A small special operation in the SWAD Cute dog Dober appeared in the life of Muscovite Maria Glumova 4 years ago quite by accident. Seeing a post about recruiting a group of volunteers for a trip to one of the municipal animal shelters, the girl intuitively responded and went to the place with her friends. What the volunteers saw was a real shock: “Before that, I had never been in shelters, so I didn’t even know what was going on there,” recalls Maria. – It was one of the many government organizations that make money on the “dead souls” of animals in the best traditions of Gogol. I was lucky to find an open person there and find out that living pets in such shelters are solely the merit of volunteers who feed them, walk with at least some of them. By the way, at that time there were about 2000 dogs there! And if a volunteer was not assigned to one of the dogs, the animal did not have the opportunity to leave the cage at least once. Almost everyone in our group wept at what they saw, but I felt some unquestioning determination in myself, and after that time I began to go to the shelter twice a week. I carried 20 kg of buckwheat with meat on myself, sometimes I was on the road for 3-4 hours. Volunteers shared custody of the dogs among themselves, tried to ensure that everyone got food, so that everyone had the opportunity to walk in the nearby forest at least several times a week. I chose a number of enclosures for myself, in which 6-7 dogs lived, and purposefully went to them. My Dober lived in one of them. Perhaps he was the only one lucky enough to sit in a cage alone (other dogs huddled three or four in one enclosure). As it turned out later, Dober was thrown away from the rest for endless fights. I immediately became attached to him: I can’t put into words what you feel when someone is waiting for you so much, looking at you in a special way. In total, I went to Dober regularly for another 8 months after the first visit, without even thinking about the possibility of taking it for myself: then I lived with my parents, who had their own animals, and I did not have my own funds that would allow me to keep a dog and take care of her. Maria had to go through many difficulties before she was able to take the dog home. For a number of reasons, the shelter management forbade the girl to take care of Dober, but Maria became too attached to him and could not back down: – Now I can honestly admit that the dog had to be taken away in an unofficial way. Together with friends, we developed a real rescue operation and took Dober out of that hell at night. From that moment on, my whole life changed: I realized that I could not return with the dog to my parents’ house, because he would never get along with their two pets – Chihuahua dogs. I found a rented apartment and got a job so that I could support the two of us. I completely switched to vegetarianism, realizing how much animals have to endure from humans. Maybe it sounds a little strange, but for me the appearance of Dober was one of the turning points in my life! When asked if any of her relatives and friends were inspired by her example, Maria replies with some sadness: “Unfortunately, none of them ever made it to the shelter. People are already very sorry for homeless animals, not everyone is ready to endure the real truth about them, to see with their own eyes the conditions in which they have to be. But I think it’s worth watching for everyone. In addition to all-consuming compassion, a desire to change one’s own life will definitely appear inside. Humane approach to the problem Of course, you can find those who are not indifferent to the fate of homeless animals not only in Moscow, but also in other cities. For example, in Voronezh there is a veterinary hospital “Friends”, which has been operating for many years thanks to a team of enthusiasts. Wounded and sick animals picked up on the streets and highways of the city are regularly brought to the center. Employees treat them, sterilize them, give the necessary vaccinations, return them to normal life, and then do their best to place the pets in caring hands: “No one ever counts the number of homeless animals in Voronezh, and it’s already clear that there are thousands of them,” says the director veterinary hospital “Friends” Natalia Molotkova. – The place of each shot flock is quickly taken by a new one. There are no volunteers in the center, but caring people respond to our announcements on social networks related to the need to transport an injured animal, purchase of medicines. There are more and more of them every year! Someone helps pay for the operations that veterinarians and surgeons of commercial clinics perform for our guests – for example, osteosynthesis, arthrodesis, treatment of fractures of the paws or jaws are often needed. Someone can bring food and everything you need, even come on your day off and walk the dogs. The most ordinary people donate what they can and help us pay for everything that is needed for the recovery of animals. And only 4 people make regular contributions. Despite the endless difficulties and lack of finances for the ever-growing number of animals delivered to Friends, the employees of the veterinary hospital notice certain positive changes in their city: “I am glad that in Voronezh in recent years the demand for preferential sterilization of stray dogs and cats has increased,” says Natalia Molotkova. – Residents of entire neighborhoods or employees of several organizations collect the necessary amount together and with common efforts try to improve the situation. And, in my opinion, so far this is the most humane solution to the existing problem with the number of homeless four-legged animals in the country. We are in social networks: INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/vegetarian_ru VK: vk.com/vegjournal Facebook:
2022-11-11