ROLDA Founder trip to Ukraine August 2023
I got two NP’s during my trip to Ukraine. Can you guess which one I took back with me home? There are a few reasons why I decided to visit Ukraine: I got the feeling that our international supporters were getting bored with this subject, sometimes get skeptical, and many living in West Europe are ... Blogs
ROLDA President’s Message May 2023
ROLDA Sverige was founded in 2014 by Lisa, and a group of volunteers dedicated to helping homeless animals live better. The main goals of this association are to help ROLDA Romania: fundraise to keep our shelters functional and rehome dogs from our shelters in Sweden.
The story of Doina
Even though Doina was someone’s pet, she was never given a name. It was us who named her Doina when her family brought her to us after their other dog (who is more than twice her size) bit off her left eye.
The history of ROLDA large shelter read details
In 2004, ROLDA became aware of a horror scenario unfolding on our doorstep. A local steel mill, owned by one of Britain’s and the world’s richest men, Lakshmi Mittal, had become an involuntary home to countless stray dogs desperately seeking shelter and food.
I survived these mighty mites!
Alien survived a horrible infestation of fleas and ticks. Today, he is living at our ROLDA sanctuary happily waiting to be adopted. Alien was found by ROLDA rescuers in early spring, already completely covered with fleas and ticks.
Latest blog posts
Can you imagine being left alone for 2 years?
Everyone has their bad days. Everyone has obstacles to overcome in life. How big or small a problem may not matter—it’s still a problem. What does matter is the help and support one receives during such difficult times. We are always grateful — whether we realize it or not — for those who are with us when we feel most alone.
A letter from grateful Lori
The hurt was so severe, I felt blinded. A searing pain spread like wildfire through my haunches and tail. Running away was impossible. Instead, I tried desperately to drag myself to safety, my back legs felt broken. My spirit, too. We street dogs roam in packs, and we try to stay out of each others way.
Blonda story
Babies Born Ready to Die: In one of the poorest Romanian houses near Galati, lives a canine Cinderella. But we call her Blonda. Her brief two years on this planet have been spent with a short chain around her neck. She was kept alive to “defend” her family and their property. Blonda has been through more in two years than any dog deserves to endure in an entire lifetime.
Caramel story
(Visitor thoughts) When I arrived the dogs were all barking but after a few moments, they stopped…and that was one of the most beautiful silence… I looked around – dogs everywhere- small, white, brown, or black. I didn’t know in front of which kennel to stop at first. And there he was: a tiny white/caramel angel handing his paw.
Faraon wisdom
I recently discovered that I was born in a wasteland. For years I believed that the meals I found on the street were a blessing. Scraps of leftovers that I picked out of the garbage. Dirty, polluted water from puddles on the road. I always felt hungry, often felt weak, and sometimes felt horrible pain. But I just thought that was part of living. I thought that was life, and it would never improve. I got used to it eventually.
Farina story
Everyone has their bad days. Everyone has obstacles to overcome in life. How big or small a problem may not matter—it’s still a problem. What does matter is the help and support one receives during such difficult times. We are always grateful — whether we realize it or not — for those who are with us when we feel most alone.
Emergency case: wired dog needs help!
Our rescue team was called to rescue this dog abandoned near a farm fence, caught in metal wires. One long wire was wrapped around his back leg and damaged the tissue – it doesn’t seem like a new wound, because the leg was destroyed, and putrefied. The other wire was wrapped around his neck (no damage there). The vet carefully examined the dog and the only solution is to amputate the dog leg and hope that the infection can be controlled with antibiotics.
Homer story
Homer’s story is tough to tell but it is one that inspires us all with hope and vision. He was found at the edge of the road, in the burning sun. He could barely move. Running away was not an option as he could hardly stand. Crawling was all he could manage, and he was doing his best. Homer distinguished himself immediately in such a strange way.
Nabi story
Nabi means “Butterfly” in Korean. In order to give a name to hundreds of dogs that need to be advertised on the website www.sponsoradog.org, dogs that keep coming and going into forever homes….we should use our imagination and be really inventive!
Light rescue (spring 2013)
Light looks like a veteran, but did not survive military warfare––just the kind of “war” a street dog struggles through day by day, scrounging for food, sleeping in holes, and trying not to be run over by vehicles, kicked, stoned, or hit by a bucket of scalding hot water while hanging around a back door hoping to be thrown some edible scraps. Light fought to remain alive, and survived despite becoming a wounded veteran whose injuries made staying alive even more difficult.
This is Cara’s story
She always turns more to the left to look straight into your eyes. It is just her way to keep a closer eye on you, just in case, until she figures out if you are a good person or not. And the saying “keep an eye on you” is describing the reality in Cara’s case, as she has only one eye.
