Abandoned dogs in Ethiopia's capital get little care. A woman wants to change that

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Among the whimpering of rescued dogs, a soft whistle cuts through. It’s Feven Melese, a young woman hoping to support thousands of abandoned dogs on the streets of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

The 29-year-old music degree graduate has put up a rare shelter on the outskirts of the city, where she provides food and a place to stay for 40 dogs, while feeding about 700 others every week on the streets.

Melese said she has found new homes for more than 300 dogs in the past two years. Together with fellow young animal rights activists, they are on a mission to change the widespread perception in Ethiopia that dogs are protectors working for humans, not pets to be cared for.

As skyscrapers rise in Addis Ababa, the estimated 200,000 unclaimed dogs roaming the streets have fewer places to hide. Many dog owners have abandoned them as they move into new residential apartments whose landlords enforce a no-pet policy.

Authorities have expressed concern about the spread of diseases like rabies, and in recent months they have faced criticism after poisoning thousands of stray dogs ahead of major events, following an incident in which a resident was bitten.

Melese said many in Ethiopia do not treat dogs with care and abandon them when they become inconvenient.

“In Ethiopia, the society does not understand. They say, are they (dogs) hungry? Do they have feelings? They don’t care if they eat or not. If they are sick, they don’t care,” she said.

Melese’s shelter, though small and makeshift, is also a haven for dogs that survived road accidents. One of them, Konjit — whose name means “beautiful” in Amharic — wears a neck brace to help support healing, and wags her tail as Melese cuddles her.

Melese said that as a child in Addis Ababa, she cared for stray dogs and ended up with five that came to her home and stayed.

“My mother got angry and tried to take them back to the streets, but they kept coming back and I would still take them in,” she said.

Some residents in Addis Ababa say they are worried about the dangers posed by stray dogs and that the animals should be taken to a shelter.

“They (dogs) do not allow people to pass on the road and can be aggressive, even biting. They are very dangerous for the community, as their owners are unknown. No one can safely pass this way at night,” said Yonas Bezabih.

The Addis Ababa city administration official, Melese Anshebo, told The Associated Press that the government was planning to begin a dog registration and vaccination exercise to ensure that dog owners are fully responsible.

“To those who seem to have no owners, we will aim to find them shelters and some of the stray dogs who show symptoms of viruses, we will be forced to eliminate them,” he said.

A veterinarian, Dr. Alazar Ayele, said rabies remains a serious public health concern in Addis Ababa and expressed concern that resources for vaccination, sterilization and sheltering are still very limited.

“What we need are coordinated, humane approaches, more vaccines, trained veterinarians and community education to protect both people and animals,” he said.

Luna Solomon, a friend of Melese's, volunteers several times a week at the shelter to help feed the dogs and check on those that may need a vet.

Solomon said many owners abandon female dogs because they are likely to reproduce.

“People don’t usually pick female dogs because it takes a lot of responsibility to raise a female dog. There’s a lot that comes with it. Also, they don’t want to deal with her having puppies,” she said.

Biruk Dejene met Melese on social media when he was looking for a home for his dog that was being mistreated by his housemates.

He now gets to see his dog, Zuse, when he visits the shelter every week to volunteer.

While many see dogs as their guardians, there is often a lack of reciprocity by the owners, Dejene said.

“There’s no attachment. They just want them for their benefits and so on, so we’re doing a little bit of awareness of that,” he said.

Melese and her friends will continue advocating for dogs both on social media and in the streets of Addis Ababa, she said. They hope the government will consider mass vaccinations, neutering programs, and incentivized adoption to help give stray dogs a second chance at a home.

Associated Press journalist Samuel Getachew contributed.

Stray dogs that were abandoned on the streets rest at a shelter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Stray dogs that were abandoned on the streets rest at a shelter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Abandoned stray dogs rest at a shelter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Stray dogs that were abandoned on the streets rest at a shelter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Feven Melesein, 29-years-old, holds a dog that was abandoned on the streets of the capital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado will miss the ceremony to award her the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Wednesday, the head of the Norwegian Nobel Institute said.

Machado last appeared in public 11 months ago. Nobel Institute director Kristian Berg Harpviken told public broadcaster NRK the Venezuelan opposition leader's daughter will accept the prize on Machado’s behalf. He later told the broadcaster that Machado was expected in Oslo during the day — but “unfortunately, she won’t arrive in time to attend today’s ceremony or other events.”

“We confirm that she will not attend the Nobel ceremony, but we are optimistic about her presence on the rest of the day’s agenda,” said Machado's spokesperson, Claudia Macero. She did not give information on Machado's current location.

Prominent Latin American figures planned to attend Wednesday's ceremony in a signal of solidarity with Machado, including Argentine President Javier Milei, Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa, Panama's President José Raúl Mulino and Paraguayan President Santiago Peña.

Machado has been living in hiding and has not been seen in public since Jan. 9, when she was briefly detained after joining supporters in a protest in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital.

The 58-year-old’s win for her struggle to achieve a democratic transition in her South American nation was announced on Oct. 10, and she was described as a woman “who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.”

Machado won an opposition primary election and intended to challenge President Nicolás Maduro in last year’s presidential election, but the government barred her from running for office. Retired diplomat Edmundo González took her place.

The lead-up to the July 28, 2024, election saw widespread repression, including disqualifications, arrests and human rights violations. That increased after the country’s National Electoral Council, which is stacked with Maduro loyalists, declared the incumbent the winner.

González sought asylum in Spain last year after a Venezuelan court issued a warrant for his arrest.

U.N. human rights officials and many independent rights groups have expressed concerns about the situation in Venezuela, and called for Maduro to be held accountable for the crackdown on dissent.

Five past Nobel Peace Prize laureates were detained or imprisoned at the time of the award, according to the prize's official website, most recently Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi in 2023 and Belarusian human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski in 2022.

The others were Liu Xiaobo of China in 2010, Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar in 1991 and Carl von Ossietzky of Germany in 1935.

“There is a long tradition that when a Peace Prize laureate cannot be present, close family members represent them," Harpviken said. "That happened with Narges Mohammadi, and with Ales Bialiatski; both were imprisoned at the time. And the same will happen with Maria Corina Machado today. The daughter will deliver the statement her mother has written.”

Gustavo Tovar-Arroyo, a Venezuelan human rights activist who was himself forced to flee into exile in 2012, said Machado's supporters “did the best for her to be here as she deserves. But we knew the risk.”

He added that they are “disappointed that she cannot be in the ceremony, but this is part of what we do when we fight against a dictatorship, a tyranny or a criminal regime. So we are used to it."

Ana Corina Sosa, center, daughter of Nobel peace prize laureate Maria Machados, arrives at the Grand Hotel in Oslo on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (Lise Aserud/NTB via AP)

FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado greets supporters during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, file)

From left: Colombia's former vice president Marta Lucía Ramírez, Pedro Urruchurtu Noselli and Magalli Meda, who are collaborators with the Nobel Prize winner, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, are seen at the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Tuesday Dec. 9, 2025. (Cornelius Poppe/NTB Scanpix via AP)

FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado displays vote tally sheets during a protest against the reelection of President Nicolas Maduro one month after the disputed presidential vote which she says the opposition won by a landslide, in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)