Read Maia’s story and find out how you can help homeless dogs just like her.
“It’s hard to envisage 2.5 million stray dogs currently roaming the streets of Romania.”
As Romania is not a tourist destination, much of the suffering of homeless dogs goes unseen. The government takes very little action to attempt to solve the issue; making the ‘trap, neuter, return’ system illegal seems to work against organisations such as ROLDA (Romanian League of Defence of Animals).
“We were very active running sterilization campaigns for stray dogs in the past, but now we concentrate on pet dogs” says Gemma, International Manager for ROLDA.
“The problem is made increasingly worse by people abandoning their pets when they are ill or are pregnant. By neutering pets from disadvantaged communities, we are tackling the problem before the dogs become homeless. This has been statistically shown to work”.
However, to make matters worse, the authorities’ response to Romania’s stray dogs has been to invoke a law that allows public dog shelters to euthanize a dog 14 days after they have been caught. Unsurprisingly, the methods are inhumane and the number of dogs coming to a violent death in these establishments is overwhelming.
“Not only is it incredibly sad that these dogs are suffering in such huge numbers; this method of stray-control is an ineffective, even counterproductive, way of dealing with the stray population”, Gemma explains.
“The gentle, friendly and submissive dogs are caught by the dog catchers, leaving the more aggressive, feral dogs to roam and reproduce. ROLDA rescue as many dogs from public shelters as we possibly can, before their time is up”.
Where ROLDA began
Maia came to ROLDA having suffered horrendous injuries to both front legs. She required dozens of hours of surgery, four months in intensive care and over a year of hospitalization in the care of ROLDA’s expert veterinary medical team.
Gemma explains the lengths ROLDA will go to for a dog like Maia, “ROLDA never gives up on an animal where there is a chance of an acceptable quality of life.”
Abandoned during the pandemic
Despite the Covid-19 crisis, ROLDA still continues to rescue, which is even more vital now dog abandonments are on the increase in the local area. “Many owners mistakenly believe their dogs can infect them. We are finding many scared, abandoned dogs, some still with collars on. It’s heartbreaking.”
A gift to ROLDA helps to end the suffering of dogs that would otherwise be unseen. ROLDA is their best hope to be rescued, rehabilitated, and adopted into loving homes. Like many charities, ROLDA relies on the support of kind and compassionate people who want to help end the suffering of millions of stray dogs.
It costs £110k a year to run our shelters, which are sustained entirely by international giving:
“Donations and legacies are our life source. We cannot continue to operate without the generous support of people all over the world”, says Gemma.
Find out how to leave ROLDA a gift in your will.
