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…

Parasites like ticks and fleas are frustrating and cause weakness while worms usually kill just-born puppies, poisoning them, right in front of their mother’s eyes.

Abused by people, often injured by cars, crippled for life – these are the Romanian dogs that live day-by-day life on the streets of the town or at its edges, in the industrial area.

It takes so little for a dog to be happy: just some food, some exercises and some hugs and love from his human companion. So maybe you ask yourself, given the conditions mentioned above, how do these dogs find resources inside to be hopeful?

Meet Yelena!

We rescue her from the bus station where she was lying on the grass, fed by people’s mercy. The lady selling bus tickets knew the dog was hit by a bus some days ago…but she didn’t call us or a vet to take a look.

First-person that saw the dog lying down and crying, trying to crawl on the grass was Yelena – a lovely young lady from Switzerland that came to volunteer with us. She arrived at the train station and came to the “meeting point” at the bus station – from where I picked her up to go to the shelter.

Yelena is not a stranger to ROLDA dogs as not many months ago, she adopted Homer, a very old dog that went to Oasis des Veterans – a great shelter from Switzerland from where he was discovered by Yelena’s family.

This is how she learn about Romanian street dogs, and about our work and she decided to come and see them first hand our shelters. This is how we discovered the dog lying in the grass: we heard something crying and saw a pair of innocent, beautiful eyes staring and begging for help.

The vet checked the dog and noticed that the injuries from the bus didn’t happen just a few days ago but longer and the bone started to heal naturally, in the right position – luckily for the dog, who is very young and will not remain crippled.

In the beginning, the dog still crawls a bit when trying to walk on all her feet but only a few days later,  standing up and walking become easier and now, almost normally.

But the best part to tell you – starts now!

The volunteer Yelena felt a special connection with this dog and decided instantly to adopt her. She spoke with her parents on the phone and I saw a big smile lighting her face.  I read the answer in her eyes.

We called the dog…Yelena. She is the fastest adopted dog.

One life was saved! Hundreds of others are waiting… and can get a chance if you offer them one!

There are hundreds of dogs that wait in our shelters and thousands of others that live in misery on the streets. We can’t save them all, that’s a fact. But we can at least try to save them, one by one. Who knows, maybe when we’ll look back to count the results we’ll be surprised about the miracle made by a teamwork effort.

There are many good people like Yelena from Switzerland. You are one of them.

Take two minutes and have a look here and please, don’t forget to share this story with your friends.

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%.

An average of 40 dogs were caught, sterilized and returned to the industrial site in Galati.

Dogs from the steel plant were transported to the clinic to be sterilized and brought back into the territory. The straws or blankets keep them softly safe during a bumping road and also absorb the unwanted “liquids” to keep them clean.

Dogs from the steel plant

Dog sterilization

Dogs being returned to the steel plant

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.

ROLDA is grateful that the Dutch Embassy people were interested to learn about our work.

At the small shelter, Mr. Cat was the real star among all the others rescue dogs while at the large shelter, H.E. the ambassador met the dogs and was extremely pleased to see the mini-exposition with the children’s creations and especially Rebeca’s genial education message.

Mr. van Bonzel promised to return with his family and we hope that this will happen soon when the new phase of investments will be completed.

Related to the street dogs problem, Mr. van Bonzel is still gathering info and learning from experts but he thinks that the Romanian community should have a stronger voice.

H.E. Mr. van Bonzel believes that the young generation is the hope for this country to solve its (many) problems.

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.

In case a Romanian person abandons a dog or prevents him to have medical help, the fines are higher and sometimes, the person can go to prison.

There are many Romanians who want to look after their animals properly but they can’t afford the luxury of paying the medical costs. Being forced to sterilize, microchip and register the dogs from the property as their pets by the end of this year and lack of money to comply with this request, many people will prefer to abandon their dogs on the streets before the New Year comes, to prevent a possible fine. The result will be more street dogs suffering and dying.

What kids have asked?
Meeting the kids from the nearby school during the 1^st June contest, they had a special request: they asked for our help to sterilize the dogs from their parents’ properties because they understood the importance of the sterilization and because they do not want to see their best friends abandoned or killed.

What did the kids promise us?
From September when schools reopen, together with these amazing kids and their teachers, we will create a new social event to educate the community about the sterilization key role to reduce humanely the strays population. The event will start in September for 2 months and the funds raised will be split to help the school with a new laptop and the shelters to have video cameras to monitor the activity 24/7.

We search for sponsors for this event and also would be grateful for any ideas on how to sell the kid’s (handmade) creations. Contact us at contact@rolda.org

Back to the present tense… Many kids asked in one voice to help them sterilize their favorite pets. There are mostly dogs, but some cats too. During the summer months, the kids are on vacation and this is the best time of the year when we can help them to sterilize their voiceless friends. It seems it’s our moral duty to not discourage their initiative or cut their hopes down.

200 dogs and probably about 30 cats could stop reproducing with your help.
Because all these animals will be transported to the vet office, a complete job, well done would be to also vaccinate and microchip (only) the dogs and help the parents of these amazing children to save some money which can go for education, food, etc

I am sure that together we can make this summer event happen.
I am aware that the summer months are a hard time to fundraise, as everyone prepares or is on Holiday. But I am confident we can do this together because we made many miracles happen in the past.

Please spare half of the Christmas gift you plan for our dogs NOW and DONATE for this sterilization campaign!

You will not only help us to reach the goal of 200 dogs (and a few cats) sterilized, you will support some poor families from the village to have one less thing to worry about for the coming months and some animals not lose their homes by the end of the year. As a bonus, you will put a smile on some kids’ faces, kids that thanks to you, will not be forced to see their best friends abandoned on the streets.

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.

Sometimes, it is hard to decide who are the lucky ones: those who remained to starve and hope in human’ kindness or the others, who left this life. You can read the worries and fear of a dog-mother eye. What holds the future for her puppies?

These dogs need humans, not “just” people!

Looking around, you might think you saw the worst World for a dog can be born, live into and bear with. You are wrong! Many of these dogs have no food and no warm place to stay in winter, they are full of parasites and often wounded. But they still have their freedom, the possibility to run and interact with others and the joy to feel the sun and the grass. Unfortunately, for a small percentage, life can be even crueler!

The public shelter dogs

Trapped by dog catchers, some of the dogs end up in public concentration camps where they are waiting to die. Day by day, crowded in filthy small spaces, with no sun, no fresh air and we would think – no reason of hope.

Every time these dogs see a visitor (a human being coming closer) they bark, wag their tails and leave their heads down disappointed if the visit is off and they remain imprisoned.

Being empathetic toward others’ suffering reminds us that we are humans. It is a nice feeling. The way we choose to react to help these voiceless souls might be a way to measure what’s left of our own humanity.

Respect for the dog’s lives! Will you ignore or help them?

1. Please sign the petition to put an end to corruption and abuses from the Romanian local pounds!
2. Share the petition with friends and animal activists Worldwide!
3. Help us rescue more homeless dogs. Donate!

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.

Today, it houses about 800 dogs according to the caretaker Lidia.

The dog sheltering facilities improved considerably after mass protesting, including from ROLDA supporters.  In 2013, the pound was completely renovated and additional housing spaces were built outdoors. The biggest “victory” was when the building was re-designed for better ventilation and to allow all the dogs to enjoy the sunlight, as they were living in very dark and smelly, filthy spaces.

I joined Hege to visit the public shelter a week ago when we adopted 4 dogs (one mom with a puppy, another small-size female and a puppy alone). I witnessed how the dog catchers unload the dogs from the van and how the dogs are placed in their new “homes”. For some, unfortunately, this will be their last home. I met all the dogs and I noticed a lot of being sick, wounded, and under-weighted. I also met dogs with distemper – a very contagious source, especially for unvaccinated new puppies, just brought in.

Although the kennels were clean, the water was fresh and there was not much smell – there is an obvious, complete lack of care for the dogs.  Except for Lidia – there isn’t someone to care for them. For employees, those dogs are numbers, not souls! Numbers that increase, decrease, … “just” numbers!

I’ve seen a few public shelters across Romania personally and many others in pictures. Galati public shelter is one of the best I’ve seen in terms of facilities, and handling – dogs have clean water and a source of food. But the horrifying smell of death is there, filling the air.

There are dogs that will die soon because of untreated, infected wounds. Dogs suffering from contagious diseases are waiting for their life to pass – as nobody will give them any treatment or at least humanely handle them. More, these contagious diseases will be spread to others, innocent souls catch because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

A dog doesn’t need much to be happy and one has to make serious “efforts” and treat really badly a dog to make him lose hope. The feeling of hopelessness worries me the most because it shows a dead soul. The whole situation in Romania is overwhelming. ROLDA private shelters function at full capacity. Adoption rate decreased as across Romania, animal activists make efforts to place more and more dogs outside the country.

I do not know how many people will see this article as an alarm sign. Crippled souls that suffer around us should make us worried about where our humanity has gone. Thousands of years ago, the dog was tamed and became humans’ responsibility. In the present time, dogs are treated like trash by an indifferent society. Romania’s brand as a country is often equal to the street dogs. If we turn blind to shocking images or deaf to all the cries for help, the problem will not go away.

Two million street dogs suffer day by day in Romania. Some of them, we see on the streets. Some, are imprisoned in private shelters where they have some quality of life. Some others are imprisoned in public shelters from where there are only two ways out, only two ways to “set them free”: adopted or dead. Looking at all the suffering dogs I wonder when they will be set free, how and by whom?

Visitor suggestions

These are some suggestions for the shelter’ administration from a person that recently visited Galati public shelter:

Wish to make a change for these dogs YOURSELF?
● Volunteer!
● Visit the place to see the reality yourself!
● Adopt a dog!

See below the latest updates

Public shelter 2020

Public shelter 2020

Public shelter 2020

Public shelter 2020

Public shelter 2020

Public shelter 2020

The host/presenter of the conference was Lolita, the well-known Swiss activist for animals, who instantly accepted Marie’s invitation and showed her support from the very beginning. One of the conference sponsors was Hill’s.

More than 3 years passed until the fall, of 2013 when international public opinion was shocked by the new Romanian strays’ law and its terrible, predictable consequences.

Lolita decided to actively help some of these endangered souls and to also set up an example: We might not be able to save them all, but UNITED, we can save at least some lucky ones.

Lolita raised the funds for transporting 24 dogs in Switzerland and arranged the publicity and the logistics. She and her volunteers’ team (Anne, Christine and Mikael) as well as partner shelters assist the dogs until safely adopted in forever, individual homes.

While in the Suisse shelters, until being adopted, our dogs will benefit from full assistance provided by the shelter staff but also regular visits from Lolita and her volunteer friends.

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?

Have you suffered from an open fracture that goes untreated? Every movement means excruciating pain that explodes throughout your body.

You cannot ask for help, as you don’t speak the human language. You do not even know that humans could help, or that any would. You should not cry out. Your misery might attract the attention of predators, human and otherwise. There is nobody to care about, and you begin to abandon hope.

This sounds horrible. This is not something you would wish on an enemy never mind a member of your family. No living creature deserves this existence.  Like us, you are sickened if these awful things were to happen in your community.

But sadly, where I live, this is the reality for thousands of abandoned and abused dogs. They freeze during the bitterly cold winters and dehydrate during the hot summer days. They suffer in misery. Hungry, often injured, and always alone.

Their bodies are often too weak to fight even minor infections, let alone mange, the scourge of neglected dogs worldwide.

This is the fate of the street dogs of Romania.

Our rescue team is out there 24/7 to help dogs in need of immediate medical assistance.

We rescue dogs hit by cars – not all of them survive, but at least we help them not agonize at the edge of the road. Tortured by terrible pain until at last, they draw their last breath.

Dogs with broken bones, mange or other skin infections, dogs injured from fights with other dogs or abused by people. There are dogs with burns. Mother dogs with their starving babies. Puppies that will never know a full belly or a safe bed.

Abandoned, dogs with tumors, dogs without an eye or a leg. Seniors dogs. What do they have in common? They have become “dispensable objects” – garbage. We learn a lot about people when we see how their dogs have looked after. Or in the case of Romanian street dogs NOT looked after.

Every season brings an increased number of seasonal illnesses: during spring and fall, there are more cases of respiratory and skin diseases, during winter – frostbite and during summer – dehydration.

Sometimes we are overwhelmed. Often we have nightmares. But we continue to rescue these voiceless beings – because we are their last hope!

We cannot do our work alone. Help us with the most generous gift you can make at this time. You make it possible for us to continue our rescue work in Romania. The dogs and the staff and volunteers at ROLDA thank you!

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1. To be informed of the organization’s mission, the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.
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3. To have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements.
4. To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.
5. To receive appropriate acknowledgment and recognition.
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9. To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from the mailing list.
10. Feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.

Get access to ROLDA’s Latest Financial reports page.

Do you feel like you are ready to be part of our big international family?

You decide how much you would like to contribute to the rescue of animals in need with us!

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.

These are some ideas for ways you can help the dogs. Please share this page with your friends and family members interested to advocate for the animal’s cause!

Active help

1. Volunteer at ROLDA shelters!
2. Donate Air Miles for our volunteer travel to help us save our funds for life-saving missions!
3. Connect with us! Visit our online networks and help us grow!
4. Add a ROLDA banner, or video to your website, blog, or social network page! Copy & Paste the following code:

5. Online shop to help the Romanian dogs! Buy Romanian handmade products from ROLDA online shop and help our dogs!
6. Spread the word! If you are a journalist or veterinary student, visit our shelters to get inspired for your final exam!
7. Write letters to your favorite newspaper or animal magazine’ editor and tell our story!
9. Post flyers and brochures in your town: public places, stores, and events (We have English, French and German versions available)
10. Advertise our dogs for adoption! Create printable materials (small posters, flyers) to promote ROLDA dogs for adoption (we re-home dogs all across Europe).
11. Advertise our dogs on free ads websites or specific dogs ‘related websites, popular in your own community.
12. Become a sponsor! Sponsor a billboard with a ROLDA message in your community.
13. Arrange a friendly coffee or lunch to present ROLDA programs to people that care about the animals.
14. Get your local university inspired to promote the Romanian animal’s cause!
15. Sponsor our leaflets or brochures printing at your location to save time and postage costs!

Plan the future for your dogs

Include ROLDA as the beneficiary of your will read more!

1. Make a one-time donation by card to ROLDA.
2. Become a monthly donor.
3. Host a house party for Romanian dogs
4. Create a fundraising event.
5. Sell items on eBay or Amazon websites to benefit the Romanian League in Defense of Animals (ROLDA USA)
6. ROLDA USA is featured cause on GoodSearch and GoodShop websites. It’s thanks to people like you that we’re able to save hundreds of dogs each year. Now, we have an easy way for you to support ROLDA. When you use Goodshop.com to shop online, you get thousands of deals on items ranging from sports equiptment from Kmart and ink and toner from Walmart to coffee makers from Bed Bath and Beyond and we receive donations from Goodshop. This program is free, easy and a great way to save dogs from death. It only takes a moment to sign up and select the Romanian League in Defense of Animals – ROLDA as your cause. Then, shop online at your convenience and Goodshop will take care of the donations!
7. See our wishlist on Amazon!

What you can do for a global change?

1. Promote the local pet shops that do not sell puppies.
2. Check out what people are selling to benefit us when you shop on eBay.
3. Buy eco-leather, free fur products, and cosmetics not tested on animals.
4. I.D. your dogs and encourage others to do the same.
5. Turn your own garden into a “small sanctuary”: respect the wildlife!
6. Place a bowl with fresh water for thirsty wild animals during the hot summertime.