\n
\n<\/p>\n
The sterilization
\nand microchipping of dogs may be lawfully compulsory in Romania, yet not all
\ndog owners comply with the existing law. As for the dog shelters, be they private
\nor under the management of municipalities, they are rapidly crammed and
\nabandoned dogs. As of late, there is a growing amount of info about on dogs being
\nabandoned on the public domain, even though such an act is also a criminal
\nviolation of the existing law. Quite a few of the abandoned dogs breed and are
\nhighly likely to become aggressive.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nobody wants to yet again go
\nthrough the episodes of the early 2000, when Romanian hit the headlines of the
\nforeign papers because of the violent action perpetrated against the stray
\ndogs. We recall that back then, for instance, the Speranta, Hope, in English, a dog shelter nearby Bucharest, was created, in a bid to support the speechless
\nfriends nobody wanted.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Veterinarian and PR for the
\ndog shelter, Anca Tomescu, recalls:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I once
\nwas in the Pallady base, doing volunteer work together with veterinarians and
\nother people who were getting involved in the rescuing of the animals, when we
\nlearned their killing had been decided. At that time, in the shelter, there
\nwere 100-150 dogs we took over, actually by mother did that, Florina Tomescu. We
\ndidn’t have any place to take so many dogs to, so we called all our friends,
\nevery one of them offered shelter to 2,3,5,7,8 dogs, in their cars, in their
\nhomes and suchlike. We did that until we succeeded and we built a makeshift, if
\nyou will, of the first segment of the Speranta Shelter, which was located somewhere
\nin the commune of Berceni, in a derelict farm building, a farm we developed
\ninto a shelter for the stray dogs. It was a difficult, ugly time that we had,
\nback then, with many problems. But the straw that broke the camel’s back was when
\nwe were told we had to vacate the premises! Just like that, in one night alone
\nwe had to decide where we should relocate 500 dogs. They had become 500 in the
\nmeantime! I came into a plot of land in Popesti-Leordeni with nothing built on
\nit and, from the development of that plot of land to the time when we had to
\nvacate the plot of land in Berceni, for about year, maybe, we got ourselves accommodated
\nsomewhere in the commune of Jilava, we rented several halls. That was another
\nhard, ugly time we had ! We relocated to Pope\u0219ti-Leordeni, a plot of land of our own, no
\nmore rents to be paid, the expenses were enormous, and there our shelter worked
\nproperly. And that is how this year we celebrated 22 years since we have had
\nthis shelter. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Since the early 2000 and to
\nthe present day the condition of the stray dogs and the care they benefit from
\nhave changed a great deal for the better. As for the Speranta (Hope) Shelter,
\nit is the living proof of how things really are. Anca Tomescu has extended
\nan invitation for us to pay a visit to the place:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I should
\nlike to begin by saying that there is a golden rule in the Speranta Shelter,
\nsaying the dogs are the priority. Whoever steps can see, from the first paddock
\nand to the last one, that all the dogs that have been given shelter here are
\nfriendly, they look good, you can easily see our dogs are very well taken care
\nof, they are dogs who do not stay in the paddock alone. It is important for
\nthem to run, to play, to feel the human warmth, hear a word of kindness, to get
\nthe food they actually need. The shelter, as we speak, has 105 paddocks, of
\nwhich only six are heated in the winter. The 7th one is due to
\narrive soon, thanks to my very good friend, the actress Carmen T\u0103nase, who made
\na donation for the 7th paddock to be heated. It has three veterinarian clinics,
\none of them very well equipped, since we realized that, with so many dogs, you
\nshould always see to it that they are in good health, that they take medical
\ntests, that they should be vaccinated. It was useless paying for private
\nmedical consulting room. Also in a bid to save the budget and make it easier,
\nfor us, but also for the dogs, we created a physiotherapy office where we
\ntreated and still treat the dogs with quadriplegic problems. Some of them kind
\nof got rid of the wheelchair, others didn’t, yet they undergo physiotherapy
\ntreatment. Also, we built three new playgrounds. We had a bigger one before, yet we had three more
\nbuilt. We have three swimming pool especially built for dog, precisely because we
\nwant all dogs in the Speranta shelter, no matter how long their stay is, to
\nfeel good and leave the shelter like some normal dogs, with a quiet temper,
\nwithout being scared or having behaviour problems. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However,
\nsays veterinarian Anca Tomescu, there is no such place as a shelter for the
\ndogs, they must be adopted. In time, from the Speranta Shelter, thousands and
\nthousands of dogs were adopted. For about two years now, they have been on a special
\ntraining program, The Messengers of Hope, so they can be given to the adoptive
\nfamily in mint condition. However, in Romania, the rate of adoption is low,
\nwhile at the other end of the scale, the rate of adoption is very high. Why
\ndoes that happen?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Abandoning
\na dog means lack of education, obviously. People need to understand that with
\nthat dog you will experience very fine episodes, but also episodes when you’re
\nlikely to get mad, just as if you had your own child. in the case of a child. It’s
\njust that the child, at a given moment, can speak an eventually may tell you what
\nthe problem is. And the dog gnaws at your objects, the dog may pee inside, the
\ndog can steal your favorite pair of shoes, the dog may even fall ill and may
\nneed a doctor, the dog will have to be walked. There is another aspect I should
\nlike to emphasize – a dog is not Christmas present! Do not offer living animals
\nas gifts, since it is not okay to offer a dog to a family that may not be
\nprepared for that, may not want that, they can enjoy that on the spot, how nice
\nit is, but on January 5th they resume work and there is nobody they can
\nleave the dog with. There is another aspect: I want a big dog, so people my
\nfear me when they pass me by! Yeah, well, you weigh 50 kilos, you cannot
\npossibly have a big dog, you need to adopt a dog to suit your needs, wants and
\nnecessities! If, for instance you live in a bedroom suite, you cannot adopt a
\n60-kilogram dog, if you work 12 hours a day, you cannot do that either, if your
\nwife, the husband, the child, the grandmother do not want that, you cannot impose
\nbringing a dog home on them, if you do not have the money for its upkeep, it’s
\njust the same. Adoption, yes, that is wonderful! I recommend the adoption of a
\ndog to anybody. Your life will change for the better, the whose family will
\nbecome happier, more responsible, more friendly. But if you cannot adopt and,
\nnonetheless, you love animals and want to get involved, you can either be a
\nvolunteer worker for one of the shelter or you can donate, you can also do many
\nother things for the animals.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In a bid
\nto educate the public opinion, at the Speranta Shelter there is a museum of the
\nstray dogs. We have allowed pupils to pay us a visit as part of the Doing
\nSchool Differently program. Also we have initiated another action, with VIPs
\ngetting involved in cooking for our dogs, in every edition. Also, construction
\nworks are in progress for a center tailored for those people, be they young or
\nadult, who are eager to learn what the care for animals means. We even are dead
\npositive that, paying it forward in the right mind, the right mind can even be
\nmore righteous, our warm-hearted interlocutor, Anca Tomescu, hopes. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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