Rudozem Street Dog Rescue

Rudozem Street Dog Rescue (RSDR) is a non-profit foundation that rescues Street Dogs in Bulgaria and finds loving homes for them. 

*Warning - some images may be distressing*

Bulgaria has many street dogs who are often subjected to the most horrendous cruelty. They are kicked, beaten and shot on a regular basis for no other reason than that it provides certain individuals with amusement.  Many of these dogs are injured, in pain, or starving and in the winter there is a high chance that they will freeze to death.

Since moving to Bulgaria in 2007, we have rescued many of these dogs.  We sometimes have as many as 200 dogs and cats at the RSDR shelter.    

We have adoption teams in other countries and whenever possible, we find loving homes for our dogs. Some have suffered so much abuse that they are unsuitable for adoption and stay with us as permanent residents. Apart from the dogs that we do take in, we try and keep a check on others that are still on the streets or living in the forests, making sure that they are fed and if possible treated for parasites.

Our aim is to renovate the RSDR shelter and hopefully one day start a sterilisation program for other dogs in the town.  The shelter is the only hope for many dogs whose lives are in imminent danger or who are sick or injured.  It is unrealistic to think that we can get all the dogs off the streets, but this will reduce the number of puppies who are born to this life of misery.  These are not dangerous wild dogs or dogs that are a danger to livestock, many are friendly dogs who are craving love and attention. It is heartbreaking to see one of them go up to a person, wagging its tail and rolling over only to be kicked and spat on.  For more information on how RSDR started and the persons involved, please go to our About Us page or Contact us.

Please help us to help them. 

There are 30 council run dog shelters across Bulgaria.  These shelters are more often then not, places of torture run by sick individuals.  This is one of the reasons why we opened our own shelter.  Dogs are often left with no food and water.  For some, the only thing they can eat, is the dogs that have already died.  These places are the last stop for so many animals.  One isolator reported killing over 47, 725 dogs in just one, two week period.  To cut down on costs, they are often beaten to death or just left to starve.  These are just a few pictures, taken inside some of Bulgaria's dog shelters, known as dog isolators.