A badly injured Pharaoh hound, found by the side of the Mellieħa bypass in a pool of blood, was rescued by the animal ambulance this week.

The 12-month-old kelb tal-fenek had been hit by a car and was left to die until another motorist called for help, said Fabio Ciappara, Noah's Ark animal sanctuary founder.

"We rushed the dog to the vet. I hope we did not get another speeding ticket, because we're already received three. I cannot believe the animal ambulance is not exempt... Luckily, we got the dog to the clinic on time and she is recovering at our sanctuary's sick bay," he said.

Mr Fabio said were it not for the animal ambulance service - introduced by the Rural Affairs Ministry last June and run by Noah's Ark - the dog would have probably died.

The animal ambulance, which rescued over 800 cats and dogs in five months, is on the critical list after the government's financial backing dried up. Mr Ciappara contested the ministry's recent statement to The Sunday Times, which said Noah's Ark had been paid €30,000 for the six-month pilot project. The sum was actually €15,000, he said, providing a copy of the contract as proof.

It turned out there was some kind of mix-up from the ministry's end and, when confronted with the contract, a spokesman admitted Noah's Ark allocation to provide the service was €15,000 and not €30,000.

The animal ambulance realistically needed at least €1,200 a week to be run effectively and Mr Ciappara said the way things stood the sanctuary was having to dig deep in its pockets to continue running the service.

Noah's Ark was extremely concerned at how it could meet the contract's terms and continue running the service until the end of December with no money but Mr Ciappara said that, in the end, his love for the animals won.

The ministry confirmed that Noah's Ark would be honouring its contract until it expired. A spokesman said the ministry was studying and considering a number of options to see how best to proceed to continue offering this service.

Those who wish to support Noah's Ark can log on to www.noahsarkmalta.org/donations.htm.

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