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Shortly after we rescued Angel, she was diagnosed with Dirofilaria immitis—heartworm disease. Sadly, Angel passed away. Heartworm is both complicated and expensive to treat, which is why most infected dogs don’t survive.

Preventing heartworm disease is much less expensive and much more effective, but the harsh reality for stray dogs is that they are extremely vulnerable to being infected with this fatal disease because they do not receive heartworm prevention medicine.

Dirofilaria immitis, or heartworm disease, is a serious and potentially fatal disease in domestic pets, wild animals, and humans. It’s caused by foot-long parasitic roundworms that live in the heart, lungs and associated blood vessels which cause severe lung disease, heart failure and damage to other organs.

The disease is so widespread because it’s easily transmitted by mosquitoes. One bite is all it takes.

Our ROLDA sanctuaries are surrounded by forest, agricultural land, and the Danube and Siret rivers, making it a favorable habitat for mosquitoes to thrive. The area is also home to hundreds of wild animals and stray dogs—all potential carriers of Dirofilaria.

Our dogs receive Heartgard for 6 months (spring to fall) to protect them against Dirofilaria, but that still leaves thousands of stray dogs around our sanctuary unprotected and at high risk of contracting the disease.

A donation of €41 can protect 1 dog for 6 months against this deadly disease.

Since 2016, our efforts to provide Heartgard to all 650 dogs in our sanctuary have been compromised due to the abrupt financial cuts caused by our former partner ArcelorMittal Galati. Their actions have put in danger the lives of these poor dogs and have left us struggling to maintain our shelters operational—not to mention the risk of shorting food and medical supplies, including heartworm medicine and treatment.

ROLDA continues to pursue legal action against Mittal to seek justice for our dogs. The legal battle is still ongoing in court. Until the issue is resolved, we kindly ask you to help us keep our dogs safe and free from fatal diseases such as heartworm.

Remember, €41 can protect 1 dog for 6 months.

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Every time we rescue a new dog, we try to figure out where he/she comes from so we can try to understand him/her better. When Delu brought Ellie to the shelter, these are the facts as we knew them: A local animal lover called Delu went to pick up Ellie. Ellie and a mixed chow named Bunga were sharing a transport crate when they arrived. The person who called Delu said she found both Ellie and Bunga wandering the streets. She mentioned briefly that Ellie was limping.

It’s clear to us that Ellie belonged to someone. She was abandoned but we don’t know why. Some time ago, Ellie must have been hit by or with something, because she had an old, untreated femur fracture for which she got no treatment. It is heartbreaking, but this is the reality: many homeless animals live in pain, with a fracture or break, and the bone sets naturally – sometimes, in the wrong position, which generates the limping. Plus, probably, pain and more damage/health problems accumulated as time passed.

Ellie is a small, adorable girl who has learned, unfortunately, what it means to be a homeless dog.

After seeing how she limps, we decided it was something serious and rushed Ellie to the vet. There, after a medical exam and XRAY, the vet decided it was the old femur fracture that needs surgery to be corrected and set into the right position.

Being an old problem, there were no guarantees that her leg will recover. But after surgery and a very long recovery period, Ellie‘s pain will stop. In the worst-case scenario, she will lose the leg – but we are hopeful that the vet will do his utmost to save her leg, stop her pain and help her walk normally.

It is sad to think that in a moment, the life of a dog can change so dramatically: from the time when she had a home, until the moment she ended up on the streets, being hit, injured – staying in pain and ending up limping, since who knows when! Thanks to ROLDA friends and supporters, Ellie‘s nightmare will slowly be over.

Making a small gift – Help Ellie’s leg to heal by contributing to medical costs.

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More supporters mean more help and during critical times, when your finances are limited, our needs (emergency veterinary costs, food costs, etc) are easier to cover when there are more contributors.

Nothing comes easy in life. Not for Ellie and not for us. Our mission is to work hard, to face difficulties but to make miracles happen for these dogs. And you, dear ROLDA supporter, are part of every step we take to transform each dog’s future.

There is a saying, when someone needs a friend, God sends them a dog. Regardless of your religious beliefs, we can all agree dogs are man’s best friend. ROLDA dogs need a friend, a friend like you, and no dog needs a friend more than Piciu.

After everything I have seen since ROLDA began, I sometimes fall into the trap of thinking I have seen everything, then a story like Piciu’s comes along and reminds me just how wrong I am. You receive weekly – if not daily – heart-breaking stories about our dogs and I wish more than anything Piciu had no such story to tell; I do not know where to begin.

Piciu was the adored pet of a man living with his wife in the village of Smardan. One tragic evening, Piciu became trapped in sharp, metal fencing whilst exploring. In the desperate attempt to free himself, Piciu suffered deep wounds to all four legs and lost a dangerous amount of blood and no, there are no blood banks for dogs here. Piciu was not discovered until the morning, barely clinging to life.

Many would have discarded him like trash, though Piciu had loving owners who wasted no time in rushing him to a vet. It is a uniquely heart-breaking sight – a grown man, weeping and sobbing like a child, inconsolable with grief – cradling his beloved, dying pet in his arms, begging for help whatever the cost.

Piciu is a beautiful, affectionate dog. He needs every prayer to see him through his intensive care and rehabilitation. All four of his legs were grievously wounded, three of which were maimed including one of his front legs that were so irreparably damaged, it required amputating. Furthermore, Piciu is not vaccinated and it would be too risky to vaccinate him in his current state of extremely poor health and weakened immune system.

We have to take extra special care of Piciu, who is exceptionally vulnerable to diseases like distemper, though with our love and expert care, Piciuwill recover and his remaining legs will gradually improve. The most important thing now is to do everything possible to help Piciu fight back to health and reunite him with his family.

Can we, with your help, get Piciu back on his feet?

“My pain is easier to bear when I see you.” that’s what Oscar seems to say when he is around people. Unfortunately, there is no end to the pain that animals feel. It was a regular Saturday. I took a break from writing a report, and logged in to Facebook when the image of a tiny fur ball filled the screen… he was trying to reach a person in a parking lot.

He was too young to understand how dangerously close he was to the busy road. He was focused on reaching the person that stopped the car in the parking lot before she went away, like all the other people who abandoned him behind… hungry and scared… alone in the bitter cold.

He wished to go faster or run as normal puppies did, but he couldn’t… he could only use three legs to move. With one paw suspended in the air, the pain was easier to manage. And so he hopped on, in the night, waiting for someone that would notice him before it was too late.

There is no end to the pain that animals feel, so there is no end to the ROLDA Rescue Team’s mission. Even if it was his day off, Vasile rushed to his van and drove 90 kilometers to Tulcea to meet a lovely girl called Ema.

It was she who spotted Oscar in the parking lot and rang the alarm. Vasile took the small, injured pup back to Galati to the same clinic that once saved Maia’s legs. For this particular case, ROLDA Rescue Team had to cross the Danube River twice and drove for a total of 3 hours and now, veterinary bills are ahead.

We hope that together, we can transform Oscar’s life. Please make a gift to help Oscar heal!

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I don’t know if everyone can get an Oscar … but on Saturday, thanks to Ema from Tulcea and thanks to Vasile, ROLDA got one.

Please make a gift to help Oscar and also, help ROLDA reach more dogs like Oscar, dogs that have no one else to turn to – dogs that without you, would die all alone, hungry, injured and scared.

We can say that after being adopted, Bo is living like a celebrity star, enjoying long walks in the Swiss mountains and relaxation time in the jacuzzi. He even climbs alone the house stairs, after his mother carries him (1/3 of her entire weight) in her arms, a few times every day, to build his trust. In Switzerland, Bo has also a gang to share the “dog moments” with.

Before being adopted, Bo’s life was hard. It always takes human actions and efforts to change a homeless dog’s life. We don’t know how many more Christmas Holidays Bo will enjoy, we hope for plenty.

Bo was nominated #roldadogs ambassador for 2019 and in Switzerland, he is the sunshine in Lolita’s life, but today, Bo is on a mission to help his furry friends remain in the shelter in Romania.

For the 2019 Christmas campaign, ROLDA selected 7 senior dogs to fundraise for winter costs for the shelter and food for hungry, homeless dogs. No matter which of these 7 dogs you sponsor, the donations are shared with all the others.

Senior Lulu is one of the oldest #roldadogs, but he wasn’t selected for a simple reason: we didn’t think he will make it another winter. One morning, Senior Lulu didn’t come to the door to greet our caretakers because he hardly could stand up and move his back legs. We rushed to the clinic and with adequate treatment, Senior Lulu is back on his feet.

Senior dogs like Senior Lulu can suffer unexpected medical problems which require special attention and which add up to the vet’s total bill. We don’t know what the next Christmas will look like for our giant Senior Lulu but this one should be joyful and free from pain.

Senior Lulu just got sponsored by Nicole, from Switzerland. More supporters will enable us to keep him and the other 300 senior dogs from the ROLDA shelter safe this wintertime.

For dogs like Senior Lulu, Bo takes seriously his ambassador role and aims with your help, to make his furry friends’ lives better in Romania.

If you turn your head away, she will die. If your eyes can’t bear looking, imagine the pain she feels! “This is one of the worst I’ve seen” exclaimed our vet, gingerly removing a plastic shopping bag stuck to Bela’s deep and infected facial wound. Bela’s story begins in the village of Cismele, South-East Romania, one of the country’s poorest rural communities.

She shares with her owners an improvised home fashioned from scrap material with only the furniture they could salvage. Food is scarce. Bela’s owners cannot often afford to feed themselves, leaving Bela to rely on meager leftovers and whatever she could find. After almost a week without food, Bela, desperate and starving, strayed into a neighbor’s land in search of scraps. Assuming Bela sought to poach his livestock, the landowner cowardly lured Bela and attacked her with a farm tool and left her badly injured and permanently disfigured.

Bela’s owners, uneducated but with good intentions and aware they cannot afford the medical bills, but desperate to help, attempted to bandage Bela’s wound with adhesive tape. This only compounded Bela’s suffering, allowing infection to spread untreated throughout an uncleaned wound.

“Every time a tragic case like Bela is brought to us, I fall into the trap of thinking I’ve seen the worst a human can do to such wonderful creatures, though there’s always another Bela to remind me how wrong I am. However, it never fails to amaze me what strength and dignity dogs show in unimaginable pain.

Thankfully, very few people will ever experience that kind of pain; only those that have can comprehend that degree of suffering. I just cannot understand what complete absence of empathy, kindness or basic human decency it requires to be able to do something like this to any living creature, let alone a dog.

I feel sometimes I understand this world less and less, although the joy of rescuing dogs like Bela and seeing them through treatment, rehabilitation and finding a happy home makes the heartache worthwhile. Bela’s beauty shines through her facial scars and her adoring and sociable personality undimmed by the awful events which have brought her to us. Dogs usually forget and live “in present” and Bela will don’t care about her face scars but every time I will look at her, I will remember. “Because if you love them the way I do, you simply can’t forget”, said Dana Costin, founder of ROLDA when meeting Bela for the first time.

Bela is an affectionate, gregarious dog and once her treatment and rehabilitation is complete, she’ll be transferred to our shelter to live in safety and comfort with plenty of human and canine company. Eventually, once fully recuperated, Bela will make a perfect candidate for rehoming, where she’ll find a loving family and happy home abroad.

ROLDA is wholly reliant on the generosity and compassion of animal lovers to continue being the only guardian these suffering animals have to turn to, in a world all too eager to turn its back on problems in the hope they’ll disappear; they don’t, and we need your help to save lives.

1. Why do we help the local community’s pets in rural areas?
Obviously, because there is where our help is needed the most, in poor communities where people can’t afford to pay vets bills, where people are uneducated, and their pets are at risk of accidental harm, abuse, malnutrition and abandonment. We never leave an animal in need or in danger, regardless of their or their owner’s circumstances.

2. Why not immediately euthanize dogs like Bela?
After suffering a whole life, Bela’s luck changed the day we were able to save her. ROLDA’s duty is to try to help any dog in need and give them the best possible chance of a happy and comfortable, not to choose the cheapest and easiest way to solve these problems. It’s an expert decision taken by our vet to put a dog to sleep and only ever when it would be cruel to prolong life and suffering. We strive to provide whatever help and funds to try to save each dog in need. Bela, and dogs like her, deserve a chance to heal and have their futures changed for the better.

3. Why does ROLDA prefers international adoptions?
We rehome the vast majority of our dogs within the European Union, whereby their health and fitness to travel are tightly regulated by EU law, ensuring the dog’s health is paramount to all parties. Likewise, levels of public awareness and pet education are much more advanced in the countries where we choose to send our dogs, to loving, permanent homes. We also choose only to send our dogs to nations with comprehensive animal welfare legislation and infrastructure and of course, an appropriate and loving family. After so much suffering, Bela deserves a safe place to call home.

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.

“I saw this poor thing lying there, bleeding. He could barely keep his eyes open, and he couldn’t breathe. I thought I must help him. I fell in love with him. I said I will save him, and we will be happy together. He wants to live! He wants to live!” – Nelu

Nelu was walking across a field when he spotted the dog laying on its side, twitching its legs. As Nelu got closer, he saw the dog was gasping for air and that its throat was exuding blood from metallic wires wrapped tightly around his neck. Without hesitating, Nelu picked him up and carried him to his home nearby to give him some water before taking him to the vet. Every step of the way, he believed that this dying dog could be saved.

The vet informed Nelu that the dog had a life-threatening wound that needed immediate surgery. When Nelu told the vet that he couldn’t afford the procedure, the vet replied that he couldn’t operate without payment.

In a poor region like Galati, it is uncommon for anyone to perform free labor as it is uncommon for villagers like Nelu to be able to pay for expensive pet surgeries. Of course, Nelu understood the vet’s refusal, but he innocently thought the vet would show compassion given the state of the dog. Sadly, Nelu had to take the dog with him.

But Nelu was determined to find help, and so he found his way to us.

As Nelu related his story, our founder, Dana, was so touched by Nelu’s love for this dog and how he described the dog’s will to live that she instantly thought of the name Romeo. We asked Nelu if he was okay with the name, and he was.

Abuse or freak accident?

It’s unclear how Romeo ended up in this condition but given how tightly clamped the wires were constricting his neck, it appears intentional. However, because no witnesses have come forward, this is only speculation, and a freak accident cannot be ruled out.

“The metal was so deeply lodged into his skin that it was cutting off circulation and breath. He has lost a lot of blood. It was wrapped really tight. I’m amazed he’s still alive and breathing!”—ROLDA veterinarian

It’s heartbreaking to imagine Romeo suffering alone and in silence. He couldn’t bark for help. He couldn’t even whimper. All he could do was hope and fight so that we could save him before he took his last breath.

Romeo is not a lover… he is a fighter! (and a lover)

Everyone was in awe of Romeo’s strength, courage, determination, and patience. He has an iron will that most of us wish we had. He put his faith in Nelu and the vet because he wanted to be saved.

Romeo was just hours away from death and he knew it. We saw it in his eyes—they said, “Please hurry! I don’t want to die!”

Nelu’s love for Romeo. Romeo’s love for life.

While Romeo was in surgery, Nelu shared stories about other stray dogs he’s encountered in the village and said he had never seen a dog in Romeo’s condition. He said he was shocked and afraid but didn’t hesitate to help. He panicked after being rejected by the vet because he felt Romeo was running out of time but said he kept calm for both their sakes. Nelu credits Romeo’s resilience for his self-containment.

After a long silence, Nelu asked if we could help him adopt Romeo. He explained his living situation and believed that with a little support he could be a good caregiver. He said he felt embarrassed and ashamed asking for this after we had already helped him get Romeo the surgery but had to take a chance because he really fell in love with him. How could we say no?

Foster, friendship and fresh air

Our supporters helped us raise enough funds to cover the cost of Romeo’s operation, rehabilitation, aftercare, medicine, and follow-up appointments.

Nelu was able to adopt Romeo thanks to the sympathy and generosity of the people who believe in our work. Time after time, ROLDA supporters read about the animals we rescue, and they always contribute to help us save more lives.

This time, not only did they help Romeo receive the operation and treatment he needed, they also gave a fellow animal lover, Nelu, the opportunity to foster the friend he believes he was meant to find.

“Nelu is really special. He is empathic and absolutely adores Romeo! He spoke about Romeo with such compassion and sorrow that my heart melted. When Nelu asked if he could adopt him, I never doubted his sincerity. I knew he would build and nurture a friendship that would last forever. Thank you, to all who made this everlasting bond possible!”—Dana Costin, ROLDA Founder

600 E. Do you think it’s a lot or it’s cheap? Did you ever think to put a price on liberty? Is there any price for liberty? This is the story of a mixed Labrador, a beautiful dog. He used to be someone’s dog for years until the tumor that grew on his right side became not only visible but, (sorry!) smelly.

If your dog would have a tumor, you would rush to the vet and feel sick and worried. Well, our hero’s story is different. The day his tumor become visible and disturbing, he was abandoned. And if you think it’s enough tragedy for a dog to lose in an instant the home he loved, to be disposed of like trash on the streets, without food and water, without the medical care to treat his health issues…

This tragedy doubled when he was abandoned in a crowd of people (without his beloved owner) rushing all over, speeding cars that he should avoid …trying to protect his painful right side, that constantly make curious people look disgusted; trying to run, despite the atrocious pain he felt at every move and at every step, to protect himself against packs of dogs ready to attack him. Going far away from dangers, he reached the industrial area of Galati, where he was greeted by new packs of dogs, ready to defend their territory. But the only thing he wanted was to hide and die in peace.

This is how he went inside an office area, where nicely dress people were disturbed by his look and the smell coming from his open wound/tumor. People were calling animal p1rotection to help the dog, but the company has an ongoing trial with ROLDA and therefore their egos are above this case. Again the dog help was denied. Working with an intermediary supporter, the ROLDA team managed to rescue Liberty – this is what we decided to call the senior Labrador.

Helped by our great veterinary, Dr. Andrei, Liberty’s tumor was removed. Right of his body, the remained scar is giant but on his left, the heart is bleeding after the owner refused him because he was sick and smelly. Liberty‘s veterinary bill is about 600 E. I am sure that it’s an amount not difficult to raise, helped by our loyal supporters.

Dogs like Liberty would prefer to die instead of living the day when they are thrown away like old shoes. Our lives represent a labyrinth of paths, which sometimes interact with each other. Like your life’s path, as ROLDA supporters, interacting with us, to read this story and discover what we do. Or like Liberty’s path, who lost his home, started a journey full of dangers and heroically manage to stay alive, meet the ROLDA team and be reborn.

Unfortunately, Liberty stories are not rare, that’s why it’s hard to tell them in a way that will move us and reveal our humanity but if I just managed to do it, if I managed to get a tear in the corner of your eye, or any emotion in your heart it’s a step ahead. It means that the price paid by Liberty was not in vain because together, we can save him and others like him, before being too late.

From far away, from where you are, you couldn’t know Liberty’s story and I am privileged that not only I can tell it but also was part of this amazing happy ending rescue. Liberty is for sure his own hero, but if his story will manage to save more dogs in the long run, Liberty and of course, you – ROLDA supporter will be, together, the Romanian homeless dogs’ heroes.  And trust me, they need more human heroes so badly!