This week I became an official volunteer for ROBI - The Animal Association (http://www.4animals.ro/home.html), and today I had my first visit at Glina. This is a small "city" next to Bucharest, 40 km closer to Bucharest than my grandparent's village and it looks nothing different.
The stray dog's shelters aren't far from the main road, in an opened field. Water and electricity represent a luxury for that area. As we got closer a pack of dogs started running towards the car. They seemed to know that we were there to feed them and patiently waited, waving their tails, until a lady we were with got out of the car and gave them something to eat, not much...We weren't there yet. On our way, I got warned that I will be very muddy when we will be leaving, and next time I should pack extra clothes. We got there...150 dogs barking at the same time, rusty shelters, a filed full of garbage and mud, lots of mud. The land is loaned from a man, and there are several animal associations with shelters there. We started feeding them, they were rather hungry and impatient.
A few hours before we arrived "an intruder" was killed there. "Intruders" are dogs that don't belong to the shelters and surroundings. The others dogs attacked and killed him, fearing that he might become competition for food. The dogs weren't even tolerating other dogs from the shelter jumping over the fence and demanding food before their turn. As soon as one of them was doing this the riot started, 150 dogs barking at the same time again.
After we finished feeding them, 190 kg of dried food and about 50 cans (only a part of them got that treat), we added water and a bit of love. The mud and the hungry dogs make everything look scary, but once you start talking to them and see how they wave their tales and jump up the fences so you can put your hand through the bars and pet them a bit, your heart melts instantly. You have dogs of all sizes and personalities. You have three legged dogs and blind and deaf dogs...everything that managed to be saved from really traumatizing environments. Worst story: a female dog saved from a stray person who was...raping her.
This is nothing like Animal Planet. It is nothing like anything...but this is the maximum they can get from the mercy of people. Food is gathered from donations, just like the money for rent and building those horrible shelters. On my next visit I will try to take pictures and post them.
Till then, a representative movie: