What does ROLDA stand for?

ROLDA stands for Romanian League in Defence of Animals.

How do I access ROLDA Financial Report?

Transparency is important for us because this is, in our view, the minimal form of respect that a charity should show to its supporters. Please visit one of these pages to get instant access to ROLDA financial reports:

Financial page for ROLDA UK
Financial page for ROLDA Romania

How can I support ROLDA UK

Like all other charities, ROLDA survives because of its generous supporters. You can make one-time donation for a specific project, goal or for general purposes. Or you can choose to make a monthly gift and sponsor one of our dogs. You can help us plan the future of ROLDA carefully and join our Legacy Society Or you can volunteer your skills to our charity . Or you can visit us and meet all our dogs. And the best gift of all, you can adopt a dog. Click here to visit the Dogs Website where you can sponsor or adopt our best dogs!.

What if donations received reaches above the goal’s limit?

Each project has an estimated goal. In case the goal is reached, the supporters are announced and any further donation is redirected, with donor’s permission, to a similar goal or for “general purpose”.

What is ROLDA’s mission statement?

ROLDA exists to control efficiently, humanely and responsibly the homeless animals population in Romania, estimated to 2.5 million. Our keys focuses are: rescue, rehabilitation, sheltering, spay/neuter, social programs, education. ROLDA has a strict no-kill policy. Since it was officially founded (2006), ROLDA has helped over 20,000 pets and homeless animals. Read more ROLDA Mission Statement

Who is on the ROLDA Board of Directors?

The Board is formed by three Romanians members (Elena Daniela Costin, Ciprian Tudor and Gabriela Costin) and two international members (Lolita Morena, from Switzerland and Hege Jurs, from Norway)

What is the current situation with homeless dogs in Romania?

Since 2001, little has changed. The public shelters administrated by the local authorities continue to be filthy, overpopulated and most don’t respect the minimal standards clearly specified by the European applicable laws. Dogs from public shelters “disappear” mysteriously, are killed with methods which the animal activists can’t verify. Legally, in public shelters, a dog can be euthanised after 14 days. Often, the dogs die of starvation, or eat each other, or die because untreated diseases, wounds, poor hygiene before the 14th day.
The only positive change is a law approved in 2013, which declared it to be mandatory that dogs who have a human companion are: sterilised, microchipped and registration with the national database called RECS.
The number of street dogs in Romania is extreme high, estimated to 2.5 million. The poorest areas (north, south-east of the country) have the highest number of strays.
After ROLDA created the first modern private shelter in Romania, it was encouraging to see that others, mostly foreign citizens, also helped Romanian animals. They often followed us and built, in different communities across the country, a few quality facilities for rescued animals.
While the poverty, lack of education and corruption exist, it is difficult to control efficiently, humanely and responsibly the strays’ overpopulation at national level.

Why should I adopt from Romania when our country shelters are full?

Statistics show that people, who adopt dogs from abroad, also actively help the local organisations and have adopted at least once from their local shelter. All homeless dogs deserve a loving, safe home. Our dogs have suffered living on the streets of Romania, where people often treat them as vermin. They have had a difficult, often terrifying and traumatic start to life. Our dogs aren’t for everyone, they need extra commitment to help them heal from the circumstances they have encountered. Whether you choose to adopt a dog from Romania or from the UK, the main thing is that you adopt and help save a dog from life in a kennel.

Why doesn’t the local community offer financial help to the shelters in Romania?

30% of the total number of Romanians are living at the limit of poverty. The average monthly income of a family in rural Romanian areas is less than 200 EUR per month and usually, the family consists of more than 3 members. People living at countryside/villages are 3 times poorer than people living in towns. 1 of 3 children is living in poverty in Romania. The poorest regions in Romania are the north-east of the country and the south-east, where ROLDA is operating.

How much is the adoption fee?

The adoption fee for the UK is 250 EUR for adult or junior dog and 180 EUR for senior or disabled dog, which covers vaccination, pet passport, microchipping and a crucial health test before transportation. The adoption fee doesn't include the transport costs. Please visit the Adoption page to find out more.

How do you assess someone before they adopt a dog?

ROLDA promote only sociable, healthy dogs via our website and we only agree to an adoption if we feel the person is ready to accept an ex-street dog. We also ensure that the dog they identify is the right temperament for them. After completing a pre-adoption application, all adopters receive a mandatory home check and they all sign an adoption contract. After receiving the dog, adopters remain in good communication with our trustworthy representatives from ROLDA international branches. These representatives often meet our dogs and their new families during various events that we organise.

Are street dogs dangerous/friendly with cats/other small pets?

Our staff assess in the best possible way the behaviour of a dog behaviour before his / she is promoted for adoption. We use our knowledge, experience and available resources to do this. Because we respect each living creature, we won’t conduct experiments to see if a dog attacks a cat or not. This would be a very stressful situation for everyone, especially for the cat. We can only observe if the dog has killer instincts, or hunting instincts more intense than ‘normal’. Please remember that many strays remain alive on the streets because they were forced to hunt for their meals. Most of the dogs chase smaller animals, so it is important to distinguish if they chase to kill or chase for fun. It is the responsibility of the adopter to supervise how the dog will interact with a cat (or any other smaller pet from inside the house).

Is my donation tax deductible?

If you are a UK tax payer, we are able to claim back via Gift Aid 25p for every £1 you donate. Please click here to find out more info

How do I know my donation is used for its purpose?

Our charity asks for donations for specific goals like winter food supplies, repairs, veterinary costs to treat a specific dog, aid supplies for the pets of poor communities. When you donate to a specific goal, your donation is marked accordingly. When you choose to make a donation for general purpose, you give us the freedom to put your donation where it’s most needed. The existing ROLDA donors know we use their donation for the highest possible impact.

Click here to read what people from around the World say about their experience with ROLDA.

I’m not able to donate right now, how else can I help?

There is a variety of ways to help our charity from UK. If you can’t support us financially, you can still be an important member of our rescue team. You can become an active volunteer for any of ROLDA branches spread on 3 continents, in the following countries: USA, Australia, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany and UK. Please see our volunteer page : you can come to Romania to volunteer in our shelters or you can be a virtual volunteer and help from behind of your computer, sharing our articles on social networks or on your blog.

You can leave ROLDA a gift in your will learn more

Or you have experience with dogs, you can help us foster a dog.

You can donate your old car to support ROLDA UK. And these are just some ideas ...Get in touch with our team to decide the best way in which you can help us: rolda@rolda.org.uk (Gemma)

What happens when my sponsored dog is adopted?

Thank you for being one of our dogs’ sponsors. If you sponsored a dog listed here and during the sponsoring time (one year) the dog was adopted or if, unfortunately, he/she passes away, you can choose another dog to benefit of your generous support. Please click here to find another dog to sponsor

Is ROLDA a registered non profit organisation?

Yes. ROLDA is registered in Romania at Galati Court of Law (Registry of Foundations and Associations), authorisation no. 5/PJ/2005;30-1/1679, CUI (code unique identification) 18416340. ROLDA is also incorporated charity in USA (EIN: 32-0176929), Norway (Reg. No 998398495), Australia (ABN 38420396060), Sweden (802490-7050), Germany (VR 3910 HL) and UK (1162690).

Why are there so many strays in Romania?

Due to poverty and lack of education, the number of homeless animals is not efficiently controlled in some countries from Asia, South America, South and East Europe. Romania has by far the worst stray overpopulation from all East and South East countries from Europe, but the situation is less known publicly because, compared with countries like Greece, Turkey, Spain; Romania is not a tourist country.

The first groups of strays appeared in Romania during the 80s, while we still had a communist regime (Ceausescu dictator). During the industrialisation in the cities, when people were forced to move from villages to small apartments, these people left behind their properties, houses with a small garden, guarded by at least one dog. Thousands of dogs were abandoned as a result. During the 80s, the dog population was poorly managed with brutal methods: gas chambers, electrocution, dogs boiled to be skinned for industrial purposes. Starting the 90s, after the communism ended, the increased number of strays was no priority for the politicians, except around the election campaigns. Please read more about ROLDA’s history here.

When was ROLDA set up and why?

In Romania, ROLDA was legally incorporated as a Foundation in February 2006 after ROLDA’s founder, Dana Costin, was ‘adopted’ by a street dog living rough in her town, Galati, in the south of Romania. Nursing him back to health and giving him a loving home changed Dana’s life. She decided instantly to start a charity dedicated to help the dogs scavenging on Galati’s streets and wasteland. Since then, Dana has dedicated her entire life and all her resources to rescue and rehabilitate as many abandoned and uncared for animals as is realistically possible. Luckily, soon enough, volunteers from around the globe joined her and made this dream possible. Please read more about our history here and read Dana’s biography here

Why does ROLDA promote dog adoptions abroad?

Adoptions in Romania are rare, often unreliable. Dogs are everywhere in Romania: on the streets, near trash collection points, roaming in residential areas, around industrial sites, even inside some hospitals’ courtyards. Romania shelters (both private and public) are filled with dogs. The number of street dogs is huge. Our shelters do not only accommodate the dogs collected from the streets, but also the dogs abandoned by their owners. Starting 2013, the trap/neuter/release model is illegal. International adoption is the only chance that a dog from the streets has. It’s the only opportunity we can give to a stray for a new life. When a dog is safely adopted abroad, we have an extra space in our shelters to save another dog. Otherwise, our shelters will be quickly overpopulated with dogs and this is not only against our policy, but it is also wrong for the dogs’ health, causing them extra stress.

What is the adoption procedure?

The first step is to complete the online adoption form. If you have any questions, please contact us either by email at roldauk@rolda.org or by telephone on 07470549402. Once you have completed the adoption form, our UK co-ordinator will be in contact. Complete our adoption form

How are animals transported?

We use a UK company to transport our dogs to the UK. The company, A2B Pet Transport, are DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) approved. Their vans are heated, ventilated and air conditioned to ensure the animals travel as comfortably as possible.

Are street dogs dangerous to kids?

Our staff assess the behaviour of all our dogs as best as they can and only the dogs that show no signs of aggression are listed for adoption. We use our knowledge, experience and available resources to do this. We will not use children in experiments to see how dogs behave around the them. The parent/adopter must keep children under strict observation to avoid any unpleasant incidents, which can occur with any dog no matter whether they are ex-street dogs or purchased as puppies. We have noticed many of our former street dogs are more loyal and grateful for receiving a warm bed, a good meal and a safe place called home.