Romanian strays roaming everywhere

A reality that can(not) be ignored...

Still considered a legacy of Communism, 20 years after the fall of Communism, the strays split the nation in two: animal lovers and non-animal lovers.

Both parties raise strong arguments in support of their passion for loving or hating the strays. Usually the discussion erupts in the media after a child is bitten by a homeless dog, or by a dog kept by a irresponsible person; when strays are purged; or when someone wants a report explaining where the funds allocated by city hall to operate pounds have gone, when the dogs in the pounds are so badly treated.

Some car accidents happen because drivers try to avoid dogs running in front of them. Some think there is no point in braking for animals.

Some people who claim to be animal lovers refuse to take responsibility for an animal, by adopting a stray into their home. Instead they feed a poor animal from time to time in the streets, encouraging in this way, sometimes with enthusiasm, the continued existence of homeless animals.

Some people refuse their furry "protégé" the benefit of spay/neuter, even if the surgery is offered for free.

One way or another, the presence of homeless animals makes even indifferent persons take a side, usually in response to a determining event such as a child being bitten by a stray).

Animals born on the streets and lucky enough to survive to maturity despite exposure to endemic diseases including rabies and distemper, despite increasing car traffic, despite people who poison dogs, and despite numerous other hazards deserve the chance to be spayed or neutered by qualified veterinarians. We need to stop our homeless animal population from reproducing and multiplying the suffering by giving birth to more unwanted souls.

The problem of too many strays on our streets cannot be blamed on Communism any longer, I think. It is each and every person's fault who is ignorant and indifferent, no matter if the person claims to be an "animal lover." I don't believe any actual animal lovers prefer to see animals suffering on the streets with no water on hot summer days, being beaten by lunatics, dying in agony because of poison or untreated wounds or disease. Non-animal lovers also have a responsibility to help solve humanely this problem that brings then so much discomfort.

I believe ignorance and lack of awareness of what can be done is primarily responsible for the Romanian homeless animal problem continuing. Romanians rarely volunteer to do charitable work on behalf of either animals or humans, unlike in western countries. As long as they are not seriously affected themselves by a problem, most want to avoid acting for others' benefit--and if they are seriously affected, they want overnight results and want radical measures to be taken to achieve them.

I believe that often local authorities don't want to see the homeless animals problem solved, as there are different way to benefit from it. Attempts are made to do something when the situation becomes critical. In Galati, for few years, an international charity had a spay/neuter program in partnership with City Hall, but it wasn't continued, for undisclosed reasons.

ROLDA dream -part 2-

My learning...

I learned that there are many people out there sharing my visions about caring for and respecting a dog or cat, treating animals like family members, offering them decent living conditions. Later I realized that treating animals with respect is part of educating humans. So is teaching people to take complete responsibility for the life of an adopted pet.

I have learned that some cities have more animal shelters, operated by both nonprofit organizations and the municipal government, than exist in all of Romania. I have learned about sheltering conditions, and shelter management. One may become involved in animal rescue in fulfillment of a personal passion, but to operate successfully one must learn to manage the business aspects of sheltering, because funds need to come constantly, serious staff need to be paid to do the work properly, and nothing should be neglected in creating a secure environment where animals can live until adopted.

It was fantastic discovering that for some sheltered animals, who find good adoptive homes, life can be better than in my dream for our strays. But soon I found that building and running a shelter takes a huge amount of time, energy, patience, and sometimes, coping with misery inflicted by other humans (especially from some of those from whom one would least expect trouble.)

For foreign visitors, Romania is a shock. The hidden beauty of medieval cities, unique architecture, the Balkan environment, and the traditions and various traveling possibilities contrast with most of the people's poverty. Homeless animals roam everywhere.

ROLDA dream -part1 -

The begining



Probably every person lives for a mission or follows a dream. My dream was to build a shelter for homeless animals, which seemed excessively idealistic, especially in the Romanian circumstances, but slowly it started to become a reality.

Until very recently, when I decided to update the ROLDA website, I never took the time to look back on how everything started. Time is always short, and I always have lots of projects and ideas that keep me looking ahead.

My initial idea to build a shelter came after seeing constantly so many animals suffering. Just in the city of Galati, where I was born and have always lived, there are believed to be from 15,000 to 18,000 dogs and cats living in the streets.

I used to have a German Shepherd named "Printz," whom I will love eternally. He died somehow unexpectedly and this rushed my plans a bit. I had an emotionally difficult time trying to full the empty place Printz left behind. This is when I began putting the pieces together to building the first ROLDA shelter for strays, based on what I had seen on TV from other countries.

I began to contact organizations from different countries, asking advice and for plans for kennel building. This is how I met Veronica T. (she became, shortly after, the ROLDA representative in the U.K.), Beatrice W. and others, most of these wonderful people still being ROLDA supporters.