Asociaţia PetHope - Bobby, the decay of a Romanian street dog

Asociaţia PetHope:

We are 10-20 people that came together out of love for animals. Our animal protection association was founded in April 2010.

We focus on spay & neuter, education and emergencies.

Bobby, the decay of a Romanian street dog

Bobby is a 1 year old street dog. He was living near the site where a 12-puppy litter was born and we went to take care of them, take them to adoption fairs, etc 

Imagine him always being around, always jumping on you and wanting to play. A wonderful dog! The neighbors loved him, fed him, played with him. We love him too. 
  His eye was infected and when we went to take him to the vet he wasn't to be found. Finally, we were called because he was lying on the field and couldn't move. The ladies say he was beaten by someone.

Before and after he was beaten

These are his injuries:
- damaged eye, cannot be saved, will be taken out in the near future (older injury)
- 2 missing teeth
- broken right leg, will recover by itself
- badly broken left front leg, needed to be fixed with metal parts
- wounds on his back leg and ear 

We don't know how this wonderful dog got in such a state, the whole thing is very sad... But we won't rest until we find out. Bobby is a very kind and gentle dog. When we visited him all he wanted was to come to us even when his leg hurt. The vet also said he has rarely seen a street dog with such good behavior.

You can watch a short video of him: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=217480404988418

He really needs a FOREVER HOME, because being the nicest street dog didn't work out for poor Bobby. 


The costs for his surgery and hospital stay are 690 Lei (160 Euro). Any donation for him is of great help because we still have to pay this: 

Lei Account:
Asociaţia Pet Hope
IBAN: RO96 RZBR 0000 0600 1253 5915
Banca Raiffeisen Bank CIF 26863617 

Euro Account:
Asociaţia Pet Hope
RO45 RZBR 0000 0600 1378 2216
Banca Raiffeisen Bank
SWIFT (BIC): RZBRROBU 

Paypal: pethope@live.com

UPDATE #1
Bobby is at Dog City (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001754093545) now, in a dog hotel. Thanks guys for that. The ladies from the neighborhood he lived in collected donations to pay for another month, which is great to see!!!
Bobby really needs this foster place because of the metal frame around his leg. We went to the vet and he said it is remarkable how well the leg is: not swollen, puts it down sometimes, but not when he runs fast. That is very good. The eye will be removed when the metal parts will be removed (in 3-4 weeks), to prevent an infection. The trip with Bobby was great. He has a really wonderful personality and the one who will adopt him will be a lucky man!

UPDATE #2
Metal parts removed before Christmas and now Bobby is walking great! His eye didn't need to be removed.
BEST NEWS: Bobby has a home!!! He shares the yard with a German shepherd lady. She needed a partner to guard the house that is under construction. We visited one evening and he was so excited!!! We will visit him every time we go to Dog City as it is near them. Thank you guys from Dog City for finding him a place to stay!!! Bobby is a special dog and we will keep in touch with him always!

UPDATE #3
We had to take Bobby back because his owner didn't want him anymore :(
He is the same playful and loving dog :)
His legs are fully recovered, his eye is affected but not infected so he can keep it, even though he probably doesn't see with it. The other eye is OK.
Bobby deserves a LOVING HOME! Please consider adopting him!

 
This was Bobby. Always there, always happy, always jumping on you.
People in the neighborhood loved him, fed him, played with him.

He lived at a site where a 12-puppy litter was born. We took care of the pups, gave them up for adoption. Every time we went there he was always by our side. Simply a lovely dog.

 One day we noticed that he had a problem with his eye.
The next day we wanted to take him to a vet but he wasn't to be found.

 Finally we were called that he lies in the field and cannot move. We rushed him to the vet.
His eye cannot be saved. It was an external object that hurt his eye.
But the other problems were much more severe.

People in the neighborhood said he was beaten by someone. We won't rest until we find out what happened to him.

He had wounds on his back leg and on his ear.

The biggest problem is that both front legs were fractured.
One not so bad, it will recover by itself, but the other was broken in 2 places.

 His surgery for the broken leg went well. He will have to carry the metal parts for 6 weeks.

 


  He is such a kind dog. When we visited him all he wanted is to come beside a human being, even if he walks very slow.

The vet also says he has rarely seen a street dog which such a nice behavior.
The eye will need to be taken out, but not now, because he is going through a lot already.

 This is the solution for his leg to recover. These metal parts will come out in 6 weeks.

 It was so sad to see in what a state he was... after seeing the dog he was.

 We really hope, and the vet assures us, that he will make a full recovery and that we'll find a nice loving family for him.

Our lovely partners Dog City made space in their dog hotel for Bobby, because it was such a desperate case and we found no foster home for him.
 

 
 Dog trainer Robert told us Bobby has great character. He is allowed to take walks outside with the other dogs and he is very sociable & nice.
Romanians would say "e un caine de treaba"
 

 Here's Bobby in his last home before being returned by his new owner..... Life being chained just isn't for Bobby (or any other dog for that matter).

 




And this is Bobby now (to the right)
 Who would have thought? One eyed Bobby is the boss of the yard he lives in from day 1!

 
As you can see his favorite thing are still people, which he tries to keep there as long as possible :)

 The students from the vet college came to treat, socialize and take samples. The dogs where so happy, including Bobby of course :D as he is always happy.


















                                                                                                            

For more pictures and updates of Bobby, please visit PetHope's facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001793812916

Thank you for taking the time to read about Bobby.

Those donating for Magda Radu and Magda's Angels Place - READ!

Unfortunately, there seems to be some sort of confusion for some regarding the difference between Magda's Angels Place and Giurgiu Shelter.

This bulletin is meant as a clarification for people to better understand the difference.

Magda Radu and the private shelter she runs is called Angels Place and is LOCATED in Giurgiu, Romania - the Romanian county (see the map below).

This is not to be confused with the public shelter of Giurgiu which has nothing to do with Magda or Angels Place.

It seems - due to language barriers or lack in research on the subject - that people confuse Giurgiu shelter with Magda Radu's Angels Place and vice versa.

For further clarification, the ONLY account for donations to Magda Radu and Magda's Angels Place is:

PAYPAL: phoenix_animale@yahoo.com

IBAN and Swiftcode:
NGO Phoenix-animal protection and human care;
RO95BTRL01904205852050XX
swift BTRLRO22GRA

Introduction - Magda Radu and Magda's Angels Place

Magdalena Radu has worked in the Giurgiu area for many years as a lawyer and animal rights defender. Magda also serves as chairman of the association Asociatia Phoenix. She used to manage and develop the conditions at the public shelter located in Giurgiu about 80 kilometers from Bucharest, and has been operating a rigorous spay and neuter campaign in the town for several years, reducing the numbers of dogs on the streets and offering medical care for the injured.

As described by friends; Magda is an incredible iron lady, and it feels like there is nothing that Magda couldn’t organize or arrange.

I asked Magda to tell me about herself. Who she is, where she came from and how she became to be “the iron lady” of animal welfare in Romania?

"I have always loved animals", Magda answers, "and since I was just a little kid I never understood how people could eat “children of animals”, so I didn't!  

   I became a lawyer because of the idea of justice", she continues, "I loved my job, and I did it with all my heart, as I do all things in life! At one point I had to choose between my job and the animals, and the animals came first. But my job helped me for a long time to support the rescues I did. I can say that I sacrificed myself for what I loved, and this big love that I have for the animals made me love to do it! I have great passion for everything I do. If I see a being in the water, I jump for it without thinking twice.

Giurgiu Public Shelter and the birth of Asociata Phoenix


Magda used to manage the public shelter of Giurgiu after the former manager of the shelter was discharged from office for misuse against the animals. But the road to getting there wasn't easy. When Magda first discovered the public shelter of Giurgiu in 2006, she tried talking with the authorities. Their answer was that they only speak with an organization, not with a private person, and so Asociata Phoenix was born.  
"They asked for it, and they got it", Magda says with humorous sarcasm. 

Asociata Phoenix closed down dog catchers in February 2007 for maltreating animals and illegality in conditions.  
"They tried to kill dogs during night time, so me and my husband, after many nights of watching, caught them killing dogs by hitting them in the head (the video was on national TV and we have it)", Magda reminisces. In the entire year of 2007 Magda closed them down 3 times.  
"Being a lawyer and knowing the legislation has been the biggest advantage in stopping the activity of dog catchers so many times. It's strange that in Romania you have to know the law in order to show to authorities that they broke it!"

Before Magda stepped in, the public shelter had a contract with a commercial "best solution & consulting team", and the town was paying almost 100 €/dog. Magda proposed a public/private partnership; the association comes with its money and the government funded public shelter with their money for a big neuter program, resolving the problem faster. Magda also proposed to activate an adoption program. 
They chose Phoenix for the contract. After a short time however, when euthanasia law was in discussion, authorities raised the question whether or not Magda would agree with killing dogs if the law passed.  

   After only a month and a half, the Giurgiu public shelter was handed back to the former manager, a decision made by the city mayor.

While in charge of the shelter in 2011, Magda was able to make huge changes.

First on the agenda was getting good, clean water to the shelter. The old water was so bad that many dogs had digestive bleedings or died from it. So that's what Magda did; she brought them good water.  

The second biggest problem at that moment was hygiene. It was summer when Magda took over, and the cages desperately needed water installation so that cleaning and washing of the cages could be properly done. And so, once again, Magda made it happen. 

Giurgiu public shelter before Magda's management

Giurgiu shelter before Magda's management - dead dogs amongst the living

The third challenge was the workers. All workers were used to the old ways of how the shelter had been run, where nobody really had to clean or care for the dogs. So now when they really had to seriously do some work, they didn't like the job anymore. Unfortunately, that meant more work for Magda, who after her own job program would go to the shelter and do the cleaning. 

Clean cages at Giurgiu public shelter after Magda took over

Proper disinfection was the next step. And after that, because the cages at the shelter are pretty small, a new rule was to walk each dog.  

"This nearly made the workers have a heart attack", Magda says laughingly.
 Each week a doctors team from Bucharest would come to the shelter to perform neuterings, and in 4 weeks, Magda and the team had 150 dogs neutered. 20 dogs went to adoption to Germany and more than 20 to Finland.

Cage cleaning at Giurgiu public shelter after Magda took over

Another very important thing was that while under Magda's control, there were never any aggressive or cruel ways to capture dogs from the streets.
  
"We called a vet team with tranquilizers for dogs that didn't accept to be captured by hand. There was no morbid show on the streets, and this is what the authorities blamed me for. They said that people didn't see us actually running after dogs... That they needed to see us catch them the way it had been done before..." 
  It goes without saying, that Magda did not agree with this.

PROTAN dog catchers

dog catchers

Asociata Phoenix and Magda's Angels Place (MAP)

Asociata Phoenix has during its years been able to accomplish many great things, like verify the dogs catchers' (authorities) work, rescuing, starting a spay/neuter program and national adoption. Because back then, between 2006-2010, Magda had no international connections, all principal financial resources came from Magda's job.  
"90% came from me, and the rest from small lucky local donations", Magda explains.


Magda Radu has been building the Happy Angels House (now, renamed Magda's Angels Place) since August 2011 when she received the news that the authorities behind Giurgiu public shelter were ending the contract. Magda had to remove everything, dogs and equipment. At first Magda thought about putting some of the neutered dogs (that didn't have adoption requests at the time) back to relatively safe territories, but when facing the choice... she took them all with her (160 dogs). 

"I had a piece of my own land that I bought a long time ago. I had to build gates and fences in one day, and I moved there over night. It was an empty field, with no water, only two small decommissioned rooms that we used for puppies." 

Rooms for the puppies

The first challenge for Magda was to find water. The second challenge was electricity, and after that she had to build safe cages because winter was closing in. Magda's option wasn't normal cages, but something like "wood rooms" because it offered more protection in case of too much snow (and that's exactly what happened - Romania was struck with one of its worst winters in a long time). Thanks to the wood rooms, none of Magda's dogs died (like was the unfortunate case at some other shelters). "I used a lot of hay to help keep the dogs warm", Magda says.

The vision of Angels Place was beginning to form in Magda's head: An adoption and rescue center for street dogs and cats in Giurgiu. In Angels Place they would be safe, warm and given the veterinary treatment needed. Adoptable dogs could be adopted across Europe, whilst unadoptable dogs would be returned to a safe area in which to live. And, of course, all dogs would be neutered. 
There are many happy endings already due to the work of Magda Radu.

Magda also wanted to point out that without the help of the finnish people and Pelastetaan Koirat ry, there wouldn't be water, electricity or material to build from to make the project of Angels Place possible.

"They were the only ones who helped and for this I wish to thank them all, for each and every penny and dogs food donated! Kiitos"

The project plan was to build 40 rooms, but due to winter closing in and running out of money to pay for everything, the wisest thing was to make half of the originally planned amount of rooms ready in order to have the dogs safe.

"Today, we wait for good enough weather to start building again", Magda says.

Next steps in the project is to make a play-garden for the dogs (having them in cages is not what Magda wishes for them); plant trees and to recondition the decommissioned rooms and make a bathroom for people who would like to visit.

Magda's Angels Place will also offer an ideal site from which to run spay and neuter operations. Extensive work has already taken place on building the center, but more help is needed to finish the project. There are very few rescue and adoption centers in Romania, and Magda is hoping this pioneering project will inspire rescuers in other towns to follow suit and build their own places of safety for these beautiful dogs.

Angels Place in the making

The first steps of Angels Place

Donations for Angels Place

Although Magda's Angels Place is a stand-alone project not directly affiliated with Asociata Phoenix, all the donations go through the Phoenix account. This way people will know that it’s a "controlled thing". 

"Each year we make the balance of payments and have finance control so I can show in black and white where every penny went", Magda explains. "If somebody donates for the neutering programs, the money will go there, and if a donation is made to Angels Place, it will go to Angels Place."

The relationship between the donator and the receiver is entirely built on trust. Transparency is a sign of fair play, and more people/associations should follow Magda's lead and incorporate this as a norm into their work. 

For more info on the monthly expenses of Angels Place via the link below
https://www.facebook.com/notes/magda-radu/magdas-angels-place-monthly-expences/368256183208603

All the work and everything done is kept alive by donations.  
  "I was my own principal sponsor until I got sick (Magda has been diagnosed with cancer). But from now on I hope people will read more and won't let this project die."

 

Once finished, Magda's Angels Place can provide DECENT space for more than 100 dogs. Meaning, if possible, there should be two, no more than three dogs in one space.
 

The hard part will be finding trustworthy people to work at the shelter. In Romania, many of the workers don't like dogs, they only pretend to like them to get paid. And it is difficult to put the basics of the work on volunteers because it can be unsafe. 




"At the moment I prefer me or my husband to go there. 
At least then I know we have safe volunteers." 

Future plans involve finding the right kind of person to work there.

Looking back and looking forward

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

"When all around Romania cruel dog catchers were killing dogs, here in Giurgiu they weren't even allowed to catch dogs after I closed them down. In 2007 I was able to save more than 700 dogs from the dog catchers. Now our streets here in Giurgiu are not full of dogs (ie 3000 stray dogs in a small city with 54.000 people), because all this time I've organized neutering campaigns. Over 3000 dogs and 1000 cats where neutered by my work here."

Sterilization campaigns

What is the most important thing, in your opinion, to help the stray dogs in Romania?

"We have a big problem here in Romania; authorities are not interested in the well-being of animals. In their point of view, the only way is killing. Because it is illegal now, they have no real intentions to resolve the situation. I strongly believe that we have to keep them on the loop and keep pressuring them: international, national, media. The most important thing now is to stop the authorities from making commerce on the life of animals. And as a final solution we should sue the authorities. Or Romania will end up like S-Italy (where mafia controls this)."

 What are your plans for the future?

"I wish Magda's Angels Place to become a shelter with continuously improved conditions. I want it not to be compared with romanian shelters in the future."

Pelastetaan Koirat ry has been cooperating and helping Magda since 2011.

If you want to support Magda's work for stray animals and the rescue center "Magda's Angels Place": please share her appeals, adopt or foster a homeless animal or donate:
PAYPAL: phoenix_animale@yahoo.com

IBAN and Swiftcode:
NGO Phoenix-animal protection and human care;
RO95BTRL01904205852050XX
swift BTRLRO22GRA

www.sponsume.com "Happy Angels House"

Pictures of some of the dogs at Angels Place

 

Independently funded shelters - UPDATED 2 march 2012

In a country such as Romania, where there’s a desperate need for animal welfare movements, independent, non-government associations and organizations, as well as individual people are a small, yet driving force for the improvement of the well being of strays. It also brings, slowly yet (in the end) inevitably, a change in overall attitudes towards the canine population. Process is always slow in countries like this, but it is there.

For instance, one town in Romania – Oradea – seems to have gotten its act together long enough to actually do something successful about the stray dog population. In 2003, there were an estimated 7000 stray dogs in Oradea. In 2010 there were less than 700, all as a result of a well-organized “catch, sterilize and release” program conducted jointly by the city and a local NGO (non-government organization). http://www.sosdogs.ro/sosdogs.php?act=viewdoc&docid=1&la=3

Now there is a county we all can refer to as an example, a pioneer, an existing proof for the skeptics that catch/neuter/return is a functioning system and solution to the stray problem.

Even when the corrupt people running the show manage to downplay the results, the pressure put by, most importantly, the locals, as well as global condemnation and EU (which will happen eventually – Eurogroup for Animals, for instance, has made progress in getting the European Council to include companion animals as part of the next Animal Welfare Action Plan). Again, the process is slow, but it is happening.



Shelters run by independent people/organizations/associations

For some reason, I've always been a bit wary when it comes to big organizations. Mostly because a big chunk of the money donated actually goes into other parts of "the big wheel" of the organization - without the donator really having any knowledge where. However, I do understand that in order to get visibility, campaigns etc, money is needed. But misuse of funds donated, corruption and lack of transparency unfortunately darkens trust in organizations where "big" money is involved. With small associations or independent people, it is easier to build trust, to talk directly to the people involved and have your money go where it's supposed to go. That's my personal experience, at least.

But, as always when dealing with people, caution is advised.

The way I see it, bigger associations/organizations, in addition to personal donations, should focus on getting companies and businesses (+ government funding etc) to sponsor them and what they do, as well as apply for grants from different grant foundations ( http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/nonprofits/ ). This way they will gain more visibility and awareness, as well as make an even greater impact with their cause.

With smaller associations the chances for approved sponsorships (by companies etc) and grants are much more difficult. They rely almost entirely on donations from independent people to do what they do.

Trustworthy Associations

The associations and shelters this blog is going to promote are all "backed up" by reliable Finnish registered associations, one of them being Pelastetaan Koirat ry - dedicated to the welfare of strays in Estonia, as well as changing people's attitudes towards animals, both in Finland and Estonia, and dog adoptions. Pelastetaan Koirat ry's ideology has always been to help where help is most needed, and has recently extended its help to Romania.

A need-to-read Bulletin from PK (Pelastetaan Koirat ry) mostly to Finnish citizens (but it applies to all:

Rescue Associations point out: There are always risks associated with private imports of rescued dogs (meaning dogs imported to Finland privately, not through any associations).  

 More and more Finns want to get a rescue dog from a shelter they've found via Facebook or some other social media. The dog that melted your heart might not be from a shelter supported by the Finnish Associations. In this case, the proper knowledge on rules and regulations, i.e necessary procedures, vaccinations, import regulations etc needed might be unfamiliar to the person/shelter you're getting the dog from. Often the people sending the dog are poorly informed on admission requirements.
 
The risk is higher when there is a lack of close co-operation between the people involved. You might end up scammed, or risk bringing dangerous diseases to Finland. Regulations are there for a good reason.
 
Kodittomien koirien ystävät ry and Pelastetaan Koirat ry  are concerned about the growing trend to adopt a homeless dog from abroad without the expert help of the associations. "Unfortunately, the phenomenon is more about good will and good intentions than know-how," says Salla Honkapää from Pelastetaan Koirat ry.


"The Adoption program is the outcome of in-depth work. That's why we visit the locations and the dogs many times, negotiating and agreeing on all the important points on paper," said Kodittomien Koirien Ystävät ry's spokeswoman Marianna Lammi. "Only then we can begin to work."

"The health program is being developed and updated constantly to ensure the continuation of the dog rescue operation, so that it does not compromise the disease situation in Finland. These important pieces of safety structure are missing when adopting outside the organizations", Salla Honkapää continues.

This may be forgotten, as the foreign animal welfare associations and dog kennels inform actively about their activity on the Internet. Facebook equalizes everyone to look like animal welfare experts.

When recorded into the Traces-system, the dog has been imported legally
 
In reality, private importation differs quite a lot from importation via registered Evira Associations. For example, each dog is reported to the Traces-system, which requires an official veterinary inspection.

Associations follow Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's - and thereby the European Union's - import regulations concerning dog tag markings, rabies vaccinations and echinococcus treatment. Even more importantly, the associations know what other measures are required, and how extensive they should be.
 
"We are being asked almost weekly about the requirements for the importation of dogs from Romania to Finland. Formalities are taken seriously. However, they are still insufficient for ensuring the dogs health. Why this is and how to ensure it is for many foreign entities not clear. The health program in Romania should include rabies-, leptospirosis-, and 'quadruple'-vaccines, as well as a number of parasite tests. Not everyone has the necessary resources needed to do this," says Marianna Lammi.
 
Pity is not a reason
 
While co-operating, the Finnish association and the foreign party will learn about each other's "dog culture". The dog may be healthy by romanian standards, even though it might suffer from pain, and have unexplained skin problems. In Finland, many new facts about the dogs' health might be discovered, which at worst may be harmful to others as well as the dog itself.

Adoption also doesn't fit all dogs, but this may be forgotten when wanting to rescue a dog urgently to the security and warmth of a home.
"The association holds responsibility even after the transfer of ownership of the dog. The follow-up and support for the dogs adoptive family is an integral part of the adoption process. For a privately imported dog, the person is all alone," says Sally Honkapää.
 
"We are obviously pleased that Finns are open to adopt a homeless dog from abroad. Pity is still not reason enough to do it. We believe that a suitable dog fitting ones own life situation can also be found through responsible rescue organization sites. If not, we strongly suggest that the adopter personally retrieves the dog from its country of origin in order to guarantee the safety first-hand. This requires expertise," underlines Kodittomien Koirien Ystävät ry.
 
Both of these associations point out that the general public doesn't know how to distinguish between private rescue operations and rescue operations carried out by the associations, making it also about the reputation of the rescue dog programs. "If even one sick dog arrives to Finland from Romania, all rescue dogs will be stigmatized. No one will bother to ask who brought the dog to Finland", Honkapää says.

How to identify a reliable operator?
 
• The association is registered at Evira as a commercial importer of dogs.
• The Association registers all dogs into the Traces-system, and complies with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's admission requirements.
• The Association presents publicly a program in which the health situation of the dogs is examined as accurately as possible.
• The association describes the dog looking for a home realistically, informing that the personality of the dog may differ in the new home. A responsible association does not promise anything that can't be promised, like the dogs being perfectly healthy.
• The association does not force or hurry you to make a decision on dog adoption.