Tuschen couple gi second chances to a
-hope to set up
Guided by their motto: “Every animal deserves a second chance,” Winella and Allan Greene are on a mission to rescue strays and dream of one day acquiring a plot of land to establish an animal sanctuary.
Currently, the couple of Tuschen Housing Scheme, East Bank Essequibo have 40 dogs and eight cats, but have rescued and fostered many more before putting them up for adoption.
They both love to care for animals and make a great team as they set out to rescue them and put an end their suffering.
The couple keeps the animals in a section of the house that was used as a shop. They would set up beds for them to sleep on by spreading blankets on the floor.
They are also building kennels, to separate the pregnant dogs for when they are ready to give birth, as well as a place for the cats.
Even though the house they are living in does not belong to them, they also plan to “concrete a portion of the yard and build a shed over it so that the animals would “not get messy after we bathe them.
Winella told this newspaper that sometimes they are unable to separate the dogs that are really sick because they lack adequate space.
Winella told this newspaper, “It pains our hearts when we see so many dogs out there battling some kind of illness and we can’t bring them home because of space.”
It is for that reason that they are passionate about establishing an animal sanctuary. They called on the government to help by granting them a plot of land so they can live their dreams of giving the animals a second chance.
Their desire to rescue the animals started after their dog, Kimmy, made a miraculous recovery from cancer. Kimmy was pregnant at the time, and became very sick. When the vet made the heart-breaking diagnosis, they thought they would lose her. Her pups “died one after the other” but she continued to battle for her life.
The distressed couple had “actually given up on her, but then we saw a post on Facebook about persons helping so we reached out for help.”
They got the support of other animal activists, especially Noreen Gaskin who “sponsored the vet bill.”
After Kimmy was successfully treated, they sprung into action in November 2020, rescuing pregnant dogs, which was their main aim. But then they soon realised that not only pregnant dogs needed help.
One of the worst cases they encountered, was a dog that they rescued in Essequibo. The dog was diagnosed with “cancer in different parts of its body and was also malnourished with a lot of mange. We tried to save him but he had to be put down because of the amount of cancer cells in her body.”
Local veterinarian (vet), Dr. Christine Bridgemohan diagnosed the dog with cancer and “put him on some treatment” but there was no improvement.
They then took the dog to a vet in Georgetown, Dr. Nardeo Bassoodeo. “He did a complete test and said that cancer was all over. That was when they made the decision to end his suffering.
Being currently unemployed, the couple’s dreams of changing the lives of the