ACE Newsletter.......Spring 2008

On 1st January 2008, the new ACE Centre in Luxor opened its doors for the first time to provide free care and treatment for the local animals. From the first day, it was clear that there was no doubt that the new, larger Centre is desperately needed – we had 14 “in patient” donkeys and horses in our lovely new stables by the end of the first week, being treated by our team of vets. As we had only seven stables at the old Centre, we could only have admitted the more severe cases.

Hannah, one of our vets, treating a donkey

Since that first day, animals coming to us for treatment have included a pregnant donkey (whose owner had brought her in for a hoof injury, not realising she was pregnant – the picture on the front of the Newsletter proves she was!); a camel with a neck abscess; a cow with a maggot infested eye; numerous donkeys with wounds to their hooves caused by working in fields where sugar cane has just been cut;

One of the first donkeys about to roll
in one of our new sandpits

a very sickly puppy, who, sadly had to be put to sleep; two healthy puppies needing new homes – and many more. Of course, there have been the usual “customers” for washing, grooming and a check up by the vets, so our two new sand pits, horse wash area and two examination areas for the vets have been well used already.

The new examination area is easier
for our vets to work in

In the main building we have an examination and operating room where the vets can treat small animals as well as a display area and education room where people can learn about animal welfare and ACE’s work. Visitors can look at the animals being brought into the Centre from a shaded viewing area, and help to support us by buying various items such as T shirts with the ACE logo from our shop area. We also have accommodation upstairs for visiting vets – we are always in need of volunteer vets to offer a week or two of their time to help at the Centre. Outside, we have an area for growing some of the feed needed for the horses and donkeys, and have planted trees to provide shade for them when they are outside the stables.

All this, of course, has cost a great deal of money, and has only been possible because of the generosity of you, our supporters (especially through our “Buy a Brick” scheme) and a legacy we received last summer: it is impossible to say how grateful we are to everyone who has contributed in any way to help us to realise our dream of a new Centre. It is an investment to ensure the future well-being of thousands of animals – for us to continue, it is important that we have a reliable, regular income to pay the bills every month for medicines, vets and animal care staff, feed, bedding and water. We really do appreciate every donation, large or small, and thank you again for helping ACE to achieve so much and make such a big difference for so many animals in just 8 years.

How you can help

So we can be confident that we will have the resources to give every animal the care and treatment it needs, we would be especially grateful if you could make a donation by standing order each month. Any amount will help:

£5 pays for an
initial treatment & drugs needed for an injured donkey

£10 pays our
horse and donkey feed bill for a day

£20 provides
treatment and care of an inpatient donkey or horse
for a week

You can make your donation worth even more to ACE if you are a taxpayer by signing the Gift Aid declaration form: for example, Gift Aid reclaimed on a £10 per month standing order will pay for treatment for 6 injured animals, so it really does make a difference. We want to bring you more pictures like the one of the new foal with its mother – with your help, we can.

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