THE CATS & DOGS LEFT BEHIND-AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE

Aliye Ece is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

Hi All!

I am asking for your help to rescue the forgotten victims of Turkey’s devastating earthquake. Tens of thousands of animals abandoned to survive by themselves in the wreckage of the affected areas.

https://youtu.be/K2dSibnNudA

On February 6th 2023, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck parts of Turkey and Syria followed by other powerful earthquakes in the subsequent days.

More than 6,000 buildings were flattened. The death toll (human) is estimated to be over 50,000 in a total of 14 Turkish cities, and many of the 14M people left without shelter and food have left their now uninhabitable homes and neighborhoods.

As devastating as this was for the humans, for the animals the aftermath was and continues to be even worse. Thousands of companion animals lost their homes and got separated from their humans, fighting to survive in the wreckage and rubble without any food and water in the freezing temperatures. Some are stuck in the collapsed buildings starving to death. Tens of thousands more, the strays who previously survived by relying on whatever the former human inhabitants fed them or whatever they were able to find in the trash, are now left behind without any food and water. Many animals are injured and sick, in dire need of medical attention.

In the early days after the earthquake there were animal rescue organizations on the ground, but now they are all gone. The only ones remaining are a handful of independent rescuers who’ve put their lives on pause to try to rescue as many animals as they can before they starve to death. My highschool classmate Zeynep Titizer Althaus is volunteering to manage logistics and to coordinate rescue efforts as well as to fundraise for this small independent rescuers’ network. She is contacting everyone she knows for donations but without much success. It seems like people donated right after the earthquake to some of the bigger organizations and perhaps now they think they have done their part and won’t donate again this time to help the abandoned animals.

The rescuers get cats and dogs out of damaged buildings, try to reunite them with their owners, feed the helpless souls on the streets, try to get medical care for the injured and sick ones, try to keep orphaned baby kittens alive by bottle feeding. They have exhausted their own resources in trying to make this happen, but they are still not giving up. They say even if they can save one more cat or dog, it is worth all the difficulties, the physical and the financial consequences they are suffering.

Will you support them in this very challenging task and help them save as many lives as possible?

The donations are used for not only for cat and dog food but also for these other needs in order to keep this rescue operation going:

Cat/dog traps, cages and carriers

Bottle baby needs for orphaned kittens (formula, bottles, cleaning supplies)

Intensive care unit for babies and sick cats

Kitty/doggie diapers

Vehicle rentals of rescue teams (roads in the earthquake zone are in very bad condition, it is very difficult to find suitable vehicles)

Gas money to reach the abandoned areas

Rented houses for collected cats, cat cages

Transport fees, we need to transport hundreds of cats to other cities

Any amount of donation is greatly appreciated. I will send the collected donation to Zeynep’s account and in some cases she will be paying directly for the needs listed above and in other cases, she will be forwarding the donation to the rescuer on the ground to be used for these needs.

You don’t have to be on the ground, going into the rubble to retrieve abandoned animals to make a difference in this fight. Even with the smallest amount of donation you will be helping these selfless rescuers.