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.