The McConnell Dog Refuge

Foreword – by Ryan Mcconnell

Often as a child I wanted a dog. I’ve always enjoyed the companionship and love that they provide. Unfortunately circumstances dictated that we could never have a dog whilst we were traveling abroad for the last 15 years. So, if you had told me at the beginning of the year I would be the proud owner of 23 dogs, I would have called you barking mad!

The strays outside of our villa were loving and friendly long before we arrived in Morocco. Loved by the security guards and residency alike, you couldn’t have asked for nicer neighbours. As time passed we couldn't help but name our resident canines. There was originally 8 dogs-pack leader Bear, Lady (mum’s beach running partner), Goldie, Sunny, the little runt Shadow, Sky, Brownie and the very cuddly Princess. They all had their own loving personalities and over time warmed to us and became friendly. One of my fondest memories of the group was a walk to the shop, in which all the dogs followed me across the roads and hills for over a kilometre! When we reached our destination they waited outside whilst I bought some dog food. Then, patiently they followed me home to be fed, as people staring from the side-lines gawked at 8 dogs following one man in a perfect pack formation.

The summer brought more love and before we knew it 3 separate litters of puppies were born, adding 14 more dogs to our entourage. Little did the mothers know, that having puppies and staying in their den would save their lives.
Others didn’t share our love for the strays. Tragically, when a figure of authority arrives in the area, the local dogs are often poisoned. Feeding them strychnine in meat slices, we came home to find three of our dogs dead and Shadow writhing in agony. Despite rushing her to the vets, we couldn’t save her. Upon returning from the vets we found two more of our dogs dead. They had come back to finish the job. We lost 6 dogs in one day.

One of the dogs that was poisoned (Brownie) had 4 puppies around 3 weeks old at the time of the poisoning. There was no way that we were going to leave them to such a cruel fate, so they became our puppies. Still, It wasn’t enough. The dogs needed to be relocated to somewhere they could live in peace and safety.

Thankfully, we have now found a suitable plot of land in Chefchoaun, a beautiful plateau where they can run and play together. We want to prevent this kind of cruelty happening and help as many dogs as we can in Tangier. We put together this page to share the stories of the pups and their progress with you as they grow up in Maggoo.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and if you want to help us out, like and share this page with your friends. The more exposure we have, the more we can do to help these pups!