Into the War Zone
A first-hand account by Dana Costin, Founder of ROLDA At ROLDA, we like to say that our volunteers are the heart of the charity. The passion, dedication and determination of our volunteers make such a difference that they help shape our future. Small charities can be highly dependent on volunteers, especially when they cannot afford ... Blog

Important moments 2014
The day-by-day challenges in Romania keep our lives extremely busy, from the lack of volunteers and financial resources to the corruption, bureaucracy and the authority's indifference to our efforts to help the local community to solve a major problem. When a new year is about to start, my heart and mind get full of new ideas, enthusiasm, new planning, and new hopes. I learn from dogs and one important thing is to never lose hope.

Starving, scared, in pain… but never hopeless
This is probably the shortest description of a street dog’s life. If you ever experience the feeling of being hungry – you know how exhausting this is. Thirst on hot summer days is real torture. On that, frozen paws are very painful and it’s worse when the dogs stop feeling them at all…

Trap, neuter and release
The Catch, Neuter and Return program was held until 2014 for the dogs collected from the steel plant. This program was fully supported financially by Arcelor Mittal Galati (AMG) and logistically by ROLDA. Since ROLDA started the partnership with AMG for the dogs, our charity managed to reduce humanely (developing sterilization and adoption programs) the stray dogs’ population by 70%.

Visit from Embassy of Holland
On 30 June, H.E. Matthijs van Bonzel and the Economic and Commercial Counselor of The Netherlands Embassy, Mr. Huub Drabbe visited our shelters and the clinic building. For ROLDA it was the first experience at such a high, official level but the Embassy’s representatives made the emotions go away.

Special request from special kids
Compassionate kids ask our help for responsible solutions! Law 258/2013 demands to all Romanian citizens to sterilize their pets by December 2014. The only exceptions are the dogs with certificates for breeding, for dog shows. The fine for not sterilizing the pet starts from 1100 EUR to 2200 EUR, the lowest represents the average 4 salaries in Romania.

SOS Romanian Strays
If this image breaks your heart, imagine how it is to watch the World from the inside! No medical care. No food. No hope. No life! Abandoned, neglected, suffering in silence: they are the street dogs of Romania. You see them at the edge of the road, trying to survive. On occasions, they eat dead corps of other dogs, hit by cars.

The smell of death
There are thousands of street dogs suffering day after day on Romanian streets but nothing compares with the conditions of the local public shelter which can be summarized in just one word: despair. The place was a farm during the communist time and was later, used alternatively as a dog pound and storage space.

About Lolita and ROLDA
People with big hearts DO NOT forget! Back in 2010, Marie read an article about ROLDA in Swiss Dog Magazine and she decided that she can’t remain indifferent to Romanian dogs’ plight. A few weeks later, she made the first attempt to raise awareness about the Romanian dog's plight and our work in Switzerland by organizing a small conference for the Monthly area.

Rescuing Romanian street dogs
Do you know how awful it is to be constantly hungry, sick and scared – and have nobody to care for you? To have an itchy rash that spreads all over your body, one that is so bad you scratch and tear your own hair out? But that you can do nothing about?

Donor Bill of Rights
Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. To assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the not-for-profit organizations and causes they are asked to support.

28 ways help
Considering that millions of dogs die in shelters every year while millions of others are the victims of abuses across the World, it takes a massive collective effort coming from communities of compassionate animal lovers to confront these cruelties and change these dogs present and future.

Memorial gift
A Memorial Gift is a beautiful testimony to the life of a beloved person or pet who has passed on—and the gift of life for animals in need. It can be just the right touch for expressing compassion to someone who has had a loss.