Smokey, an abandoned Great Dane run over by a car some time ago, could end up back on the streets if the animal sanctuary that rescued it closes down due to lack of funds.

Oblivious to the financial struggles faced by Noah’s Ark sanctuary, the graceful animal trotted around the Mellieħa grounds that homes 150 rescued dogs.

“Unless the government helps us out, like it had said it would, we will have to close down by the end of the year,” founder, Fabio Ciappara, said.

“I’ll have no choice but to open the gates and let out all the dogs. At least, if they’re out there, they’d have a chance of finding something to eat rather than starve to death in here,” he said.

As he walked through the kennels, he picked up a half-empty bowl of food about to be served to Tita, a female Pit Bull that was a victim of dog fighting.

Tita barked eagerly in anticipation of her daily meal as Mr Ciappara sadly explained: “The situation is so bad I had to instruct volunteers who work here to give the dogs half a portion of food mixed with water to bloat them.”

Mr Ciappara said he felt “backstabbed” by the government that did not honour a gentlemen’s agreement reached with the sanctuary.

He explained that, last year, the government had given Noah’s Ark €15,000 to launch the animal ambulance service and operate it for six months. After seven months, the service was handed over to the Animal Welfare Department that still runs it and the government committed itself to pay for the food and medicine of the 90 dogs (30 of which had since been re-homed) taken in by Noah’s Ark through the ambulance service, Mr Ciappara said.

However, after being paid for the January and February expenses, the sanctuary received a government cheque for March and April with a note saying this was the “final payment”.

Reacting to this, a Rural Affairs Ministry spokesman said the government had honoured the agreement and also offered to take over the animals retrieved through this initiative so they could be cared for by the department but the sanctuary refused.

Mr Ciappara said he did not want to allow the department to take the dogs because he believed they would not be taken care of as well as they were at his sanctuary.

He called on the government to live up to its word and help out sanctuaries through funding. The ministry spokesman explained that, through the annual budgets, funds were allocated for animal welfare in general.

The ministry said it continued to liaise with all animal welfare NGOs to assess their needs in the light of the contribution they made to society. “Any assistance provided should not address the recurrent expenditure but should focus on the capital investment needed by the sanctuaries to operate efficiently. All assistance must be justified within an agreed action plan,” the spokesman said.

In the 2008 Budget, the government allocated €349,000 to sanctuaries. Half the amount went to a national neutering programme and the other half was divided among sanctuaries to upgrade their facilities.

Noah’s Ark had spent most of the money on fencing a large stretch of land, neighbouring the sanctuary, which the government had given to it under a management contract.

Mr Ciappara said last year the sanctuary had spent €15,500 on food, €5,600 on medical care and €9,000 on maintenance.

As donations from the public dropped, government support was essential if the sanctuary, set up in 2004, was to keep rescuing abandoned animals from the streets.

He pointed out that the ministry had done a great job in setting up the Animal Welfare Department, the animal ambulance and the aftercare centre in Ta’ Qali. However, the reality was that the ambulance and the aftercare centre catered for injured strays and not abandoned ones. The latter were cared for by sanctuaries that gave them a home and took them in from the streets, cutting their risk of getting injured in the first place.

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