Hello -- In response to your questions, I can see that you might have concerns. Yes, I am in financial difficulty -- or wouldn't be asking for help. But -- also Yes -- I have a place to go to with all of my animals and the means to support them once back in the States. I will be with a good friend who has a ferret hospice in South Texas, and will help her with it. We've considered my finances and income, and feel the costs of animal care will be less in the US than here. I will not leave my animals here. With the exception of the donkeys -- two of them at least -- all of them would have short suffering lives if left behind. The two donkeys will live less than half their normal lifespan and will have miserable lives. I've written a couple of detailed posts to the FML about that, and also about how I ended up in this unlucky position and why it's unwise for me to remain here. You could search for my name in your email in-list and get that information. But, in brief: Most of my animals came from the US with me. Those are 2 ferrets, 4 cats, and 3 dogs. The animals that were born here are 2 cats and three donkeys. I always wanted a goat, but never did get one! House pets are uncommon here, and only an extremely tiny percentage get appropriate food or vet care. I would say it is well under 1%. There is a lot of out-in-the-open abuse. People are poor and frustrated, and animal rights do not exist. Many of the 1% are well-loved. For an example, plus a photo of my vet with my ferret Jonas, see: http://s1144.photobucket.com/albums/o492/celebrateoften/#!cpZZ3QQtppZZ16 I came to Ethiopia to start a business, but the business failed. I lost my assets in the process. Government regulations are making it difficult for me to sell my remaining assets, but eventually I will at least sell my car. I'm in the process of selling furniture, appliances, etc. This money is going into my return-to-US fund. All donations also go there, separated from other money. So far, the donations have accumulated 50% of the transport costs for the ferrets, dogs, and cats. Of course there will be plenty of set-up expenses when I get back to the US, and I would be so happy to have help with them. If that feels good to you, I'll set up another account for those donations. When I came here, I left myself a backup plan: I rented out my house rather than selling it. Sad to say, my renters stopped paying the rent and trashed the house. The bank repossessed it. This all sounds so pathetic, but I am not a pathetic person. It was difficult for me to ask for help, but once I committed myself to it, I kept at it. One way I reconcile myself to doing it is knowing what I gave when I had money. My main focus was medical -- I saved lives and helped people with their health in the US and abroad. PS, I asked a friend to read this and tell me if she thought it was ok. She recommends I also let you know that I myself am in some danger here. You'll find info on that on the FML too. People also tell me that I write in too stiff-upper-lip style. But you can believe that there's plenty of distress and pain behind it. You'll see what I mean if you look at my MANY, many, Many, many, undoubtedly too-many (!) earlier posts. [Posted in FML 7687]