5, she was found in a construction site in Calabria, exhausted and desperate for water and food. Both cases show the urgent need for greater animal welfare efforts across Southern Italy.

What we do at SOS Italian Setters is a drop in the ocean, but if there wasn’t even this “drop”dogs like Ginevra and Matilde would be lost forever. We never say no to a dog in need.

More information about SOS Italian Setters: SOS Italian Setters rescue dogs from the highways and byways of Southern Italy, from public pounds with thousands of dogs incarcerated in small enclosures, and directly from hunters who don’t want them anymore. We help them recover with excellent veterinary care and begin a new life in a home where they will be cherished.

There is no end to the horror, these poor dogs…

Viola, reduced to skin and bones, consumed by leishmaniasis, her microchip had been removed… Welcome to Calabria

We will of course do everything we can to bring her back to life.

Please do not abandon us as we are dealing with many ill dogs and emergencies at the moment. Thank you ❤️

More information about SOS Italian Setters: SOS Italian Setters rescue dogs from the highways and byways of Southern Italy, from public pounds with thousands of dogs incarcerated in small enclosures, and directly from hunters who don’t want them anymore. We help them recover with excellent veterinary care and begin a new life in a home where they will be cherished.

Do you want to join me in helping Bentley, Henry, Anna and Axel get on transport to the U.K. and find a wonderful home for them? Can I please ask you to share for Henry, Bentley, Alex and Anna?

I am so hoping they will be able to travel on 22nd May. Summer is fast approaching and the heat certainly is bad news for the dogs in Southern Italy because of leishmaniasis.

We have a foster home lined up for Alex and Anna but it will only be available if the right home is found for Eva who is currently being fostered by a wonderful couple in Bedfordshire.

Please help us share for the dogs. This is the only chance they have to change their life for the better. I would also be grateful if you could help us with some donations to pay for their transport which costs about £400 for each dog. Thank you!

HENRY

Henry will be 5 in July. He even has a pedigree but that didn’t stop him to get thrown out. He became ill with leishmaniasis and his hunter didn’t want him anymore, so SOS Italian Setters took him before he was put-to-sleep! Henry is one of the unwell dogs we rescued a few weeks before Christmas. Since coming into rescue he has been treated by our vets and is now doing extremely well, so the time has come for us to find a very special home for him. He is the perfect dog. Good with everyone! However, he has not been tested with cats so we would prefer at this stage a home without a cat. Please contact me urgently to offer Henry a home. He has already missed transport in April, which is very sad.

BENTLEY

He is about 4 years old. He was found severely emaciated, very poorly and desperately looking for human contact, but sadly in Calabria there is no compassion for dogs like him. He was rescued near a restaurant in the middle of nowhere near a dangerous road and would have surely died a very sad and lonely death. He is negative for leishmaniasis and brucella, has been treated for a bad ears' infection. He is very good with all other dogs, not tested with cats.

AXEL & ANNA

Axel is 3, Anna is 2. They are a joy to have them around. Axel is a little shy still, Anna is a force of nature very busy chasing lizards. They are very good with all other dogs!

Both are negative to leishmaniasis and brucella at their latest tests repeated a month ago. Axel was originally positive to leishmaniasis, he has been treated and has become negative. Obviously he will need to continue to be checked for the rest of his life but all dogs from the Mediterranean do anyway.

All four dogs are available for adoption/foster. Please contact me urgently, so I can book them in on transport!

Thank you ❤️

All your donations will go towards the travel costs of Bentley, Henry, Axel and Anna.

I would like to help our rescuers/shelters in Italy with a donation to buy some extra food and some treats for the dogs in their/our care. Some of our Setters had to stay much longer at the shelters during the past few months because of their ill health or for other reasons. We had a few with leishmaniasis like Chloe and Henry, we had Bea with the awful injury, Axel and Anna who are still looking for a home together, Tobia who had to have surgery too… Our rescuers are incredibly dedicated and caring towards these dogs and if I didn’t check in with them from time to time on what they need, they’d never ever ask… I would like to do more to help them this Spring. That’s why I thought of organising a small fundraiser to send our four rescuers donations for food.

Thank you in advance for your contribution to this cause that means everything to me. I know how much you care too. Thank you ❤️