This website was started in June 2012. I’ve just received year-end statistics from WordPress: 41,000 views. The most views are on this home page/blog of the site, with “HOW TO HELP” as the page with the next greatest number of views. I feel heartened by this. Perhaps it is possible to make a substantial difference to the lives of stray dogs and cats in Bosnia.
I can say ‘we’ now: in the past months a small group of people have joined forces with me to help. I am very grateful for this, and very grateful for all the support and encouragement and financial donations made to visitors of this site.
We now have a group and page on Facebook:
Animal Advocates for Bosnia – group – best for discussions
Animal Advocates for Bosnia – page – best for being able to ‘share’ posts
And shortly we will have a new website focussing on adoptions.
This is one of our priorities: to find forever homes for nearly 30 dogs that Jelena and her animal welfare activists have rescued and put into pension or foster care. The monthly cost of keeping these dogs safe off the street is very high: well over 1500 euros ($2000 USD) per month, and this does not include any veterinary care. Too much time is taken up trying to raise the funds to keep the dogs safe – time that could probably be better spent in advocacy, education and outreach programmes. As soon as the new adoption website is up I will make an announcement, but in the meantime photographs of some of the dogs up for adoption can be found on the Photos pages of the Facebook group and page.
Jenny, Arca and Grace – all needing forever homes
Many of you have been very generous with donations. Thank you.
Unfortunately there is still so much to be done, and I cannot but help think the only way is if we can involve international organisations in spay-neuter programmes. The 11,000 strays in Sarajevo will only increase. We have been working on involving such organisations, but it’s a slow process as the information required by these organisations is not so easily obtained in Bosnia.
I have no news from Dogs Trust Bosnia on the investigation into the Hreša ‘shelter’ ( Part One – Part Two – Part Three – Part Four ), but we are preparing a letter to Dogs Trust UK that will give feedback to them on a meeting between representatives from DT UK, DT Bosnia and a few local animal welfare groups. I will let you know the outcome.
I have some very sad news.
Lilly was put to sleep this morning.
If you don’t know Lilly’s story, please read ‘Saving Lilly’.
In spite of the very best efforts, Lilly was not doing well at all, as you can see by these photographs taken a few days ago. He had an advanced form of distemper.
Almir Kuduz of King Pension, where Lilly spent his last days under intensive care, wrote the following:
After 32 days of fighting, this morning Lilly received eternal peace through his veins. He came to a point where it was no longer possible to do anything other than let this beauty to embark on his last journey.
Perhaps because of some similarities with my first dog, King, Lilly has had and will always have a special place in me.I’m sorry that Lilly did not arrive earlier, while there was still time for things to turn for the better, but now it’s all over. Sleep peacefully Lilly, proud beauty.
R.I.P. beautiful Lilly
Sadly there is always another desperate case. Right this minute I have been told of a dog found in Sarajevo with a bullet wound, needing immediate veterinary care.
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HOW TO HELP
Please go to your PayPal account (or set one up, it’s very easy) and send the money to: donations@awabosnia.org as a ‘gift’. Click on the image below to be taken to PayPal’s home page.
Or if you want to use the customised PayPal form, click the link below. However, a transaction fee and a percentage (2- 5.4%) will be deducted by PayPal for any contribution made.
If you want your contribution to go to a specific dog, please make a note in the PayPal comment box. If you wish to contribute via bank transfer or have other difficulties or questions, please go here.
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This site is dedicated to Vučko. Read his story and don’t let him have suffered and died in vain. Please help the stray dogs and cats in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The situation there is utterly dire, Vučko is but one amongst many horrifically abused animals. Go here to find out how to help them. Money is needed for food, medicine and foster housing. Even just one dollar or one euro will help.
And it is not just the dogs.
Here is the earlier story of Hreša: 
The 3 adult dogs and puppy probably died of the same illness that took the first set of rescued puppies, and 
Right now these dogs are in a safe, secret place, but the conditions there are not good, it is not protected against the plummeting winter temperatures. In fact sometimes we wonder if we have helped them as the conditions are so bad. BUT, they will not be murdered, they will not be used in dog fights, they will not be ransomed. And they will have plenty of food and water and some blankets.
Or these rescues from Hreša can be moved into pension, but the fees for this would be huge: the pension that right now has availability for adult dogs costs 90 Euros a month (about 118 USD). King Pension is the only pension that takes puppies, and this costs 120 Euros (about 158 USD) a month.
Susan Johnson of the US State department lived and worked in Bosnia as OHR Deputy High Representative and Supervisor of Brcko District, a special unit of multiethnic local self government under international supervised administration. She had the authority to stop the illegal shooting and poisoning of street dogs for bounty payments and she did all she could to implement an effective and humane animal control program. And she supported one NGO to set up a model dog shelter with extraordinary conditions for the dogs, a kind of heaven really.
little Sofie
But the good news is that Clooney the lovely labrador has been adopted in Sarajevo!
UPDATE: December 9 BAD NEWS. Clooney’s owner had to return him as the landlord wouldn’t let dogs in the apartment. I’m devastated for the poor dog.
“Beautiful dog, warm colors of fur and eyes, slowly losing control of the body. As the dog arrived it remained in an unnatural jerky position, with a twisted neck and head. Wide open eyes of fear of the unknown. from himself and what he’s going through perhaps.
While he chewed the food and used his jaw muscles, his eyes were simply disappearing into his skull. Every effort he made was pulling muscles in his eye sockets – so deeply the eyes could not be seen at all. They remained two holes.
IN MEMORY OF VUČKO 