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From waiting to die to willing to live: A stray’s story of revival.
BAR was discovered behind a bush whimpering softly and breathing erratically as if he no longer had the strength or the will to communicate his agony to the world…as if he literally chose this spot to spend his dying days…alone, as if not to disturb the world around him.
Perhaps it was a relief for Bar to be leaving this world. A world that welcomed him, like every stray, with cruelty, loneliness, and injustice. A world that forced him to starve… endure sickness…to suffer unjustified ignorance and torture…basically, a world that treated him unfairly without any reason whatsoever.
Yes, for Bar it was a great relief to be departing such a world. He could no longer walk to find garbage to eat on the streets. He could no longer crawl to look for a drinking water source. He could no longer even search for a reason to keep trying. So, lay behind a bush…waiting for the pain to end.
Help us help them!
As you read these lines, please be as generous as you can for thousands of homeless dogs who are suffering.
Please check our Before/After page to see more special cases of dogs who have been rescued from death and are now safe and happy because you care and believe in our work.
Adopt one of our dogs
Dogs who need a forever home. They’ve all been living on the streets, exposed to unimaginable dangers. Today, they are safe with us in our ROLDA sanctuaries, waiting for their forever home. Do you have one to give?
ROLDA restores life to strays. Bar’s story shows how
“ROLDA has a very strict no-kill policy and a responsible evaluation procedure that examines each rescue dog individually, thoroughly, and humanely to formulate the best rehabilitation program vital to their recovery. At one point, Bar’s leg and overall health were so poor that we thought he could not be saved. But we regained our hope quickly…we regained our belief inBar’s chances…and we will remain by his side through his entire healing process.”
– Dana Costin, ROLDA Founder
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My name is Dana and I live in Caracal, Olt county. For many years, I save cats and I consider that the first step to stop the abandons is to spay/neuter cats. I contacted ROLDA who helped me already cover a large number of sterilizations for cats from Caracal town.
Presently (September 2022), we sterilize in Constantinesti village near Scornicesti (the town where dictator Ceausescu was born). We work with a local vet and all the costs are covered by ROLDA. I choose this village when one of my relatives pointed me that many families living in this village and also in surrounding villages own unsterilized cats that keep multiplying and their kittens were thrown like rubbish.
After we reduce the number of cats there, I would like to continue to sterilize back in Caracal town and after, in each village surrounding it. Why? Because it became like a bad habit that people living in villages to come to town to abandon cats, and kittens, or leave them in the forest or even throw them in the Olt river!
I have dozen of cats at home, all saved from the streets and I wish with all my heart to do many sterilizations which will eventually stop these cruel abandons.
Since then, ROLDA have kindly sponsored the vet bills of a few desperate cases of both cats and dogs each month, and with their help, we managed to do a lot more than we could before.
Just to name a few,
Even if we have laws and Animal Police in Romania, people continue to abandon animals.
Big thanks ROLDA for your generous support.
Starting in September 2021, ROLDA expanded its support to the nearby county, Tulcea. Danube river separates Galati and Tulcea counties (10 minutes by boat, which was the only connection between these two counties before the bridge was built). Tulcea is beautiful and has huge potential because of Delta of Danube, a popular tourist attraction. However, the locals who mostly live in the fishery are largely impoverished.
Poor communities have many problems, and animals are not a priority. Farm animals get more attention because of immediate benefits (eggs, meat, milk etc.). Nonetheless, pets are poorly cared for and get no medical treatment. They freely reproduce, expanding the suffering with innocent babies born to live in misery and neglect.
The volunteers from a local charity (The Great Catsby) primarily help cats but also dogs when possible. Their funds are tight, and the requests are overwhelming. Madalina contacted ROLDA asking for support, and from that moment on, we contributed to support their mission.
Among the things we have achieved together:
● Sterilize dogs and cats.
● Support the local public shelter with canned food.
● Aid for pets from poor communities.
● Treat puppies found abandoned in the local cemetery against parvo.
● Cover medical costs for cats with severe conditions who needed help from specialists, surgery and boarding in Bucharest clinics.
Currently, ROLDA covers care bills ranging from 2000-5000 RON per month for the Tulcea project. Over the following months, we hope to bring our coloring books to the area. We’ll work with local volunteers to distribute it for free in rural areas to help increase awareness of animal welfare among those who need it the most.
Testimonial from Madalina, coordinator of the project in Tulcea
“A few months ago, we were desperately reaching out for support to animal aid organizations around the world, as we are doing TNR and animal rescue in the small city of Tulcea, Romania and we are simply overwhelmed with the situation of stray cats and dogs here. Very few have replied, and the only ones that actually offered support were our neighbors based in Galati, ROLDA Foundation.
Since then, ROLDA has kindly sponsored the vet bills of a few desperate cases of both cats and dogs each month, and with their help, we managed to do a lot more than we could before.
Just to name a few,
We are forever grateful to Dana and her team, she always says she wants to be able to do much more, but for us and the animals we are now able to help, this means a lot! We are also very appreciative of the fact they decided to support fellow rescuers in Romania, and thus, animals outside their immediate reach, as this kind of cooperation is unfortunately not so common although so necessary.
We couldn’t have done all of this alone!
Thank you, ROLDA and we hope you’ll be by our side next year too!”
Hugs from us and from our rescued babies,
The Great Catsby team
We need your help, they need our care!
Våra ROLDA hundgårdar finns i Galati, en industriregion i östra Rumänien. Beståndet av hundar har växt okontrollerat här både beroende på att folk övergav denna del av landet och på grund av att man förflyttade hundar hit!
Så småningom blev dessa hemlösa hundar ett problem för både invånarna och industrierna i Galati. Man ansåg att de var ett hot mot hälsa och säkerhet! Den rumänska regeringen bestämde slutligen att de skulle lösa detta problem genom…
ATT FÅNGA OCH SLAKTA ALLA HEMLÖSA HUNDAR!!!
Är detta ett bra sätt att lösa ett problem på? Deras förklaring är: HUNDAR UTAN HEM SKA INTE LEVA……. SÅ DÖDA DEM!!!! Håller du med om detta? Vill du hjälpa till?
JA! Jag tycker att hundar utan hem förtjänar att leva!
När du adopterar, sponsrar, donerar, skickar en gåva eller arbetar som volontär så visar du att hemlösa hundar förtjänar att leva. Så klart de förtjänar det! De har inte valt att bli hemlösa eller att vara ett problem. Varje dag måste de leta efter mat och en varm plats att sova på. Ändå väljer folk att se dem som störande och som hot.
Detta är inte RÄTT!
ArcelorMittal är världens största stålproducent och i Galati har de en yta på 1600 hektar. De är en av våra största sponsorer. De stöttar oss med sina egna pengar för att hjälpa och rädda hundarna! De tror på vårt arbete! Gör du det?
Jag stöttar ROLDA och ArcelorMittal i deras kamp för att rädda hemlösa hundar!
ArcelorMittal kunde ha valt att följa den rumänska lagen och dödat de hundar som kommer in på deras område, MEN ISTÄLLET VÄLJER DE ATT RÄDDA DEM!! Tack vare ArcelorMittal så byggdes ROLDAS moderna hundgård och klinik som skyddar många hundar från svält, sjukdomar, försummelse, våld, tortyr och död.
PÅ vår klinik och hundgård kan vi ge våra hundar skötsel och vård av hög kvalitet så att de är friska och i trygghet tills de blir adopterade av kärleksfulla hem. ArcelorMittal har gjort vad de kan göra och vi behöver nu DITT stöd och hjälp för att fortsätta vårt arbete med att driva våra hundgårdar och vår klinik. Utan din hjälp kan vi inte driva detta och de hundar vi räddar kan inte få den omsorg de behöver och förtjänar!
Om du bor i Sverige var snäll och använd bankgiro nr. 573-0502 och hjälp oss att hjälpa hundarna! Alla bidrag är välkomna! Stora som små!!!!
Om en så stor stålproducent som ArcelorMittal tycker att hundarna förtjänar att leva, borde inte du också göra det?
JAG TYCKER ATT HEMLÖSA HUNDAR FÖRTJÄNAR ATT LEVA!
Vad tycker dina vänner och din familj?
People who exploit animals for profit, or any other reason, believe that humans have the right to use animals as they please. Animal exploitation is animal cruelty.
Circuses, zoos, marine parks, and similar venues exploit animals to entertain audiences who pay to see animals perform. Seeing a bear dance or a seal clap looks like a “neat” experience, but it comes at a cost to the animal’s health and freedom. Most people are unaware of the brutal conditions animals endure behind the scenes, such as being forced into submission, being kept in tiny cages, and being denied socialization with other members of their species.
Roughly 96 percent of circus animals spend their lives in a cage, and are trained with barbaric instruments like electric prods, whips, bullhooks and chains. Some trainers even starve their animals to get better results. The sad fact is that people continue to ignore the inhumane aspects of these animal attractions because they believe that people who work with animals are responsible individuals who respect and love animals.
Of course, many of them do, but the fact remains that animals do not belong in circuses, zoos, or marine parks.
Even zoos, which are often praised for their conservation efforts, have been rife with animal cruelty. Animal abuse in zoos can take many forms, from starving animals to sending them to livestock options. And when a crisis occurs, like the COVID-19 pandemic, zoo animals are left to die from a lack of resources because they are not considered a priority.
In Romania, animals such as wolves, snakes, bears, monkeys, and lions are illegally owned by individuals for hobby and profit. The most common attraction is a guesthouse where people, mostly tourists, can stay in an accommodation where an exotic animal is tied up in their backyard. There are also many places, often illegal, that offer pictures with captive animals such as deer and bears.
These attractions involving captive animals are part of wildlife tourism. Wildlife tourism exploits animals from birth until they are either euthanized or abandoned once they are no longer considered “valuable” by their owners. These animals endure years of suffering at their owners’ hands who use cruel training methods to teach them to perform for tourists.
Like wildlife trafficking, wildlife tourism can only be eradicated if there is no demand to see animals perform. ROLDA advocates for the closure of these tourist attractions and the relocation of captive animals. We have created petitions urging the ANSVSA and the Garda de Mediu (National Environmental Guard) inspectors to shut down all illegal wildlife tourism operations across Romania immediately.
The illegal animal trade is a billion-dollar business that only exists because there is a demand. If people did not demand animals—for food, medicine, trophies, clothing, and so forth—no one would bother to smuggle them.
Animal trafficking happens everywhere, and it involves many people. The animals are subjected to brutal conditions that cause fear, anguish, pain, and trauma. In fact, many of them die before they reach their destinations.
One of the driving forces behind the wildlife trade is the desire to own exotic pets, such as tigers, alligators, bears, monkeys, and eagles. These animals are separated from their families— usually from birth—and removed from their habitats, and placed in unfamiliar environments to which they are not accustomed. These changes can be devastating to the animal and even life-threatening. And when animals are trafficked to be used in exotic dishes, their being alive or dead is irrelevant and is therefore treated worse.
Another branch of the wildlife trade is traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), a health care system that dates back to the third century BC. TCM has helped drive some animal species to the brink of extinction. Despite the advances modern medicine has made, TCM remains popular today even though its efficacy has been widely unproven. Rhino horn, tiger bones, and bear bile are the most common animals hunted and trafficked for their body parts used in TCM.
Over the years, many countries have taken steps to fight wildlife trafficking, but it continues to thrive while animals are increasingly becoming endangered or pushed to extinction. Wildlife trafficking will only be eradicated when there is no more demand for animals.
Though ROLDA’s focus is the rescue and rehoming of stray animals in Galati, we are actively involved in advocating for the end of wildlife trafficking in our community and worldwide. We lend our voice and support to animal activists and organizations fighting for the end of this horrific trade.
We try to involve our supporters through petitions and campaigning, and we encourage them to spread the word about animal trafficking to ensure that it becomes and remains a topic of concern in their community. ROLDA understands that this is a global problem that needs a global response, and we are here to do our part in any way we can.
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Since 2013, public dog shelters in Romania have been allowed to euthanize dogs if they are not claimed or adopted in 14 days. However, the neglect and abuse these captured dogs suffer while incarcerated have been well documented, but nothing has been done to stop this atrocious behavior.
There have been reports of dog corpses left to rot in overcrowded cages where dogs sleep on pools of their excrement. Dogs are starved, dehydrated, denied medical attention, and frequently shocked, beaten, and killed.
Regardless of the extent of abuse and neglect in public shelters, the authorities and the government continue to ignore them.
Publicly funded animal shelters in Romania do not invest in improving their facilities and operate unsupervised and unpenalized. Most public shelters operate like a business because the authorities pay per dog euthanized, mistakenly believing that capture and euthanasia help reduce the stray population.
The Romanian government has failed to provide captured dogs with humane housing conditions in public shelters. These shelters are meant to be a refuge for homeless or abandoned dogs. These poor souls have committed no crime or broken any laws. They did not ask to be born on the streets or abandoned by their owners. They struggle to survive each day, living off scraps, enduring harsh climates, battling illness, and being treated as outcasts. Some people would even argue that these dogs’ conditions on the streets are much better than the conditions they endure in public shelters.
For years, ROLDA has petitioned to have these despicable institutions closed or reformed to adhere to the EU standards required by law. To this day, the government continues to ignore our demands. But ROLDA will not stop until these illegal and inhumane establishments have been closed. We will not rest until these poor dogs, who have been condemned to die, are provided with humane living conditions while in captivity.
Like most developing countries, Romania has an overwhelming stray animal population. Sadly, stray dogs and cats are viewed as public nuisances and are poorly treated.
Some countries with poor animal welfare laws aim to reduce their stray dog and cat populations by culling, which is both inhumane and ineffective. ROLDA believes that sterilization is the most humane method to control these homeless animal populations.
ROLDA has been conducting sterilization campaigns since 2002, effectively lowering stray populations in Galati by more than half.
Our goal is not to eliminate stray cats or stray dogs. Our goal is to prevent the births of unwanted cats and dogs who would inevitably continue to propagate and suffer. Many communities in undeveloped nations lack the resources to provide for the overwhelming number of stray cats and dogs, but in Galati, ROLDA works with its partners and citizens to peacefully coexist with homeless animals.
Thanks to our donors, ROLDA can procure the necessary resources to carry out yearly sterilization campaigns in our community that humanely and effectively curtail the stray dog and cat populations, preventing their needless suffering and deaths.
Until 2016 when the law changed, sterilization involved catching stray dogs, sterilizing them, and returning them to safe territory. Realistically, due to their vast numbers, sterilizing all the strays in our community can take years and pet abandonments continue to contribute to the growing stray population, which ultimately slows down our efforts. But since 2016, it is also against the law to sterilize and return back to the territory a dog because the law clearly says that in the moment when being caught, the dog must also be microchipped & registered in the name of a person/charity.
Sterilization is a slow but productive process that requires patience, and we believe that these poor animals deserve all the patience in the world.
With respect to the current laws, ROLDA still can perform sterilizations: We spay/neuter the dogs saved from the streets, who become residents of our shelters and we also pay veterinaries to perform sterilization campaigns for pets (dogs and cats) who belong to poor rural communities.
ROLDA will never give up until we have succeeded in sterilizing all the dogs and cats in our community. From there, we will direct our focus on sterilizing neighboring rural areas and eventually, going further, across Romania!
Sadly, our society continues to accept and condone animal cruelty through indifference and ignorance. Despite the numerous animal welfare organizations that exist today, animal cruelty remains a severe issue because it is a systemic problem in many cultures.
Factory farming, animal experimentation, poaching, and hunting are types of animal cruelty, and the list goes on. In Galati, the most common types of animal cruelty are abuse and neglect.
When people think of animal cruelty, they often think of violence inflicted on an animal. However, a common form of animal abuse is neglect. Many pets spend their entire lives in neglectful circumstances and eventually die of dehydration, malnutrition, untreated diseases, or other conditions. Negligence does not justify animal cruelty, and ROLDA helps prevent further abuse and helps bring animal abusers to justice.
ROLDA continuously organizes protests & petitions, and advocates for stricter punishment for animal abusers. Since most animal cruelty occurs in private, we also depend on community members to denounce animal abusers for us and the authorities to act.
ROLDA also rescues pets and provide them with medical treatment and physical and psychological rehabilitation, but also fights for livestock and captive wild animals rights, to be rescued from abusive homes and situations.
Many dogs survive their injuries, overcome their trauma, and live healthy lives in our shelters or forever homes. Sadly, animals who have suffered irreversible health effects or life-threatening injuries either succumb to their trauma.
If everyone started treating all animals, regardless the specie, as sentient beings who deserve love and respect, animal cruelty would be nonexistent. We believe that people can change the way they treat animals, so ROLDA has also initiated a social program that educates people on how to be responsible pet owners and how to be respectful of stray animals. We also provide financial assistance to low-income pet owners to help pay for veterinary bills, including expensive surgeries and long-term medical treatments, so their pets don’t suffer.
To fight animal cruelty Worldwide, it takes more than a few individuals but together, we can teach more people to respect animals. We need to stand up for animals who are being abused and neglected. Our choices can have a huge impact—if we choose to end animal cruelty, if more of us are willing to speak up for the voiceless, we can create a society where animals are revered, appreciated, and loved by all.
