Less than 24 hours ago, I watched a small, terrified dog arrive in the arms of a man who had just saved his life.

His name is Lucky.

Only a short time earlier, Lucky was going to be killed for meat. Yes... he was going to be butchered and eaten. Right here in Indonesia.

I am currently living in Indonesia and working alongside people involved in animal rescue here in Java. Yesterday, I was with my friend Joe, who leads Bali Monkey Rescue Java, when he received information about a dog in desperate need of help.

Joe simply told me:

“If I don’t collect him, they are going to eat him tonight.”

An arrangement had been made for Joe to take the dog before he was killed. He had to pay to get him out.

When Joe returned to the car carrying Lucky, I could see wounds around his neck where a rope had been tightened around it. I was told that he had already been strangled with the rope — part of what was going to happen before he was killed.

And yet this little dog made no sound.

He just sat there, frightened and completely overwhelmed by whatever he had experienced.

Lucky was safe. But he wasn't okay.

Once Lucky was rescued, the extent of his condition became clearer.

He is severely malnourished. He has worms. His flea infestation is so severe that when his fur is stroked, blood comes away on your hand. The wounds around his neck need treatment.

And then there is the trauma we can't see.

Thankfully, Lucky is now receiving veterinary care. He survived.

But Lucky is also the reason I decided I needed to set up this fundraiser.

Because Joe keeps saying yes.

Joe already cares for around ten rescued dogs, many of whom have come from terrible situations.

He has also rescued monkeys and other animals who have been abused, kept illegally or simply had nowhere else to go.

And he does all of this with incredibly limited resources.

There is no huge rescue centre behind him. There isn't a pot of money waiting every time another animal needs veterinary treatment. Joe earns very little, and yet when an animal needs help, somehow he keeps finding a way to help them.

Yesterday, that animal was Lucky.

Joe couldn't afford another rescue. He couldn't afford another veterinary bill.

But he also couldn't leave a dog behind knowing that dog was going to be killed.

So he paid for Lucky and brought him home.

That tells you pretty much everything you need to know about Joe.

Now I want to help him keep going.

I have set up this GoFundMe because Joe simply cannot keep carrying these costs alone.

Right now, he is responsible for feeding and caring for 12 rescued monkeys, 10 dogs, a cat and a pig. The food bill alone every month is enormous — and that's before veterinary treatment, medicines, parasite treatments and all the unexpected costs that come with rescuing animals.

Joe does receive a small amount of help from Bali Monkey Rescue, but it covers only a fraction of what these animals actually cost to care for.

Every donation made through this GoFundMe will go directly to Joe.

The money will be used to feed and care for the animals already depending on him, pay for veterinary treatment when they need it, and hopefully give him some breathing room when the next animal desperately needs his help.

And I want to be completely clear about something: I trust Joe absolutely to use this money for the animals.

I've seen what he does.

I've seen how little he has himself. I've seen the animals he has already taken responsibility for. And yesterday, I watched him spend money he could barely afford to save a dog he had never even met, simply because the alternative was leaving that dog behind to be killed.

That's why I'm asking people to help him.

Because the next time the phone rings, I don't want Joe's first thought to have to be:

“Can I afford to save this one?”

Where will the money go?

Lucky comes first.

Our immediate priority is paying for Lucky’s veterinary care and giving him every chance of recovering. He is still being violently sick, has severe anaemia and has been diagnosed with parasites affecting his bone marrow.

His veterinary costs are steadily mounting, and we need to make sure the bills can continue to be paid so Lucky can receive the treatment and support he desperately needs.

If we raise more than Lucky’s treatment costs, the remaining money will go directly towards caring for the other rescued dogs at the centre — including food, veterinary treatment and their everyday needs.

One of our next priorities is also sterilising the male dogs. There are currently too many unneutered males living together, which can cause tension and conflict between them. It also means the females are frequently subjected to unwanted mating behaviour. Sterilising the males will make life calmer, safer and considerably less stressful for all of the dogs.

And then we have a bigger dream.

If this fundraiser does incredibly well, we want to move the dogs somewhere better.

The current shelter is simply too small for the number of animals Joe has rescued, and the facilities are extremely limited. We are currently discussing the possibility of leasing a nearby piece of land that would give the dogs far more space and a much better environment to live in.

So every donation will help, wherever we get to.

First, we fight for Lucky.

Then we help the dogs already here.

And if we can, we build them something better.

That’s the plan. ❤️