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Case studies

Below is an overview of how ROLDA has changed the lives of thousands of dogs left to die on the grounds of a local steelworks company.

With a population of some thousands of dogs, from which many were unsterilized, decreasing their number was a challenge in itself.

Case studies

#GiveHope to animals that have no one else

#GiveHope to animals that have no one else

#GiveHope to animals that have no one else

Challenges


Huge area to cover

Uncontrolled number of stray dogs

Dogs migrating to new territory

Limited resources

Lack of trained staff

How did ROLDA do it?


1. Catch

2. Sterilize

3. Shelter

4. Rehabilitate

5. Rehome in Romania and abroad

Where were the strays coming from?

Untamed dogs born on the streets or living in the industrial areas, hiding under old buildings and ruins, offering limited opportunities to access these areas and catch them;
Puppies born unwanted into a family who decide to dispose of them, abandoning them to die or be saved by animal lovers, charities etc

The abandonment of dogs owned by people who dispose them on the edge of town, or in the nearby villages;
A new generation of puppies born homeless, every season;
Existent adult dogs roaming in town, some unsterilized;

Galati has one of the largest strays population from Romania

Galati is the 5th largest town in Romania and also a major industrial city because it hosts the largest steel plant in Europe, which is the size of a small town itself, spread over 1600 hectares!

This huge surface, partially used for storage and partially for operational buildings and offices, was the home of approximately 10000 strays who migrated from the city of Galati, in search of a new territory or strays who were born there, on the industrial plant. The packs of dogs were concentrated in the areas where workers offered them food or where they could find scraps. From this huge number of strays, some became territorial and started attacking and even biting clients and workers.

In 2006, the situation was out of control. The dogs were at risk of being captured and killed using very inhumane methods. This was when ROLDA stepped in and bravely offered to solve this massive problem using humane, no-kill methods.

Our solutions to the massive stray problem

The ROLDA team enforced:

A humane catching policy (most of the dogs have been captured with bare hands, limiting stress as much as possible and when this wasn’t possible, our team used catching poles and a tranquilizer gun, approved in the EU for this type of activity).

Responsible management of the shelters (including strict rules for diseases control management).

A rehoming policy in collaboration with reliable international partners which helped maximize our efforts to find every dog a perfect home.

Measured results:

What happened to an estimated population of 10000 strays?

Location:

steel plant (outskirts of Galati)

Population:

approx 10000 strays

Country:

Romania

Period:

6 years

To fully understand the dimensions of the steel plant which is spread over 1600 hectares (over 6.1 square miles) you must compare it with the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut metro area (sprawling out over 4.6 square miles).

70% of the dogs entering our shelter needed rehabilitation because they were wild, traumatized and afraid of humans. 30% of them were re-homed successfully immediately.

At the end of the collaboration, 1000 dogs remained alone or in packs.
From these 1000, approx 200 were un-sterilized.
600 dogs were housed in the shelter.

Note: The initial estimations, as well as estimated numbers at the end of the collaboration, were provided by the management of the steel plant.

What happened to all the dogs

During 6 years of collaboration, the number of dogs captured, sterilized & returned to the territory was recorded daily on papers signed by ROLDA and the steel plant representatives, while the number of dogs adopted was reported monthly to officials (like DSV).

Some were sterilized
and returned to the steel
plant property.

Some others remained in our care for longer or shorter periods of time for medical treatment.

Some were successfully
adopted in Romania and
across Europe.

Some others remain
in our care to the
present day.