Riri - 5 month old female
Riri is a 5 month old female available for adoption. Location: Curtea de Arges, Romania.
In February 2021, Pawprints to Freedom took over the management of a public shelter in Curtea de Arges, Romania.
This shelter originally operated as a kill shelter, meaning that after 14 days on-site dogs would be euthanised.
After months of dealing with local authorities and submitted paperwork, we were accepted to take over this public shelter.
It was no easy feat but it was a wonderful feeling when we started to take in our first residents and even better when stray dogs literally turned up at our doors.
We have a contract with the mayor to catch 40 strays a month and we do so humanely with leads and kindness.
We use tranquillisers when needed and have vets on hand to do this.
We are now proud to say that we have turned the shelter into an adoption centre where the 14-day kill rule just simply doesn’t apply.
The Curtea de Arges public shelter is now a place where dog welfare is of utmost importance.
We have an amazing team on the ground who care for the dogs and make sure everything is run to the highest of standards.
Lack of animal welfare is a big issue in Romania and the only way forward is to educate the locals on how to treat and behave around all animals.
Curtea de Arges public shelter is now not only an adoption centre, but also a place that is open to the public so they can come and spend time with our dogs and learn.
We also often hold free spay events for locals, targeting the problem of strays at the route.
When we took over the shelter, we knew it wouldn’t be easy, the monthly costs to run this public shelter correctly are astronomical. However knowing that these dogs will be safe, cared for, fed and loved makes it all worthwhile.
Running a public shelter can be done differently and we hope we have proven that.
What was once a kill shelter is now a place of hope, love and happiness and is one of our proudest achievements
Currently, our public shelter is approx. 100 dogs over capacity. While our team does their absolute best to care for every dog, there have been fights breaking out multiple times per day. Sadly, we have even lost a few dogs due to this.
We have the opportunity to make changes and extend our shelter to a huge building at the back of our existing shelter. Ideally, we would love to build another shelter there, however, materials are very expensive and we do not have the funds to buy them! 🪚 Our team are working hard to makeshift and mend where possible, welding rusty doors onto empty rooms etc. but we are well aware that this won’t last and we are essentially putting a plaster over a very leaky bucket.
Not only would an extension like this improve the welfare of our current residents but it would also allow us to rescue more dogs in the long run.
If you would like to donate towards this cause, clicking the button below will take you to our fundraising campaign.