Notes from a professional foreigner...

Fifi is a homeless Romanian dog looking for a bit of love… and a home. She is about a year and half old judging by her teeth. She was found by the veterinarian I use (Di-Vet) who had her fixed and is keeping her for now. She’s a little shy, living on the street will do that to you, but warms up real fast. She’s also quite small but seems hardy enough. Please, if you or someone you know has room for a larger family, adopt her. 

The vet’s office is in Bucharest on B-dul. Calea Dorobantilor; phone, 021 230 03 62, ask for Alex, but anyone there should have more detail. If you do pick her up, drop me word, please. 

Having now lived in Bucharest for some time now, I can better appreciate the concept of the Brussels, where I lived before, version of the a street dog. And no, I do not think that putting them down is even remotely a good idea. 

It’s been a while since I updated you on our foster puppies. We had three, all took terribly ill shortly after we got them and one died at Easter. The other two fortunately have thrived, thanks to the wife. As you can see, they have grown. Ferda has the darker face and Lana light. 

When they were sick wife had to take them to the vet daily. I went once. I was touched by how loving many Romanians can be towards dogs, even strays. The vet is used to the few individuals who go about collecting puppies from the street and charges only nominal amounts. The vet also collects injured strays, treats them and then releases them. Their office is one of the brighter places I have been to here. 

Ferda and Lana are scheduled to move on soon, in a week or so, to Germany where I dearly hope they go a loving family. The wife is understandably reluctant to let them go, but that is the point of being a foster family. I may slightly miss them too. 

Romanians Protest Over Mass Dog Euthanizing

On April 30, 2010 between 200 to 300 people gathered to protest in Bucharest a new law that will effectively allow for the mass culling of dogs. There are at least 40,000 strays on the streets of Bucharest. 

Among those protesting, my wife (I had to work). Here are a few snaps. 

I am not saying that the strays on the street do not represent a danger to the public. Some of these dogs very well do, but few. Most are used from puppyhood to getting a sound beating if they step out of line.

What I am saying is that there are alternatives. Mass and coordinated neutering and release programs work. And a bit of public education and responsibility on the part of locales wouldn’t hurt either. People don’t neuter their dogs and when they have puppies they get dumped on the streets and woods.

That said, we’ve met many Romanians who love these dogs and sacrifice much to help. My sincere thanks to them. And while 200-300 people isn’t a lot, I was expecting less, in fact I feared a counter demonstration. So there is a small ray of hope, even if at the end of the day Romania will proceed with this law. 

http://www.news24.com/World/News/Protest-over-mass-dog-euthanizing-20100430

R.I.P. Brum

My wife just got word that Brum died last night, he was just too weak. Our foster puppies got parvovirus, one-by-one. My wife pulled Lana and Ferda through but Brum seemed to suffer the most. She’s taking it a bit hard, feeling guilty at leaving them behind, but if it hadn’t been for all her effort I don’t think any of them would have survived. They are in good care, just unfortunate.    

The puppies… since some of you have asked, this is the story.

The one on the left is Lana, Fernando (a/k/a Ferda) is in the middle and on the right is Brum. They were found abandoned by Grigoreta, a local who goes about feeding strays around Bucharest. She found seven in total, another was dead. We think they are from two different litters. The worst part, the mother was found next to them, dead and stuffed in a plastic bag. I have pictures but I’m not going to post them.

Grigoreta already has too many dogs in her home so she relied on a network of people here who foster them. As it turns out, my wife (Kvetka) is part of this network. We took three and another person four; we don’t have a garden, they have taken over our living room.

When they are old enough they’ll be sent to Germany for adoption. Individuals here in Romania and Germany as well as Austria and Switzerland cooperate and use their own funds to transfer dogs periodically. Most go directly to new homes, people can select a friend from pictures posted on the Internet, and some are kept in shelters there until the are adopted. Western Europe is good about that, locals here prefer pure breeds.

Lana caught parvovirus last week. I Googled it, deadly and contagious. She is recovering well now but Ferda (my favorite) has now taken ill. But, the outlook is good, the vet today said if we keep up the treatment prescribed he’ll likely pull through too.

We are going home for Easter next week. My wife will be gone for two weeks. No worries, well find another foster family, Grigoreta is on it now. And when my wife returns, we’ll probably take them back. It will be a while before the are old enough to make the trip to Germany. 

So that’s the story, but there is a bit more. My wife and her friends who go about saving dogs are in the process of launching an NGO. One plan is to go to the woods where these puppies were found and neuter anything that moves, I won’t be going. It won’t solve the problem at the end of the day, but it’s better than nothing. Watch this space, I’ll soon be communicating how you can help should you wish.