Contact: rolda@rolda.org.uk | 01615317797
Find us on

Help Nick beat infestation with ticks

Help Nick beat his tick infestation and help him live! My name is Nick. I was given this name yesterday when I was rescued. Before that, I was a nameless puppy born in a garden in rural Romania like thousands of others. My mother, Greta, gave birth to five pups on a bitterly cold January morning. My brothers and sisters died within the next two months from parvovirus disease, but I survived.

Help Nick beat infestation with ticks

Help Nick beat his tick infestation and help him live! My name is Nick. I was given this name yesterday when I was rescued. Before that, I was a nameless puppy born in a garden in rural Romania like thousands of others. My mother, Greta, gave birth to five pups on a bitterly cold January morning. My brothers and sisters died within the next two months from parvovirus disease, but I survived.

I also managed to outlive starvation. I am skinny, and my bones hurt each time I lay on the concrete. In April, the garden where we lived filled with ticks and fleas which infested my mom and me—we have ticked all over our fur, even around our eyes and in our ears. It’s hard to be born a homeless puppy in Romania! With hundreds of ticks on me, I always feel weak.

The garden’s owners got scared that they might get a disease from our ticks, so they wrapped us in a plastic bag and abandoned us, way outside the village, with no food and no water. We were scared of cars, strange noises, and packs of aggressive dogs defending their territory. My mom and I thought we were going to die out there. We got more and more ticks on our bodies.

One morning I couldn’t open my eyes all the way, but I managed to see my mom shaking from all the fleas and ticks and parasites that were eating us alive. Without a doubt, the first eight months of my life were a nightmare. I didn’t want to bear another day, but somehow, I kept hope alive.

This is how I imagine Nick telling his story. He is eight months old and together with his mother, Greta, who is about eight years old, was found by our ROLDA rescue team. They had been abandoned in the bushes and almost paralyzed by ticks. It was a shocking experience for us because their bodies were completely covered with ticks—even around their eyes and a lot inside their ears.

They were severely dehydrated and emaciated, like walking skeletons.

A monthly donation of €16 toward both Nick and Greta would keep them safe against ticks and fleas. That’s all! Just €16 a month would help end their misery. Make your monthly gift to protect Nick and his mom (and many other dogs) who silently suffer and who desperately need your help.

Nick can’t speak, but I can. Yet, I am speechless. I need to learn, find or invent new words to define the plight of Romanian stray dogs. My imagination can’t describe how these dogs feel—malnourished, skinny, full of parasites, starving, always hungry, eaten alive by thousands of ticks, day and night, day after day. I try and can’t imagine how much they have to endure…hoping to be rescued, protected and loved by someone. Or maybe they don’t know what to hope for? Carrying the burden of loneliness, homelessness, neglect, and abandonment, disposed of like old shoes and mistreated. I was so overwhelmed to see Nick’s little ears covered by ticks but also his dirty, little paws full of these parasites. Poor little soul! And I can’t help but wonder how many puppies has Greta lost over the years to famine, disease, or accidents. In my opinion, Greta and Nick are brave souls fighting for their life. Is their suffering enough to wake us up and force us to see the tragedy around us? The incredibly painful life of these animals?!” —Dana Costin, ROLDA Founder

Help us start Nick’s and Greta’s journey to find a family. Greta is a senior dog, but we are confident someone will want to give her a home. Nick must pass the quarantine after his vaccines, which is not easy, especially if he is carrying any diseases. We have no guarantees that either of them will survive, but our doing our best to save them—as we always do, for each dog in need of our help.

We need you to join Nick’s and Greta’s journey and transform their future. Please, help them.

Prevention treatment is the cheapest and safest solution to protect our voiceless friends and protect ourselves. Help us win the battle against ticks!

Let’s do it for every brave stray dog who suffers every day…even as you read these lines.

Update: 15 Aug, 2019

PS. Flea and tick season begins in March and ends in October. It is an unfair battle, especially when abandoned, homeless dogs have no protection against these parasites. Dogs like Nick and Greta are exposed for eight months each year to diseases carried by ticks—they are in constant danger of anemia caused by a massive infestation of ticks. Lyme (and other diseases) is also transmitted by ticks to humans.

Update:

Help Nick beat infestation with ticks

$47.700 Goals
$21358
Donate

Related content

Thalia’s Story
March 28, 2024

Thalia’s Story

A wish made by a big beautiful pup who wanted nothing more than a forever home to call her own. And a wish made by Lee, who wanted a furry friend to join his family... And a wish made by ROLDA who wanted to make these wishes come true.

Read more 3 minutes read
Help a #lifechanger transform homeless people's lives
January 23, 2024

Help a #lifechanger transform homeless people’s lives

Since it started in 2015, ROLDA UK has been actively involved in solving the Romanian stray animal crisis. Then, when we heard about the war, we stepped in to help the animals in Ukraine too; it was our first major emergency project and we quickly managed to cover many areas and reach many rescues, building ... Help Nick beat infestation with ticks

Read more 5 minutes read
Recycle your cartridges
November 24, 2023

Recycle your cartridges

Recycle your used printer cartridges for our charity so we can save more dogs. ROLDA has teamed up with www.recycle4charity.co.uk to help raise funds for stray dogs in Romania —while helping the environment— by encouraging you to recycle your ink cartridges. Recycle here Why recycle your ink cartridges? To protect our environment. Did you know that…  The ... Help Nick beat infestation with ticks

Read more 2 minutes read
Why we promote Petplan
November 23, 2023

Why we promote Petplan

We know that, having adopted an animal from us, you want to give them the best life possible. With advancements in veterinary medicine, it’s essential to choose the right insurance for your pet so you can get the right treatment for them without having to worry about the cost. Not all pet insurance is the ... Help Nick beat infestation with ticks

Read more 2 minutes read
Help for Chick
April 13, 2023

Help for Chick

Chick was found not far from our shelter. She was extremely dehydrated and full of parasites. Flies were feeding on her bloody, cracked skin caused by repeated biting and scratching. She had chewed through most of her fur, leaving her damaged skin exposed to horrible infections which, sadly, had already begun to consume her from the outside in.

Read more 4 minutes read