Welcome

Wishing our visitors a very warm welcome to Uganda and an equally warm welcome to the Katakala Dog Shelter!

Katakala Dog Shelter

Katakala Dog Shelter is located in the town of Katakala, in the Mityana District within the Central Region of Uganda.

The shelter is registered as Katakala Animal Sanctuary Limited which is a company registered in Uganda – ‘Limited By Guarantee Without Share Capital’*. The Certificate of Incorporation is issued by the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) and the Registration Number is 80034797340065.

* Companies limited by guarantee are widely used for charities, community projects, clubs, societies and other similar bodies. Most companies limited by guarantee are not-for-profit companies - that is, they do not distribute their profits to their members but either retain them within the company or use them for some other purpose.

Our Mission

Our mission is to provide shelter, food, veterinary treatment and general care for street dogs and abandoned and abused dogs rescued from our local community.

We are pleased to introduce you to the team at the Katakala Dog Shelter.

From left to right, Erina, Fred, Richard and Robert.

There is little information available about the number of street dogs that roam the streets across towns and villages across the African continent. Uganda is no exception.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated the worldwide population of stray dogs at around 200 million in 2011, with well over 70 million of them living in Africa².

With many countries across the African continent having high levels of poverty, care for animals is understandably a much lower priority within such communities. Street dogs are generally not spayed and therefore the number of street dogs continues to rise year on year. In addition, dogs are carriers of several diseases, the most prominent of which is rabies, which kills not only dogs but can also kill humans too.

Street dogs not only struggle to find food, but they have no veterinary care and are often abused (sometimes sexually) in horrific ways. Africa is also a continent on which dogs are killed for their meat, often meeting a terrible death in the process.

The Katakala Animal Sanctuary is one organization that has been set-up to try and alleviate the suffering of some of the street dogs within the Katakala community in Uganda.

The Katakala Dog Shelter is located in the town of Katakala, in the Mityana District within the Central Region of Uganda.

At the present time, the shelter is located on rented land and consists of a wooden structure that provides shelter for the dogs from the elements (e.g., heavy rain, hence the shelter is raised off the ground) as well as a safe place for them to sleep.

In addition, fencing is currently being purchased and erected so to keep the dogs from straying too far. This is particular important given the risk of dogs being stolen and taken for away for the meat trade or otherwise being abused.

The team at Katakala Dog Shelter are currently improving the quality of the shelter to make it more comfortable for the dogs and erecting fencing to keep them safer. This is just one of ways in which donations are contributing to the improvements in the shelter and accompanying compound.

Katakala Dog Shelter is supported by a local vet, Dr. Herbet Luyima. Dr. Herbet can provide basic veterinary services such as External Diagnostics, Worming, Tick & Flea Treatments, Vaccinations, Surgery and Emergency Animal Care. Veterinary services are one of the main costs in the day to day running of our shelter as the dogs need to receive appropriate vaccinations on a regular basis. We also have to pay the vet for his time as well as the anesthetics for the small operations.

In the event that one of our rescue dogs requires a more complex operation we will transport and accompany the dog (using a transport box) in a rented vehicle to a larger veterinary practice in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. Kampala is approximately 40 miles from our shelter in Katakala.

In addition to the veterinary services outlined above that ensure any sick or injured dogs are quickly and appropriately treated, the long-term health of our dogs is of course very important. Some of the dogs we rescue and take into our shelter are clearly malnourished. Therefore, we need to purchase a steady supply of dog food from the local store in order to ensure they have a consistent and nutritious diet.

Packaged Dog Food

The Katakala Dog Shelter purchases packaged dog food of varying sizes. Apart from the veterinary costs, the cost of food is the other major expense that we face on a monthly basis and it is important therefore that we have sufficient donations to ensure we have a steady supply of dog food.

Home Produced Dog Food

In addition to packaged dog food, the Shelter also prepares its own food to supplement the packaged food. This supplemental diet has seasonal variation and may include crops such as rice, sweet potatoes, and maize and other crops harvested by the shelter’s team members.

Water / Milk

The dogs are always adequately hydrated with water. At feeding time, the water is also mixed with milk which the dogs enjoy even more.

We currently have approximately 20 dogs in our care. We have installed fencing to keep them within the compound, so they don’t stray. The dogs are of varying sizes and weight. Some dogs are rescued in a malnourished state, and it takes time for them to put on weight.

Katakala Dog Shelter has both short-term and long-term aspirations.

Long Term Aspirations - GoFundMe Account
Our long-term aspiration is to own our own land and build a new shelter facility that will allow us to accommodate more rescue dogs in better conditions. If you would like to contribute to this long-term goal, please click on the GoFundMe link for more information and payment details.

Short Term Aspirations - Donations
Taking care of all the dogs in our shelter not only requires the constant personal attention of our dedicated team members, but we are also only able to maintain a satisfactory level of care for all the dogs with the help of a steady stream of donations. We receive donations from donors from many countries across the world (e.g., Singapore, Russian Federation, USA, UK, Germany, etc.) and setting up regular monthly donations helps provide us with a sense of security, knowing that we will have enough food and veterinary care each month.

All donations, no matter whether one-off or regular, and no matter the amount, provides us with that vital financial security to effectively manage the shelter and ensures the right level of care for all our rescue dogs.

We offer a number of different ways to make it easy for you to make a donation: PayPal, World Remit, Western Union, and Bank Transfers.

All photographs used on this website have either been taken by Katakala Dog Shelter team members or purchased by ACROSS Global as a donation to the shelter.