Latest news with #Fletcher
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Dying stray puppy is desperate to find a loving home where he can live out his final days
A months-old puppy born with only one failing kidney is in a desperate race against time to find his first - and likely final - home, where he can spend his remaining days surrounded by a family. Fletcher, a 10-month-old fluffy black stray dog, traveled more than 2,000 miles from Arizona to a South Carolina humane society in hopes of receiving treatment for multiple birth defects, The State reported. However, upon arrival, the shelter discovered Fletcher's condition was far more serious - they found he had only one kidney, and it was actively failing. After determining that surgery would be too risky, the shelter made a heartbreaking but compassionate choice: rather than let Fletcher spend his remaining days confined to a cage, they vowed to do everything they could to find him a loving home. 'We'd give anything to do more for you. To promise you forever,' the Greenville Humane Society wrote in a Facebook post shared last week. 'But what we can promise you is today,' it added. 'And we won't let you sit in a kennel any longer.' 'Fletcher, you deserve to live your life in a loving home, where you can run carefree and know a loving embrace outside the confinements of a kennel.' The 10-month-old pup began his life in a shelter in Arizona, but thanks to the dedication of the South Carolina-based rescue team, he made the 2,043-mile journey by car to meet the people determined to give him a second chance. Fletcher (pictured) traveled more than 2,000 miles from Arizona to a South Carolina humane society in hopes of receiving treatment for the multiple birth defects affecting his fragile young life After determining that surgery would be too risky, the shelter made a heartbreaking but compassionate choice: rather than let Fletcher spend his remaining days confined to a cage, they vowed to do everything they could to find him a loving home 'You waited patiently through sickness,' the shelter wrote. 'And when that day finally came and you visited the specialist, we held onto that hope.' Fletcher's human advocates were hopeful that the care team could treat his hypospadias and ectopic ureter, but the prognosis quickly took a devastating turn. It was soon discovered that Fletcher's single kidney was not only failing - but deteriorating far faster than anyone had anticipated. 'The specialists told us surgery is likely fatal due to the health of your remaining kidney,' the post continued. 'How could we make that decision? Just to let you go? After we tried this hard.' 'After you waited - patiently. But we couldn't risk your life. So, the decision was made to forgo surgery. To allow you to enjoy your life, just the way you are - which is perfect.' Now, the shelter is urgently searching for someone to open their heart and home to Fletcher, despite the painful uncertainty of how long his remaining kidney will hold on. Aside from likely requiring lifelong medications, frequent vet visits and a specialized diet, the humane society admitted they still don't know exactly what the adorable pup's future holds. But one thing they know for certain is this - they refuse to let Fletcher spend even one more day confined inside the shelter. 'He was in an Arizona shelter since he was just a baby, so he's never truly known what it feels like to live in a home,' Katie Wofford, marketing assistant for the shelter, told McClatchy News via email. 'Despite this and his congenital defects, he's a very happy boy,' Wofford added. 'He loves to trot around with a stuffy in his mouth, always wagging and smiling to anyone who will greet him.' Wofford described Fletcher as overflowing with love - so much so that he'd make the perfect companion for anyone willing to give him the best final chapter he deserves. 'Even if his life may not be long, he's ready to give all the love he has to his family,' she said. 'He will need a very special home who is willing to put in the extra love and work he needs, but there's no dog in the world that deserves it more than Fletcher.' As of June 18, Fletcher is still waiting for a permanent home. Anyone interested in meeting him or giving the sweet pup the love and comfort he deserves is encouraged to reach out via email at adoptions@ 'Today, we're hoping to let you go. But in the best way possible,' the Facebook post read. 'We want you to find your forever: a family willing to give you a loving, comfortable place to live out your life just the way you are, for however long you're able to,' it added. 'Because more than anything, you deserve that.' 'You deserve the world, and even though this isn't the outcome we were hoping for, we're committed to giving you absolutely everything we can.'
Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Health
- Miami Herald
Puppy with kidney failure needs a home for his final days. Meet the ‘happy' dog
A puppy has kidney failure, and he will need a place to spend his final days. 'We won't let you sit in a kennel any longer,' a South Carolina animal shelter wrote June 13 in a Facebook post. 'Fletcher, you deserve to live your life in a loving home, where you can run carefree and know a loving embrace outside of the confinements of a kennel.' Fletcher is now out of the shelter and in foster care. The Greenville Humane Society hopes he will end up in a permanent home for however much time he last left. 'He really is SO full of love, he'd make a perfect companion,' Katie Wofford, marketing assistant for the shelter, told McClatchy News via email. 'Even if his life may not be long, he's ready to give all the love he has to his family.' The 10-month-old pup arrived at the humane society sick after he traveled more than 2,000 miles by car. He had been living at a facility in Arizona but was transferred with the hope that the South Carolina shelter could provide treatment for 'multiple birth defects' impacting his life, according to Wofford. The shelter discovered he had only one kidney, which is failing. Surgery would risk his life, so a team reportedly decided to avoid performing any procedures. Though the humane society isn't sure about Fletcher's future, he likely will need medications, veterinary appointments and special food. 'He was in an Arizona shelter since he was just a baby, so he's never truly known what it feels like to live in a home,' Wofford wrote. 'Despite this and his congenital defects, he's a very happy boy. He loves to trot around with a stuffy in his mouth, always wagging and smiling to anyone who will greet him.' As of June 17, the mixed-breed pup was waiting for a permanent home. Anyone interested in adoption is encouraged to send an email to adoptions@ 'He will need a very special home who is willing to put in the extra love and work he needs, but there's no dog in the world that deserves it more than Fletcher,' Wofford wrote.
Observer
4 days ago
- Politics
- Observer
Invest in peace, not in wars
Every war results in brutal consequences. The gruesome scenes, especially the recent deadly events in the Middle East, overshadow more positive long-term global trends concerning peace. As history demonstrates, wars and conflicts have consistently been an enduring aspect of human existence. Regardless of the causes or the parties involved, every war is a tempest of destruction that devastates everything in its wake. Populations living in the midst of conflict bear the brunt of its impact as wars directly destroy essential infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, homes, businesses and other national resources valued in the billions. Yet the most devastating impact of wars and conflict is the exacerbation of poverty through the disruption of livelihoods. "We are witnessing an unravelling of the protection of civilians and a decline in respect for international humanitarian law, Tom Fletcher, the UN relief chief, said during a Security Council meeting on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict on May 25. Fletcher stated that the number of forcibly displaced individuals has reached a new high of over 122 million, with the majority displaced within their own countries. He noted that reports of enforced disappearances, torture, inhumane treatment and other forms of trauma were widespread. In her address to the UN, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement President Mirjana Spoljaric said, "your state may not be at war today. Your family may be far from frontlines, but tides turn, new conflicts erupt and if you do not defend the rules of war today, you are accepting a world where wars are fought with increasing barbarity and disregard for our shared humanity." In its review report released at the end of December, Unicef stated that the impact of armed conflicts on children around the world reached devastating and likely record levels in 2024. 'The percentage of the world's children living in conflict zones has doubled — from approximately 10 per cent in the 1990s to nearly 19 per cent today', the report stated. Looking at the news alone, it is challenging to determine whether more or fewer people are dying as a result of war compared to the past. One must rely on carefully collected statistics to enable meaningful comparisons over time. According to the Armed Conflict Survey 2024, the level of conflict worldwide has doubled over the past five years, driven by wars in Ukraine, Gaza, Myanmar and other regions. The report reveals that the war in the Palestine territory has witnessed horrific violence with the Israel Defence Forces' (IDF) military campaign causing massive destruction of infrastructure including residential buildings, health facilities, energy and water facilities, and schools, among others; and the internal displacement of the entire Palestinian population. 'Increasing levels of violence by the IDF and Israeli settlers have also taken place in the West Bank. Regionally, the war has had dramatic ramifications, notably resulting in an increase in direct confrontations between Israel and Iran (and its allies), as discussed above', the report points out. Whatever the reason for the war, both implicit and explicit nuclear threats have been the default stance of states possessing nuclear weapons for decades. Such threats are fundamental to the concept of deterrence, 'If you attack, we will annihilate your society or your most critical military assets.' Instead of perpetuating rhetoric against each warring nation, it is essential to unite and engage in negotiations. Unfortunately, even after the loss of countless precious lives and unimaginable destruction, our leaders have been unable to bring an end to these inhumane conflicts. Preventing conflicts requires the same level of investment that nations allocate to military expenditures. All countries must be prepared to contribute effectively to the global peacebuilding efforts. Our leaders must do everything in their power to ensure that this new era of geopolitics is not primarily remembered for violence. They should take peace more seriously than ever before.
Korea Herald
5 days ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
UN slashes global aid plan over 'deepest funding cuts ever'
GENEVA (AFP) — The UN said on Monday that it was drastically scaling back its global humanitarian aid plans due to the "deepest funding cuts ever" — leaving tens of millions of people facing dire straits. The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said it was seeking $29 billion in funding for 2025 compared to the $44 billion originally requested in December, in a "hyper-prioritized" appeal. UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said later on Monday that it would have to terminate 3,500 jobs, cutting 30 percent of its workforce costs, as aid funding evaporates. Since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January, the US — the world's top donor — has heavily slashed foreign aid, causing havoc in the humanitarian sector across the globe. Drastic US funding cuts have had dramatic consequences for emergency aid, vaccination campaigns and the distribution of drugs to fight AIDS. Other major donor countries have also cut back their contributions in the face of an uncertain economic outlook. "Brutal funding cuts leave us with brutal choices," OCHA chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement. "All we ask is 1 percent of what you chose to spend last year on war." In late April, while visiting a hospital in Kandahar in Afghanistan, Fletcher warned, "The impact of aid cuts is that millions die." Almost halfway through 2025, the UN has received only $5.6 billion out of the $44 billion originally sought for this year — a mere 13 percent. In total, the original plan covered more than 70 countries and aimed to assist nearly 190 million vulnerable people. Even so, that plan acknowledged that there were 115 million people the UN would not be able to reach. "We have been forced into a triage of human survival," Fletcher said on Monday. The mathematics "is cruel, and the consequences are heartbreaking." "Too many people will not get the support they need, but we will save as many lives as we can with the resources we are given," he said. Aid will now be directed so that it can "reach the people and places facing the most urgent needs," with those in "extreme or catastrophic conditions" as the starting point, said Fletcher. Fletcher's call came as the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Program issued a joint early warning report identifying worsening hunger in 13 hotspots. Sudan, the Palestinian territories, South Sudan, Haiti and Mali have communities "already facing famine, at risk of famine or confronted with catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity," said the report. "The devastating crises are being exacerbated by growing access constraints and critical funding shortfalls," it said. Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar and Nigeria are now considered of very high concern and requiring urgent attention to save lives, it added, with Burkina Faso, Chad, Somalia and Syria the other hotspots. "This report is a red alert," said WFP chief Cindy McCain. "Without funding and access, we cannot save lives. Urgent, sustained investment in food assistance and recovery support is crucial as the window to avert yet more devastating hunger is closing fast." Washington previously made up more than 40 percent of the UNHCR refugee agency's budget — $2 billion per year, the agency's chief Filippo Grandi told the UN Security Council in April. "In light of difficult financial realities, UNHCR is compelled to reduce the overall scale of its operations," Grandi said in Monday's statement. UNHCR estimates that it will end 2025 with available funding at about the same level as a decade ago, despite the number of people forced to flee their homes having nearly doubled over the same period to more than 122 million. "In total, approximately 3,500 staff positions will be discontinued," the statement said, while hundreds of temporary workers have left already.
Business Recorder
5 days ago
- Health
- Business Recorder
UN slashes global aid plan over ‘deepest funding cuts ever'
GENEVA: The United Nations said Monday it was drastically scaling back its global humanitarian aid plans because of the 'deepest funding cuts ever' — leaving tens of millions of people facing dire straits. The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it was seeking $29 billion in funding for 2025 compared to the $44 billion originally requested in December, in a 'hyper-prioritised' appeal. Since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January, the United States — the world's top donor — has heavily slashed foreign aid, causing havoc in the humanitarian sector across the globe. Drastic US funding cuts have had dramatic consequences for emergency aid, vaccination campaigns and the distribution of drugs to fight AIDS. Other major donor countries have also cut back their contributions in the face of an uncertain economic outlook. 'Brutal funding cuts leave us with brutal choices,' OCHA chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement. 'All we ask is one percent of what you chose to spend last year on war. But this isn't just an appeal for money — it's a call for global responsibility, for human solidarity, for a commitment to end the suffering.' In late April, while visiting a hospital in Kandahar in Afghanistan, Fletcher warned: 'Cutting funding for those in greatest need is not something to boast about... The impact of aid cuts is that millions die.' With 2025 nearly halfway through, the UN has received only $5.6 billion out of the $44 billion originally sought for this year — a mere 13 percent. In total, the original plan covered more than 70 countries and aimed to assist nearly 190 million vulnerable people. Even so, that plan acknowledged there were 115 million people the UN would not be able to reach. 'We have been forced into a triage of human survival,' Fletcher said Monday. The mathematics 'is cruel, and the consequences are heartbreaking'. 'Too many people will not get the support they need, but we will save as many lives as we can with the resources we are given,' he said. Aid will now be directed so that it can 'reach the people and places facing the most urgent needs', with those in 'extreme or catastrophic conditions' as the starting point, said Fletcher.
