The funds of the Association for Abandoned Animals are rapidly drying up after police started investigating fraud allegations against its founder Freddie Fenech.

The helpers are apprehensive of the dire situation because the sanctuary, which cares for 130 dogs, needs at least €4,000 a month in running costs and that excludes vet bills, medicines and maintenance.

At the moment, they are forking out money from their own pocket and relying on the goodwill of one benefactor but when that runs out they have no clue whom to turn to.

"We desperately need donations. People used to give donations directly to Freddie, which we never received, and people now seem scared to donate money to the sanctuary. They should come and see what we are doing," Romina Formosa said.

Ms Formosa and Rosalind Agius have decided to reveal their identity but they made it clear they were only doing this to garner help and ensure the truth prevailed.

Together with three others, they were doing their utmost to run the sanctuary professionally and once the allegations were made public they ousted Mr Fenech from his position as president of AAA.

The story about Mr Fenech broke when five of his helpers filed a police report. Ms Formosa and Ms Agius only plucked the courage to come forward after Animal Welfare Department director Mario Spiteri promised his assistance and the police offered them protection.

In their report, the helpers, who run the sanctuary in Luqa, accused Mr Fenech of siphoning off funds, being cruel to animals and making threats. They alleged they were unable to account for donations made directly to Mr Fenech and remained in the dark as to where the money went.

Sources said investigations into the behaviour of Mr Fenech, who has denied the allegations, were progressing but it was still too early to say when the case would be taken to court.

The police were still sorting through the paperwork and bank statements and compiling evidence.

However, while encouraged by the fraud investigations, the helpers felt Mr Fenech's biggest crime was animal abuse, accounts that have been corroborated by Janine Vella, another helper who left AAA in 2004 because she felt helpless in the situation.

Ms Agius, who runs the sanctuary and works unstintingly between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. every day, prepared an affidavit of what she witnessed.

Raised in Burmarrad, a village used as a dumping spot for abandoned dogs, Ms Agius and her family were always homing strays. When she heard of Mr Fenech, they started calling him to collect the strays and he "became our saint; we loved him and admired him".

In 2004, she decided it was time to volunteer, so she went there thinking she would clean up a bit, take the dogs for a walk, feed or play with them.

"The reality was different. The first thing that hit me was the gagging stench of faeces and urine. The sanctuary was like a carpet of dogs. They were simply packed on top of each other. I didn't expect the sanctuary to be a hotel but neither was I expecting a hell hole... But I was there to help, so I picked up a broom and started to clean," Ms Agius said.

She started going regularly and that was when the lack of animal welfare became evident: "He would share a 20kg feed bag between 200 dogs. Many times Fred did not even feed them, claiming he had no money. The sanctuary was never cleaned, except on the weekends by volunteers, and the dog population was at least twice the limit it should be."

"Vet care was non-existent. All the dogs suffered from ear and eye infections, skin diseases were abundant and nearly every dog had sore and bleeding paws from walking on the unwashed floor.

"If a dog was sick and needed veterinary care, even if he was in agony, he would be left to die. No dog was ever medically treated or humanely euthanised." However, Ms Agius felt Mr Fenech's "biggest sin" was that no dog was neutered and males would end up killing each other over a bitch in heat.

"Whenever I tried to help the dogs medically I did so from my own money," she recalled, as Ms Formosa and Ms Vella nodded, chipping in with similar experiences.

All three claimed that Mr Fenech used the injured animals to shock people into donating more money; what they termed his "celebrity dogs".

One such example was a Pharaoh hound called Lisa, who had a crushed leg from a car accident. "He took her to a newspaper and posed with the dog as an example of animal cruelty. Then, he brought her to the sanctuary and dumped her there, without even taking her to the vet," Ms Agius said.

She begged Mr Fenech for €280 for an operation to amputate its leg but he refused: "This dog was a good money source. Trusting people donated for her operation, an operation he never intended to go through with. Luckily, after six weeks in pain Lisa was sent to Germany."

The accounts are never-ending and all three said it was not unusual for Mr Fenech to pick up a stray from one locality and then dump it elsewhere.

Ms Agius accused Mr Fenech of making indirect threats when he realised there was unrest among the helpers, saying things like "I know people who will kill for Lm20 (€46)".

Ms Formosa added: "My biggest regret is how Freddie abused of our naïvety".

Ms Agius added: "We remained in this sort of life till we met the only man who believed us: Dr Spiteri".

The helpers can be reached via PO Box 24, Ħamrun.