Flo was hit by a car when she was a tiny pup, and was also suffering from tick fever.
Renamed Zoë, meaning life, by her proud owners, she is now a fit and pampered pooch.

Bella

We found Bella, a tiny orphaned puppy, in the road in Nuwara Eliya in a dehydrated and emaciated state.

Bella was bloated with worms and her gums were pale - a sign of tick fever.

We rushed her to the vets where she received treatment for her ailments.

Bella is now a healthy and adored pet.

Daisy

Another tiny vulnerable puppy saved from death in Sri Lanka.

Emma

This poor dog was found in the road in the most dreadful state. Her ears had been mutilated and she was suffering from severe mange and tick fever.

After months of tender loving care, Emma slowly regained her health and is now living with a loving family.

Fred

Fred was found under a car in a road in Colombo by Kim, and was seriously ill with tick fever. He was taken to the safety of a local vet where he received IV fluids and antibiotics. Fred has now regained his health and leads a pampered life with Kim’s sister.

Ginger

This little kitten was rescued from the streets in Colombo with a severely injured leg that required amputation. Ginger has made a full recovery and has adapted well to her disability. She was adopted by our dear friend Heli.

Jenny and her pups

Jenny gave birth to her puppies in a gutter on a busy road in Colombo. She was spotted by Kim and Morag as she ran across the manic road to find scraps of food on a festering rubbish tip opposite. With no safe haven at the time, Jenny was given a hearty meal but checked on the next day.

Sadly 4 of her puppies were missing, feared killed, so Jenny and her surviving male pups Jimmy and Jack, were taken to a local vet.
Blood tests were conducted- Jenny and Jack tested positive for Ehrlichiosis -a tick borne disease, and were subsequently treated and cured. 

Loving homes were found for this adorable family. Jenny still sees her boys, who now tower above her, whenever their proud owners meet up. Their rescue, veterinary and homing expenses were entirely funded by individuals involved with their rescue prior to the charity being founded. 

Kandy

We found Kandy alone and frightened, in the middle of a road en route to Kandy. This dear little puppy was taken into our care and found a loving home. 

Lavinia

Lavinia was rescued in 2003 and was in an appalling state when found by Kim. Her tail was severed and she had been stoned.

This poor little dog also had multiple health problems; malnutrition, dehydration, tick fever, diarrhoea, dirofilaria, and an agonising and bleeding transmissible venereal tumour (TVT) on her genitals.

After 3 months of veterinary treatment including surgery and chemotherapy, this courageous and feisty girl, won her fight for life.  

She still lives happily with Kim her rescuer, who personally funded all her treatment and homing expenses prior to the formation of the charity.

Lavinia, a real little character, was named after the famous Mount Lavinia Hotel near to where she was found.

Lily

Lily, a small pup with an horrific fracture of her wrist, was living in a local dog shelter in Colombo. She was in an emaciated, dehydrated state, and covered in ticks and fleas when taken for veterinary treatment by Kim. Blood tests revealed she was suffering from tick fever.

Lily underwent months of veterinary treatment to restore her health and save her unattended fractured leg. All her treatment and homing was privately funded by Kim, as this was before the formation of the charity. Lily still has 4 legs and runs like the wind when she goes for long walks with her devoted owner.

In August 2009 soon after our veterinary clinic had opened, we were alerted to a desperate situation. A dog had given birth to 7 pups in a covered drain in the Galle Fort. With heavy rains at the time, and the gulley filling with water, the pups were at risk of drowning.

We immediately dashed to the scene in our tuk tuk, getting drenched in the process. With the help of a kind animal lover, we managed to retrieve the mother dog and all her pups, transporting them to the safety of our sanctuary.

We are pleased to report that Mama and all her gorgeous puppies survived the ordeal.

Mama remains on our site and has been spayed and vaccinated. Four of her pups were found loving homes; the other three remain with their mama.

Meg and Toby

We found these tiny orphaned pups-brother and sister, by a railway line in Colombo. It was likely that their mother had been killed by a train. Meg was suffering from Babesia, and Toby from Ehrlichiosis- both tick-borne diseases. They made a full recovery as you can see from the photos.

Both were found loving homes.

Penny

In April 2008, whilst feeding the strays near the Galle Road in Colombo very late at night, we heard the distressed cries of a dog. We suspected a stray had been hit by a car, so with our food bucket in hand we rushed to see what was happening. We raced towards the commotion and found a pack of around 10 strays, including an emaciated German shepherd dog, in the middle of the busy Galle Road mating a female dog. As traffic swerved around the dogs in the road, and with the other dogs running in and out of the road trying to get to the female dog, we looked on helplessly. The bitch dog was desperately trying to get away, and it was her cries we had heard from a distance. As she escaped from one dog, another was mounting or attacking her in the road.

Fearing the imminent deaths of the dogs, we swung into action. We flagged down a tuk tuk, placed food along the pavement to distract the male dogs, grabbed the bitch dog that was shaking in fear, got into the tuk tuk, and raced away. Some of the dogs gave chase when they realized what was happening and one almost jumped into the vehicle. In the heat of the moment, we hadn’t spotted some locals at the bus stop watching the action with some amusement. It must have been a comical sight to witness.

We named the gentle, but traumatized dog, Penny, and took her to a local vet where she was blood tested and assessed. She was found to be suffering from Ehrlichiosis, a tick-borne disease, and was successfully treated for this. We also had her spayed.
Some months later Penny became ill, so we had her retested. She tested positive for   Babesia Canis, another disease caused by ticks.

Co-infections are very common in Sri Lanka and if Penny had remained on the streets she would have littered and suffered until she died. Mothers can also pass tick-borne diseases to their offspring. Penny was kindly sponsored by one of our supporters and now has a loving home and a wonderful carefree life ahead of her.

'You can't save every animal in the world, but to the one you save, it IS the world'

'We hope you enjoy this section of our website. These happy endings prove that we can make a tremendous difference to the lives of so many animals, even those who were rescued at the brink of death.

It is amazing to see how these animals, when given the chance of life, battle so courageously to survive; how they embrace their new life, and how they remain devoted to the ones who have saved them from their fate.

Prior to the formation of the charity and working as self funded individuals in Sri Lanka with no sanctuary base and adequate veterinary facilities, proved to be the most difficult and heartbreaking experience. Despite all our efforts, some animals we could have saved, were lost. These tragic souls will remain in our hearts forever and inspired our determination to acquire the facilities we now have.

These facilities offer a lifeline to all our sanctuary based dogs-mainly orphaned puppies and abused and disabled strays, as well as many other animals that are benefiting from our vital work.

Your support will help us to secure many more happy endings for the forgotten and suffering strays of Sri Lanka.

Click to see some of our site dogs

Scruff, Emily and Lizy - The rubbish tip pups

Rescued from festering rubbish tips in Colombo by Kim and Morag, these pups were covered in ticks and fleas and tiny Lizzy was under attack by crows.

All three pups- now healthy adult dogs, were nursed back to health and found loving homes.

A true ‘Rags to Riches’ story for these very lucky dogs that were saved from a terrible fate

Sid's story by Kim Cooling

It was the last day of a self funded trip to Sri Lanka in 2005, and my friend Morag and I were feeding the strays near our hotel before flying back to the UK. Suddenly a gangly flea ridden dog staggered towards us collapsing at our feet. We had never seen him before, but knew we had to get him to the vets quickly. The dog had been badly beaten by locals and his front legs appeared broken. Part of his paw was also severed. The dog sensed we were his last hope and as we rushed him to the vets, we decided to call him Sid.

As well as his injuries, Sid was infected with Dirofilaria repens, a serious disease in dogs which is transmitted by mosquitoes. He was emaciated, dehydrated and covered in ticks and mange mites. In view of his neglected state, the vets were cynical about Sid's chances of survival. But we decided to give him a chance of life and paid to keep him there for as long as it would take to make him well again.

We had little time before our flight home, but before leaving managed to give Sid his first ever bath, gently removed the ticks from his ears and fed him a hearty meal and some fresh water.

We gave him a final hug as we left and Sid howled pitifully. He broke our hearts and we never thought we would see him again.

But despite the odds, this courageous dog pulled through and we decided to bring him back to the UK as we had no safe haven in Sri Lanka at the time.
It was an emotional journey, but Sid's battle for life was not yet over. During the first month of his quarantine he started passing blood from his genitals. He had a large Transmissible Venereal Tumour (TVT) missed by the Sri Lankan vets. The quarantine vet refused to administer the chemotherapy (Vincristine) to cure him and tried to persuade me to have Sid put to sleep. I refused as I knew about this disease from my work in Sri Lanka, and the treatment is highly effective.

Sooby

Sooby is the dog with nine lives, a true survivor against the odds and an exceptionally intelligent dog.

Sooby used to recognise the gas vans when they visited the Mount Lavinia area near Colombo- quietly hiding under the cars as her trusting friends were caught and taken to the infamous dog pounds in Colombo for gassing.

Like Lavinia, Sooby had her tail severed. She was removed from the dangers of the streets in 2005 by Kim and Morag. With no safe haven at the time, the girls self funded all her veterinary treatment and homing.  

Sooby is an old girl now and lives a pampered life with Kim.

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June & Friend

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Chilling out time for our contented site dogs

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After some harrowing weeks, my own vet agreed to help Sid and fortunately his premises met with DEFRA's approval. Animals in quarantine are strictly regulated and any movement outside the quarantine premises has to be authorised by DEFRA. The veterinary costs for the chemotherapy and transport to the vets were huge and this was in addition to the hefty quarantine costs, all funded from our wages. Sid was also found to have a tick borne disease -Ehrlichiosis, which had also been missed by vets in Sri Lanka.

Yet, despite everything life had thrown at him, this brave boy sailed through all his treatments and although he remains disabled, he has a wonderful and contented life.
For Sid, the misery and torment he suffered on the streets of Sri Lanka is now a distant memory.

Sid remains devoted to his rescuer Kim Cooling, and lives with her in London.

'

Kimmie

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