Rudozem Street Dog Rescue

We moved here in august 2007 with four children, aged then, 22, 16,15 and 13, our four dogs and two cats. We had no idea at that time that we would ever be doing rescue work with dogs. It was a shock to see the number and the condition of the street dogs and how they were abused. Within weeks we had rescued 4 kittens and one of the street dogs was following my youngest son about. Neighbours would beat the dog with sticks, throw stones at him and one kept trying to shoot him. They didn’t want any dogs in the neighbourhood. One man tried shooting the dog with a shotgun while my sons had hold of him. He later came up shouting and waving a handgun at me because we had put the dog in our shed so that he couldn’t shoot him. That was our first rescue dog. Although at the time we said, he would be the last, it wasn’t long before we came across other dogs that had been shot or beaten or had collapsed. All these dogs would have died on the streets if we had left them. By September last year, we had taken in 5 dogs and were feeding many more in the town centre and the forest. We knew we couldn’t keep taking dogs in and we were struggling to feed them all out of our own money. It was then that we decided to become a registered charity and try and open a shelter/sterilization clinic.

The municipality did say they would provide us with premises once we became a registered foundation, but now say that they will not be able to help us at all either this year or next. We need to raise funds so that we can buy land or land and premises for a shelter/clinic. At least this way, no-one can turn up in months or a years time and demand the land back. Until such time as we have a shelter, we are using our own home. Aswell as our own dogs, we sometimes have up to 40 rescue dogs here.

 Apart from these dogs we feed many dogs in and around the town centre and in the forest.   There are still many that we don’t know about and some we may only see once or twice. Every day, we have to walk away from dogs that we love and care for, not knowing if we will see them again. Some of the dogs have been shot, others have wandered off or been chased away from their usual location. Either way it is heartbreaking. In the winter, we worry that we might not be able to get to some of the dogs because of the snow. Knowing that they will be hungry and waiting for us, means that we have sometimes taken risks to get to them.

At the moment, the most we can do for some of the dogs is make sure that they get fed every day and let them know they are loved. With a shelter, we could do so much more for them. Please help us to help them.

I have often been asked why there are so many street dogs and why people are so cruel. The question about cruelty, I cannot answer. I don't think anyone who loves and cares about animals will ever understand how some people can appear to be immune to the pain and suffering that they see or even cause.  The question about why there are so many street dogs goes back a long way. I can only answer this from what I have been told by local people. If any Bulgarian people wish to correct me or add to what I am writing, then please do so.

When Bulgaria came out of communism, there was a major financial crisis. Virtually overnight people saw their life's savings become worthless. People struggled to feed themselves and their families and could no longer afford to feed domestic animals. Many of these animals were left to fend for themselves. There were also many military dogs turned loose in the forests as their handlers knew they were to be destroyed and thought they were giving them a chance of survival. Over the years all these dogs have bred for several generations. Many of the dogs that we feed and care for and some of the puppies that we find have been born  on the streets or in the forest just like their parents and grand parents before them. They have never belonged to anyone. Of course some dogs do belong to people and have litters of pups which are dumped or left to fend for themselves.

Without any government schemes to neuter/spay or any laws to protect dogs, it was down to the mayors in each town or village to control the number of street dogs who were considered to be a nuiscance. In most cases this was done by regular shootings or poisoning. One person told us that every Friday morning, he would be woken up at about 5 am by the sound of gun shots. He always knew it was street dogs being rounded up and shot. We know what it is like to find out that a street dog you have fed and cared for has been shot,  so we understand why he says he never let himself care or become attached to any of them. People have grown up seeing dogs shot, being told they are vermin and carry disease. We see mothers pulling their children away from dogs and throwing stones at them, so it is little wonder that these children grow up fearing and disliking them. We sometimes have children watching us with the dogs and some of them will pluck up the courage to stroke a dog or pup. It still shocks  us when a 14 or 15 year old tells us they have never stroked a dog before.

An often asked question is why don't people neuter or spay their dogs. The majority of people that we have spoken to are not even aware that there is such a thing. Indeed it is difficult enough for us to find a vet that can neuter/spay. To have a female spayed, we would have a 5/6 hour drive to a city. The cost of travel and the operation is far more than most people can afford, especially when wages are so low and many people do struggle to feed their families and pay for basic necessities.

Neutering/spaying needs to be more affordable and available which is what we hope we can achieve with a shelter/clinic.