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Niki digs: Brando and Jet tussleJet Niki
Niki and Brando

Dogs in Cape Verde - targeted for death

Puppies escape before Murdeira could kill them

Rescuing a dog from Sal is a proven procedure. Flights direct to Lisbon or Brussels and most German airports are available. TAP in Sal can provide travelling crates. The dog can travel in a heated special compartment in the aircraft hold, either as freight (unaccompanied) or as extra baggage (accompanied) depending on the route.

The dog will need to be prepared for rabies test paperwork. There is a very nice vet in Sal, and she knows the airport procedure for exporting the dogs. An Italian night club owner. put down poison at the gate of the garden where they spent the night.

Then the Murdeira Administration used its corrupt voting procedures to announce that residents approved of the killing of loose dogs on the estate. Niki and jet were specifically singled out by these savages, for execution. Their crime - barking at intruders in the night, who have burgled so many houses and apartments, Niki and Jet provided the only real security as they would chase intruders aroundd the compound, barking at them. Claire from London, explains

"In November 2010 we inadvertently became dog owners. It all started when one of our neighbours warned us that poison was going to be put down soon in Murdeira and we had a sweet looking dog outside our house with a collar. This is how Brando came to live with us. He is now an European dog with a Portuguese passport and has travelled to many countries by plane, boat and ferry.

In November 2011, about an hour after arriving in Murdeira, we met Jet (the black dog) and Niki who looks like a baby Brando. So now we are looking after 3 dogs!

Jet and Niki have many of Brando's features and mannerisms. But they are not as scared as Brando. They are extremely happy, lovely dogs. They like to jump up and have a cuddle, roll on their backs, and they love chasing Brando around the beach. Jet is destined to become another digger! They are still perhaps only 6 months old and have been reared by Brando's parents who seem to have house trained them - amazingly neither Brando nor they will leave their visiting cards inside a house or on a terrace."

Portuguese airline TAP decided 5 hours before Niki and Jet were to fly unaccompanies to Frankfur that they would no longer fly dogs without a passenger in the cabin above.

Fortunately Jamie an American dog lover who was protecting them in Murdeira at the time, was willing to pack in a hurry and fly with them, as far as Lisbon . At Lisbon. Fernando. a dog trainer collected them from the airport and looked after them for a few days. They continued their journey by the Pet Couriers dog bus, which runs every two weeks from homes in the Algarve and Andalucia to homes in England. Fernando kindly drove them top a rendez-vous at Badajoz at midnight.

They arrived in London at 0400 after an arduous journey, but had so enjoyed the trip that they jumped back into the dog bus to continue further north. They enjoyed England with all the new sights and smells.

Niki who was so weak when we met her (Jet used to get most of whatever food was going) that she just plodded along behind us developed a new sport of chasing seagulls. On a Devon beach she must have run two miles as dusk was falling pursuing British seagulls and chasing them even in the air.

Jeti develo[ped an amazing ability to jump and perch, leaping like a cat onto a 5 foot window sill and perching there to see what was going on inside the house.

Both dogs are now living safely with Julia in Nuremberg, with her Parson Jack Russell, which she already owned. She had tried all her frioends to find someone who would keep the inseprably sisters together and finally decided bravely to take then on herself.

Despite being born wild, both dogs enjoy home comforts and are very affectionate with people. If their parents who still live wild near Murdeira and have survived all the poisoning attempts produce another lovely puppy, we will know what to do. We think that they did. She joined us on Boxing Day 2012 and we called her Maria, in honour of the Mae de Dio.