The Dogfather in Bahrain
Welcome to the updated (May 2011) website for the dogfather. Take at look at our new Gallery Viewer where there are up-to-date pictures and information about a variety of things including the story of Doris the donkey.
Tony Waters AKA 'The Dogfather' began rescuing and rehabilitating animals about 12 years ago after his daughter started picking up stray animals off the street, taking them to the vet, and bringing them home again. She then left to live in America and Tony has been caring for those and other animals ever since.
In the beginning there were just a few animals but soon more and more were being brought to him. People are forever dumping their unwanted animals and Tony's place quickly filled.
Tony and the animals are moving, they have to leave their present location but have acquired new premises in Saar. Details for this new location will be published ASAP.
It is hard for Tony to raise money to pay for the animals care and he relies on the generosity of the public for their donations and help.
OBITUARY - RIP - HYENA (20?? to May 2011)
The passing away of any animal can affect all of us in different ways, but sometimes the death of one in particular hits harder. This is not to take away from all the other animals that Tony has lost throughout the years but Hyena has to have a special mention today on the web site.
Anyone who has visited Tony's could not mistake Hyena, he was aptly named by the noise he made to greet you. Although he lived in the salon, as soon as he realised you were there you heard him - no he did not bark.
He was a character, what more can you say, oh yes - he was very ugly. Sorry he did not win the ugliest dog category at the last dog show at the British Embassy, but came a close second. He will be missed by many of us, not only the humans but all of his friends at Tony's, especially Sadly. |
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My first meeting with Hyena was when I met the dogs in the salon and he nicked my mobile phone out of my back pocket I had not realised until he brought it back 5 minutes later - no overseas calls! My last meeting was on a recent trip to Bahrain where, as usual, I took both him and Sadly for a walk.
Unfortunately there is no clear cut reason why he and others like Splash and Clyde have recently died. With a lot of dogs in Bahrain it is often put down to tick fever.
What is tick fever? Why is it so prevalent in Bahrain and not in other Gulf States? Do the vets know? If anything can be gained from the death of Hyena and the others maybe it is time to start asking why? As usual nothing can be done or anything solved without money and Tony needs funds to treat all of his animals to prevent this. Help is needed!
HOW CAN YOU HELP ?
We need your support
Donations of all kinds are needed, obviously money, but also the following.
General animal supplies
- Cat food and cat litter
- Dog food
- All cleaning materials eg Bleach, washing powder etc.
- Dog leads and collars
- Basic vet medication eg. Frontline and worming tablets.
- Bedding
For the new premises
There are plans underway to build 50 kennels for the dogs and housing for the cats. At the moment the quotations for these are BD20,000. Tony needs help from anyone to achieve this.
He needs:-
Sponsors to rebuild the kennels: Any building company who gives help will
have their company name advertised on the newly built kennel block and in the
media.
Building materials: breeze blocks, metal doors, wood, cement, sand, roofing,
tiles, porta-cabins
Labour: masons, carpenters, labourers, electricians, plumbers.
Transport: to move existing reusable materials and new building materials.
Temporary Storage Space: for the furniture from the furniture shop.
Day to day helpers
Volunteers for any of the following :-
- Dog Walkers
- Bathing and grooming the dogs
- Helping with the Cats
- Fund raising
- Event Organising
Running Costs
Unlike the BSPCA , Tony has a ‘No Kill’ rescue centre. He rescues abandoned, stray, abused, injured animals and evaluates, rehabilitates and then re-homes unless the animals are old, damaged or have special needs then these animals stay with him for the rest of their lives in air conditioned kennels.
Through the ‘Cats Society of Bahrain and Pet Animals’ Tony survives by offering pet grooming services to the general public and by donations from very kind animal lovers.
The cost for building the new kennels stands at BD 15000 (for 50 kennels, all dogs will be doubled up) with another BD 5000 needed for 3 catteries.
Below is a table of his monthly expenses
Expenditure |
Monthly costs |
Rent |
BD 1300 |
Power/water |
BD 400 |
Salaries |
BD 1200 |
Animal food |
BD 1500 |
Vet Bills |
BD 700 |
Cleaning materials |
BD 100 |
Transport |
BD 150 |
Maintenance(worked out as an average) |
BD 100 |
Monthly running costs |
BD 5460 |
Sponsorship
Currently we are looking at 2 means of sponsorship:-
The vet fund has been organised by some of the volunteers who are aware of the need for Tony to have peace of mind regarding vet fees. They donate BD5, BD10, BD20....whatever they can afford each month which is used for any medical needs. Click here for contact details if you would like to contribute.
The sponsor an animal scheme speaks for itself. We are looking for people to sponsor any of the animals eg. BD10 per month will help with the upkeep and care of the animals Click here for contact details if you would like to sponsor. Check out the Gallery for photos and information about the animals.