Christmas Newsletter 2025

Season's Greetings from Sri Lanka

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Hello!

As the year 2025 draws to a close, I look back on months that have placed great demands on me and my team and confronted us with major challenges. The unexpected loss of our long-standing colleague Kumara and the serious illness of our colleague Chaminda have deeply affected us all. Shortly afterwards, a severe storm caused extensive damage to our dog shelters, making immediate assistance urgently necessary.

At the same time, during this difficult period, I was able to witness an impressive wave of solidarity. My heartfelt thanks go to everyone who provided financial support to the families of Kumara and Chaminda and contributed to repairing the storm damage. Your help has given strength to their families and enabled my team and me to repair the damage quickly and provide our animals with safe accommodation once again. I am also pleased to let you know that, thanks to your support, we are able to continue paying Chaminda’s salary in full.

My special thanks also go to our loyal sponsors. Your continuous support ensures that our animals receive food, medical care, and a sense of security every day.

None of this would be possible without your compassion and generosity. You give me and my team the strength to carry on – even in the most difficult moments. Thank you for everything you make possible.

Dogs in Sri Lanka –
a Life Between Suffering and Hope

On Sri Lanka’s streets, millions of dogs struggle every day to survive. Hunger, disease, injuries, and abuse shape their daily lives – with puppies and abandoned pedigree dogs especially defenseless. Even many owned dogs live under catastrophic conditions, often chained, neglected, or completely without medical care. Cultural beliefs, poverty, and a lack of government support further worsen the situation.

Since 2007, we have been setting a strong sign of hope. With around 80 team members, we care for sick and injured animals, carry out neutering campaigns and mass vaccinations, feed hundreds of street dogs every day, and rescue abandoned and hard-to-place animals. Around 400 dogs live permanently at our clinic or, through our DCC50+ program, with families in need who receive a small pension in return – a model that combines animal welfare with social support.

Thanks to extensive educational work, awareness of responsible animal care is slowly growing among the public. But it remains a daily struggle, as we receive no government support and rely almost entirely on donations. Every contribution saves lives and helps ensure that the daily battle of Sri Lanka’s dogs is not without hope!

Sponsorship as a Christmas Gift

Many of our protégés are still hoping for a Christmas miracle in the form of a sponsorship. A sponsorship makes a vital contribution to covering the ongoing costs of food, medical care, and safe accommodation for our animals. At the same time, it gives them something truly priceless: hope for a better life, a sense of security, and the reassurance that they are loved and not forgotten.

Below, I would like to introduce you to some of our dogs who do not yet have a sponsor. Perhaps this year you would like to treat yourself or someone else to a special Christmas gift by taking on a sponsorship. We will prepare a beautifully designed certificate in the name of your choice and send it to you in time for printing.

On our website, you will find many more animals looking for sponsors. General sponsorships, food sponsorships, and sponsorships for one of our projects – such as our feeding tours or the DCC50+ program – are also possible:
https://www.dogcare-clinic.com/en/sponsors-needed

The betterplace.org Advent Sundays

On the German donation platform betterplace.org, every Advent Sunday adds an extra 25% to all donations:

DCC fundraising campaign

*All one-time donations made on November 30, December 7, December 14, and December 21, 2025, between 9:00 a.m. and 11:59 p.m., to our project(s) on betterplace.org will be matched until the matching budget is used up. For this matching campaign, a budget of € 10,000 is available on each of the four Advent Sundays. All donations up to € 100 will receive a 25 % match. For donations over € 100, betterplace will add a flat € 25.

Good News from the Clinic

Thanks to your support, we save lives every day:

When we found Alicia, she was lying helplessly on the street. Most of her fur had fallen out, and her skin was sore, torn, and bleeding from constant scratching. She was battling demodicosis, tick fever, and ehrlichiosis – and was pregnant at the same time. Today, Alicia is hardly recognizable. Her fur is growing back, and her eyes are shining again.

Three-year-old Boris lived on the streets – and it showed. His body was weakened by a severe, generalized fungal infection, and he also tested positive for microfilariae. In the meantime, Boris has recovered; his coat has grown back, and he has blossomed into a cheerful good boy.

Not long ago, Loop was in critical condition. He was malnourished, had a deep neck wound caused by a chain, and suffered from a severe fungal infection across his entire body.
Today, he is almost unrecognizable. His wounds have fully healed, his skin is healthy, and he grows stronger every day.

When Pauly arrived, he was in critical condition – severely malnourished, covered in fleas, battling babesiosis, suffering from inflamed anal glands, and affected by mange.
Pauly fought… and we fought alongside him. By now, he has made a full recovery and is living a life free from fear here with us at the DCC.

Ted came to us as a puppy and suffered from severe itching caused by demodicosis.
Much of the fur on his head had fallen out.
Today, Ted is healthy and has grown into a wonderful, handsome young dog who clearly feels comfortable in his own skin again.

When Taluga arrived, her anal glands were severely inflamed, making even sitting unbearable, and her skin was badly inflamed and sore due to a fungal infection.
Thanks to dedicated care, Taluga slowly began to heal, to trust again, and to feel safe. Today, she is happy, healthy, and full of energy.

Two new tuk-tuks for the Dog Care Clinic:

Two of our tuk-tuks were close to total failure due to heavy use on difficult terrain. Thanks to your support, we were able to purchase two new vehicles. They are already in use and are indispensable for our daily feeding tours, visits to our DCC50+ and ReHome protégés, and the rescue of injured and sick dogs.

Repairs to the dog shelters after storm damage:

At the end of October, a severe storm damaged several of the dog shelters. Thanks to your support, the affected shelters were quickly repaired. Most of the work has now been completed; the final roof is expected to be finished by mid-December.

T h a n k Y o u

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you. Your steadfast support gives me strength and confidence every single day. Thanks to you, we are able to save lives daily and give the dogs who depend on our help a real second chance. You are an indispensable part of our work – without you, the many improvements and successes would not be possible.

During this special time of year, I wish you a peaceful and reflective Christmas season. May it bring you as much warmth, hope, and light as your support brings to me.

In the coming year, many challenges await us once again. Our relentless efforts for the suffering street dogs will continue to demand everything from us. It is also becoming increasingly clear that we need a new ultrasound machine: after many years of intensive use, our current device has reached its limits, yet reliable imaging remains essential for providing swift and precise help. Nevertheless, I look toward 2026 with confidence – trusting that you will continue to stand by us and our protégés, offering strength and steadfast support.

Thank you for walking this path with us and for making it possible to continue bringing hope and changing lives for the better.

With deep gratitude,
Marina

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Christmas Newsletter 2025

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