30/08/2026
Every day I ask myself the same question over and over again. How come that a place like Baladi Mabsut, the sanctuary we all wanted, get so little support? Why we have to beg for food and for supplies like betadine and shampoo?
We have this beautiful place with an amazing team and a volunteering manager. All people that visited our place were pleasantly surprised about the cleanliness of the place and the condition of the dogs. We get many requests to board dogs or to take in rescues. People trust the place because they see thriving dogs.
As I mentioned I am volunteering for three and a half years already and my team is cnly getting a compensation considering the long working hours. The staff is totally committed to the cause and they live in with the dogs. No holidays, no weekend leave. At night there is a staff member monitoring in each section next to the enclosures of the dogs. We don't work with camera's. What camera's can do if a dog fight breaks out or a dog gets sick?
Saqqara has a lot of mosquitoes. You can only learn about the hazards when you have to stay outside all night. My staff and I have serious skin issues because of working in the heat and bug bites. Working outdoors in temperatures over 40 with a high humidity is hard. My staff never complained. I can say that we give it all for these lovely dogs. We do everything to prevent they will ever be miserable again.
In a way this approach of preventing doesn't seem to work. Only when things are visible, like starving or injured dogs people are willing to help. Not all people thank God. We have some very genuine supporters that have full trust in our work and they understand the pressure factor in this work. You simply have to feed and care for 130 dogs every day and there are many days I wake up miserably not knowing how to get the money in on time. It's a constant pressure and I hope nobody will ever stand in my shoes.
Perhaps it's because we can't show the bloody pics and the puppies with Parvo or being hit by a car. The rescue shelters in this area pick up cases of injured dogs in Alexandria with high transport costs. In most cases these dogs have no chance to survive. People all over the world are screaming please safe the dog and this is how the money comes in. Meanwhile there are dogs in the streets of Saqqara that need our help. Not one of these shelters are helping out. I feed around 80 strays every night, no bloody pictures, no drama. I show what can be achieved in the streets. Happy dogs, being spayed and neutered. Moneywise this preventing approach doesn't seem to work. I work my ass off saving on transport walking miles with a trolley on bumpy roads and little support only.
Just some thoughts as transparent one can be while being seriously concerned about the current financial state,
Petra
