Mate's Gift

03/01/2026

This is what your support looks like on the ground.

After the recent floods in and around Tangkahan, food was delivered to families in nearby villages so they could keep their dogs and cats fed while they focused on getting back on their feet.

The food was brought into Tangkahan by Rudi, and from there Beni and Pirman took it out to the surrounding villages, delivering it directly to the people who needed it most.

These families are dealing with damaged homes, disrupted work, and lost income. Knowing their animals were taken care of meant one less worry during a really stressful time. It allowed them to concentrate on their fields, their work, and rebuilding daily life, without needing to find extra money to feed their pets.

This is the kind of support we believe in. Practical, respectful, and delivered by local people who know the community.

Thank you for making this possible.

Mate's Gift

02/01/2026

Calling all hairdressers, beauty salons, clinics, optometrists and community spaces 🤍

Mate’s Gift is getting ready for our next Sumatra trip in October, and we’d love to invite local businesses and workplaces to be part of one of our most heartfelt and practical projects.

We’re running a bra and prescription glasses drive to support women in small villages in Sumatra. These are items that are so often sitting unused here or heading towards landfill, yet they can make a real difference to comfort, confidence and everyday life for women over there.

We were blown away by the response to this project last year. The excitement, gratitude and joy from the women receiving these items was incredibly moving, and it’s something we’re really keen to continue as part of our Mate's Gift work. With lots of excitement already building around our 2026 plans, this feels like a lovely way to keep that momentum going.

We’re looking for businesses or spaces who might like to host a small donation point.
We make it easy and provide everything
A neat, lidded washing basket for donations
A clear poster explaining the project
Postcard literature about who we are and the work we do

When baskets are full, we’ll organise pick up and take everything away, so there’s nothing for you to manage.

In October, our travellers will help transport donations over in their luggage so items can be handed directly to women in the villages we support.

If this is something you or your workplace would like to be involved in, we’d love to hear from you.
Please email [email protected] and we’ll be in touch.

Small actions. Meaningful impact.
Mate’s Gift 🤍

29/12/2025

As many of you know, there were devastating floods across parts of North Sumatra recently. Entire communities were cut off, homes damaged, crops lost, and access to basic supplies became incredibly difficult.

While Tangkahan was not one of the hardest hit areas, the impact was still very real. The bridge was down, electricity was out, there was no petrol available to travel for supplies, and with power down there was also no phone signal. Situations like this can quickly turn into emergencies, simply because help or information can’t get through.

Mate's Gift want to take a moment to say a genuine thank you to everyone who donated towards our cat and dog food flood appeal.

Because of your kindness, we were able to send in 240 kilos of cat and dog food to support families in Tangkahan during this incredibly challenging time.

When floods hit, people are often focused on rebuilding homes, repairing damage, and figuring out how to earn an income again especially when crops are destroyed or work is temporarily impossible. Having food covered for their animals takes one very real worry off their shoulders. It helps keep their cats and dogs healthy, and it saves families money when every cent matters.

This support makes a bigger difference than it might seem, and we are so grateful to be able to pass that help directly on, thanks to you.

From all of us, and from the people and animals of Tangkahan, thank you for showing up when it counted.

25/12/2025

This Christmas period we want to say thank you.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Mate's Gift this year. Whether you donated, shared a post, sponsored an animal, dropped off supplies, fundraised with us, or quietly followed along, it all mattered more than you probably realise.

2025 has been a big year. Together, we’ve supported sterilisation clinics, parasite control programs, emergency vet care, ongoing sponsorships, and the people on the ground who show up every single day for animals who would otherwise have nothing. We’ve worked alongside our partners in Sumatra, Bali and Thailand, and we’ve seen first-hand how consistency, kindness and community-led support change lives.

None of this happens without the incredible locals we work with, or without the Hairy Hounds Playground and Mate’s Gift communities backing this work from home. You make it possible for us to step in when it counts, and to keep turning up long after the moment has passed.

We don’t take that trust lightly.

From all of us at Mate’s Gift, we wish you a safe, gentle Christmas and a hopeful start to the new year. Thank you for standing with us, and for believing that small, steady actions really do make a difference.

24/12/2025

At Mate's Gift, we believe the most meaningful change happens when the work starts at the source.

That belief is why we continue to support organisations like ACT Dog Rescue in Bali, where the focus is on long-term solutions, particularly sterilisation programs that address overpopulation with care and consistency.

With support from the Hairy Hounds Community community and the wider Mate’s Gift community, we were able to contribute $400 toward this work in the lead-up to Christmas. It’s a practical contribution, directed where it can genuinely make a difference.

To the ACT team on the ground, we wish you a safe, calm, non eventful Christmas. One without emergencies, without crisis calls, and with a little breathing space. Thank you for the work you do and for showing what thoughtful, boots-on-the-ground impact really looks like 🐾💚🎄

Hairy Hounds Playground

23/12/2025

Thanks to the incredible Mate's Gift and Hairy Hounds Playground communities, we’re really proud to be able to share $400 with Pete’s Mission (Ryan Godden) this Christmas.

This contribution will go towards supporting their rescue work, rehabilitation of animals who have had a rough start, and the ongoing outreach they do in local communities. The work Pete’s Mission does is constant, hands on and deeply compassionate, often stepping in when there are no easy options and no safety nets for animals in need.

We know $400 doesn’t change the world on its own, but it does help cover real costs, real care and real moments of relief for animals who deserve kindness and a chance to heal. These are the kinds of donations that keep programs moving, keep food in bowls, medications available and rescues possible.

To everyone who supports Mate’s Gift and Hairy Hounds Playground, whether through donations, sharing posts, attending events or simply cheering us on, this is your impact too. None of this happens without community, and we’re always so grateful for the trust and support behind what we do.

Wishing all of our little friends at Pete’s Mission a safe, gentle and very happy Christmas xx

22/12/2025

On a recent visit to Bali, Christie and Chris spent time visiting with ACT Dog Rescue. On one of our rest days, close to our accommodation , we crossed paths with a small family of dogs living on a construction site, new friends Nana, Mama and their puppy, Buru.

The three littje dogs were incredibly sweet, friendly, and very clearly loved.

As we sat on the ground cuddling the pups, the owner arrived and explained that the puppy had been hit by a motorbike the night before. Sadly, he wasn’t in a position to take Buru to the vet. The construction company he had been working for had gone out of business, leaving him without work, and he and the dogs were now living on site.

You know how it is. You can’t help every dog in the world, but once you’re involved, it’s very hard to walk away.

The dogs were also absolutely riddled with ticks. We removed what we could on the spot, then returned the following day with proper tick and flea treatment for all three, treatments the Mate's Gift community had donated.

The owner sat with us, helping to remove and destroy the ticks, and we explained that within a couple of days the remaining parasites would die off.

While Indonesia doesn’t have paralysis ticks, ticks and fleas here still cause serious health issues including blood parasites, skin infections and diseases like Lyme. Treating them is still incredibly important.

Puppy Buru, was taken to the vet for X-rays and we were so relieved to learn there was no break, just severe inflammation. A very lucky puppy, especially given they live beside a busy road.

We were able to provide worming medication and flea treatment for all three dogs, anti-inflammatories and calcium for Puppy, and we left them with food to help make the new frw months easier on the family.

Most importantly, we now have a relationship with this little family. We’ll be back in a few months and will continue to check in and support them where we can. Although one of the dogs is pregnant, he has agreed that when we are back in April, we can help with sterilisation.

Moments like this are also a gentle reminder of why our unused medication program matters so much. These dogs weren’t unloved. They had an owner who cared deeply but simply didn’t have the resources to help. Having leftover parasite treatments and wormers meant we could step in immediately and make a real, practical difference.

If you ever have unwanted, parasite treatments (out if sste is fine!) or worming treatments you no longer need, this is exactly where they go. Helping street dogs and owned dogs alike families doing their best, with love, but very limited options.

This is Mate’s Gift in action 🐾💚🐾💚

Images - brave Buru on
The gojek bike, at the vets, having ticks removed, and receiving their goodies 💚💚🐾🐾

21/12/2025

Thank you Hairy Hounds Playground 🎄🎄🐾🐾

To our Hairy Hounds Community,

Last week we ran a $5 Friday, giving families the option to add a small contribution toward a Mate's Gift fundraiser. What happened next is exactly why this community means so much to us.

Together, you raised $605.

Hairy Hounds Playground matched every dollar, which means $1,210 will now be donated directly to Mate’s Gift to support the work happening on the ground.

The $5.00 Friday fundraiser wasn’t about big gestures. It was about lots of people quietly saying yes. Yes to kindness. Yes to consistency. Yes to helping in a way that felt manageable but meaningful.

Mate’s Gift will be heloung ACT Dog Rescue, the dogs of Tangkahan (Mate’s village) and Ryan Godden (Pete’s Mission).

We see it all the time at Hairy Hounds Playground. People showing up for their dogs, for each other, and for causes that matter. This was another reminder of how powerful that collective care really is.

Thank you for trusting us, for getting behind it, and for being part of something bigger than any one of us.

We’re so proud of this community.

21/12/2025

Yesterday we shared Cici’s story.

After seeing it, Catherine reached out. Catherine joined us on our October 2025 fundraising tour, and this time she was writing about something very personal. She asked if she could sponsor Cici in honour of her brother, Campbell, who passed away in November.

She didn’t ask for it to be a one off gesture. She asked for it to be ongoing.

There is something incredibly tender about that choice. Turning love and loss into something steady. Something reliable. Something that quietly continues. Month after month, because someone you love still matters, and always will.

This kind of sponsorship is about more than meeting needs. It’s about knowing that Cici will be cared for not just today, but into the future. That she will be protected, supported, and not forgotten, because someone chose consistency over time, in the name of someone they miss deeply.

Grief doesn’t disappear. It changes shape. Sometimes it becomes action. Sometimes it becomes care. Sometimes it becomes a promise that another life will be safe, because love is still present.

Thank you, Catherine, for trusting us with something so close to your heart, and for choosing Cici to honour Campbell. She will be looked after because of you, every month, with care and intention.

Cici is looking for three more sponsors to help this Christmas 🎄
We’d love it if you could like and share Cici’s story to help spread the word x

Toba Animal Friends Sumatra
Mate's Gift

20/12/2025

Meet Cici

Cici is a female dog rescued by Toba Animal Friends during recent flood response work in North Sumatra.

Since early December, the TAF team has been travelling daily to flood affected areas around Tarutung, providinguck feeding domestic animals, farm animals, and wildlife after many families were forced to leave their homes and animals behind. This has meant long days on the road, often six hours of travel a day, alongside ongoing rescue work.

Cici was found during this time.

She had an owner. That owner used her only to have puppies and sell them for the dog meat trade. When she was no longer useful, she was left like this.

Cici has been in this condition for around a year.

TAF stepped in before it was too late. Cici is now waiting to be transported to Medan for clinic care. The journey is long. Tarutung is around nine hours from Medan, and transport is not simple. The team is still arranging a vehicle to safely bring her in.

We are looking for 4 monthly sponsors at $15 each per month to help cover Cici’s ongoing clinic and veterinary costs.

This is not about a dramatic rescue moment. It is about steady, practical support so a dog who has already suffered for far too long can finally receive proper care.

If you can help sponsor Cici, even at $15 a month, it makes a real difference.

Please reach out or comment if you’d like to be one of her sponsors.

Thank you for standing with Toba Animal Friends and for helping dogs like Cici when they need it most.

19/12/2025

Finishing off the week with a little Tumbuh update 💚 (Tumbuh which means Sprout in English)

Tumbuh came to us at our Tangkahan Mate's Gift sterilisation clinic. Very quickly, her owner realised they weren’t in a position to give her the care she needed, so she moved in with Beni and Dewi and their family, who have given her nothing but patience, kindness and lots of TLC ever since.

We would love you to follow her journey, because the change in just eight weeks has been incredible.

When Tumbuh arrived, she had five days of antibiotics, parasite control at the time of sterilisation, and has since had another round of parasite prevention. As you can see, she is now so healthy that we genuinely had to ask if this was the same dog and whether someone had accidentally swapped her.

This is what sponsorship does.
This is why it matters.

A huge thank you to Beni Sitepu and Dewi Nde Ginting and their family for opening their home and hearts to Tumbuh. And a very special thank you to her sponsor, Amelia Gowrea, who joined us on our fundraising tour, met Tumbuh in person, and has been sponsoring her monthly ever since.

We also want to thank every person who has ever sponsored an animal. A dog, a cat, an elephant, a rhino, whatever it may be. Your support changes lives in very real and very visible ways.

If you are interested in sponsoring an animal, please get in touch.
We would love to help you help an animal in need.