The dogs of Baladi Mabsut were not always happy. It’s already been a year since the dogs were rescued from the hands of the former manager of the shelter VOV Survivors. (Photos of the horrors we found are on our Facebook and Before Album). For two months, starting from October 2022, a number of people tried to negotiate with the former manager to be able to cooperate. Meanwhile, multiple attempts were made to feed the dogs, but this was not always allowed. Hence, the dogs were in extreme condition. There are photos of the horrors the dogs had to endure, like eating tree leaves, straw, or even stones. Both physically and mentally, they were in poor condition. Lyonne Snel, one of the team members now, received a message from one of the people from that rescue group. She responded and sent her son, who was in Egypt at the time, to pay an unannounced visit to that shelter, which her sons had often visited before. His visit was the catalyst for her to join the rescue team. The photos he sent were the final piece of evidence needed to take more radical action, namely the eviction of the owner of that shelter. On January 15, the new lease could finally be signed with the names of the new owners: Petra van Son and Ahmed Hussain Zahran.

From that moment on, the entire team poured their hearts and souls into rescuing those 125 dogs. They had a rough start. Sand had to be renewed and fresh straw had to be placed. Bags of food had to be bought plus the fact that all dogs were covered with ticks. The team faced major challenges, one of which was raising funds to make this rescue a success. To this day, this remains a challenge every month.