Claudia Calleja
Plans to turn Rabat garages into dog sanctuary
Animal lover Maria Jenkins hugs one of her canine friends at the Rabat site that is to be turned into a home for abandoned dogs. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier
Life has been a bitch to dog lover Rennie Scicluna and his four-legged friends over the past year.
He's been paying a daily fine of almost €5, and was even jailed for a few days, for keeping about 20 dogs illegally in an abandoned house.
But his luck seems to be turning. He and his helper Maria Jenkins have rented out a complex of garages in the Rabat countryside which they plan to turn into a sanctuary.
The two are relieved they will be moving because, this time, there will be no residents to complain about the dogs at the secluded complex, which consists of a series of garages surrounding a yard. They will also be filing an application with the planning authority to obtain the necessary permit to be able to keep the dogs there.
However, providing a sanctuary for the abandoned dogs does not come cheap as the two will be paying €15 rent a day.
For the past year, Mr Scicluna has been incurring a daily fine of €4.65 for disobeying a court order and continuing to keep dogs at a derelict building in Baħar Iċ-Ċagħaq. Following a neighbour's complaint, the court had ordered him to remove the dogs because the site was too close to people's homes and did not have a permit to keep so many dogs.
This time they want to make sure their charitable venture is worry-free, so they will be applying for the necessary change-of-use permits from the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.
Under the six-year contract, they will be paying €15 a day for the first year, the rate rising by €1 a day each year. Before moving the dogs to Rabat, they will be erecting a fence and setting up individual kennels. They are hoping to cover the expenses through public donations.
However, they are concerned that the case of Freddie Fenech, founder of the Abandoned Animals Association, might discourage donations. The Times has reported that the police are investigating Mr Fenech after his helpers, who run the sanctuary, came forward with allegations of repeated misappropriation of funds that run into thousands of euros.
Ms Jenkins has assured the public that, as the Animal Lovers' Association, they possess a voluntary organisation enrolment certification (number 0133) and that the money would go for the dogs. When contacted, the office of the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations confirmed that this was the case.
Mr Scicluna's story goes back a few years when, unable to bear seeing sick or abandoned animals on the streets, he began to house them at the former Palm Beach Restaurant, now an abandoned building.
Residents' grievances reached the authorities' ears and, in 2006, Mr Scicluna was evicted. Last year, the cycle started again and Mr Scicluna began to collect the strays once more, taking them to the old compound in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq to nurture them back to health.
Again, residents' complaints landed Mr Scicluna in court. Last November, he was sent to prison for 26 days because he could not afford to pay a €320 fine but the public chipped in to pay it and bailed him out of jail. However, the fines have kept accumulating because the dogs remain in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq.
Mr Scicluna and Ms Jenkins still rely on the public's contributions to pay off pending fines, pay the rent, refurbish the Rabat place and feed the dogs. Anyone wishing to support them can call on 7753 2608/9913 0805. The public can also help by buying OC Charity magazine that is sold at City Gate, Valletta, for €3.50.
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brian grech
Apr 21st 2009, 13:02
The only people i found help from in finding a home for an abondoned female German pointer were Maria and Rennie. This happened yesterday and i sincererly thank Maria for the help she offered! thanks once again as all other sanctuaries couldn't help and it was this sanctuary which homed this lovely pointer. i sincererly thank you again and urge all people to financially help these genuine people.
isabella peresso Fiorentino
Apr 20th 2009, 18:10
Good luck to Renee and his helper. I hope they get all the help they need, yes even from the State to turn this into a well equiped sanctuary with all the basic needs such as water and electricity. At least they won't be bothered by insensitive neighbours who don't care about animals. I wonder if Mr Azzopardi complains at all by the stench around his neighbourhood and the noisy bars in the vicinity.
maria jenkins
Apr 20th 2009, 16:01
hello hbieb jina maria jenkins li nihu hsib il klib ta bahar ic caq ma rennie, sur azzoppardi ninsab kuntenta li qed tifrah blahbar,imnalla li sibna nikru l mahzen hi ax li kiku bil klieb kin jibqa il post ta bahar ic caq,min dejjem nejdlu lil rennie li jekk jieqaf hu JIN NIBQA EMM ALIJOM ,bahar ic caq u mux bahar ic caq multi u mux multi,issa oqodu kwieti lahhar ftit li baqalom emm il tezori tana u la nlesti l post nihodom safe hemm...issa jalla ta hi li il post ma jergux jithlu fih al abbuz ta drogi u al prostituzjoni jew forsi jamlu xi black mass u anka jista jati l kas li jergu jtuh in nar bhal ma sar fil passat. nixtieq nejd lil dawk kolla ta qalb tajba u jifmu l kas b mohhom miftuh,grazzi kbira,nejd ukoll li se nihu over jin tal klieb,al raguni ta sahha ren se jieqaf u jin dihla f kerha ta 450e fix xar plus li irrit nirranga il kennels ecc,napprezza hafna is support takom u grazzi ta dawk kolla li jatu lajnuna.MA NAFFORDJAX INFALLI AX EMM HAJJIET TAL KLIEB FIN NOFS .. maria 99130805
Franco Farrugia
Apr 20th 2009, 14:50
@ Mr Azzopardi: I cannot but admit, that it is indeed a nuisance,yes, to hear even one dog continually barking, let alone a good number of dogs doing it at the same time. But ... excuse me, sir, .... to attack animal-lovers simply because they go out of their way in order to save strays from the streets, to me, is far from acceptable. What if it were a mechanic's garage next to you? What would you say? But it's animals ... so, it's ok to complain about being irritated.
Mary Attard
Apr 20th 2009, 14:00
On your way up to Mtarfa there are various abandoned barracks to your right overlooking the countryside, which I think would be ideal for an animal sanctuary. These could be utilised also as a lovely restaurant, come to think of it.... There is nothing of the sort in Mtarfa...
Paul Buhagiar
Apr 20th 2009, 13:34
I hope this time Rennie gets a change of use permit from MEPA since it is illegal to use a garage as anything else but garage, a permit must be given from Mepa for change of use
Jurgen Galea(VMD student).
Apr 20th 2009, 13:31
Proset Rennie, we need more persons with guts like you!!! Keep up d good work!!!
J. Borg
Apr 20th 2009, 12:51
& Government is pocketing Eur 5 a day while the same Government is DOING NOTHING to solve the problem. We have government renting out offices for hefty amounts - but instead of helping such volunteers this Government nibbles the scant funds these NGOs try to collect. We have the historic fort at Mistra abusively taken over by fish farm operators - but alas it seems Minister Pullicino has a soft spot for polluting fish farm operators, but not for dedicated animal carers. Considering that Animal Welfare is supposedly the responsibility of Minister Pullicino, I would have taken the dogs to Wied Incita Attard which falls under the same Minister. Minister Pullicino should do everyone a favour and resign!
Alfred Pace
Apr 20th 2009, 12:28
Very selfish of you Mr. Azzopardi. We endure noice and inconveniences all year round due to building works. Pity you do not complain about the smell in your area,. I can see you are not an animal lover,
catherine Tabone
Apr 20th 2009, 12:06
If everybody were as kind as Rennie Scicluna is, the world would indeed be a better place to live in. There is not an ounce of selfishness in Rennie Scicluna. Good Luck Rennie ! Even in Malta there are animal lovers who will support you. Just keep us informed on a regular basis of what you are doing.
Tonio Azzopardi
Apr 20th 2009, 10:16
Life’s a bitch indeed…tell it to the residents who have been enduring all sorts of inconveniences for YEARS because of the selfishness of people who abandon their pets and the and the unreasonable perceived solution of the so called ‘animal lovers’ !
At last .... ALELLULIA!
It's been some VERY LONG TIME since we enjoyed some quite in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq.