It is day five of the emergency situation in Bosnia Herzegovina.

Thank you everyone for your ongoing donations! Rescue work continues with food being brought to stranded dogs and cats. Areas most affected are now being driven to as the water begins to subside.

While the Red Cross, the European Forces, the Slovenian Army, the UK Flood Response team and other organisations are assisting, as far as we know the only people trying to help strays and dogs and cats abandoned from evacuations are a tiny handful of animal advocates and groups like Marianne’s Dog Food Bank in Tuzla and Sapa Zenica in Zenica. We are distributing funds raised between as many as we can. PLEASE KEEP SHARING OUR FUNDRAISER.

The news is ongoingly terrible: at least 25 people dead and fears that landmines will be exposed after the torrential rain. Tens of thousands of homes are left without electricity or drinking water. We have no idea of the death toll of the animals.

“Bosnia is facing a horrible catastrophe,” said Bakir Izetbegovic, the chairman of the Bosnian three-man presidency. “We are still not fully aware of actual dimensions of the catastrophe … we will have to take care of hundreds, thousands of people.”

Many people’s bodies have been recovered so far in Doboj. Word is that whole families died trapped in cars and vehicles when caught in flushing floods in the area. There is one of Bosnia’s ‘horror’ dog shelters in Doboj… rescuers have just reached it and tell us the situation there is critical. There is no food or water for the dogs.

Around 5000 houses are flooded in Prijedor municipality, 40,000 people are left without drinking water because municipal water system is flooded. Fedin Gunic’s safe haven for over 100 rescue dogs and cats shelter is without water.

In the northern town Banja Luka, the river Vrbas overflowed. “We have been waiting for the rescuers for hours, too many people are in danger,” Milanka Stojic, a 62-year-old pensioner said.Volunteers were trying to collect hundreds of stranded cattle that have fled flooded farms around Banja Luka, according to Mirko Ostojic, the owner of a dairy farm. “Many animals are trapped in the mud and dozens of sheep have just been swept away by the floods,” Ostojic said.

Embankments in Orašje have been breached by Sava river and settlements Vidovice and Kopanice are being flooded and evacuation of people has just begun. Dogs are being evacuated from Orašje dog shelter, supported by Animal-Kind International and BAF (Stichting Dierenopvang Bosnië)

Also as the rescuers drive to the most affected areas they are of course coming across people in dire need, who stop the car and hope for some bread or water. As one of the animal rescuers said: “This is so embarrassing .. we feel ashamed ..People jumping in front of our car begging for food..People just begging me to give one bag of dog food thinking it is bread. This is terrible – People in Maglaj are starving, stopping our car, asking for food.” ***If you want to help with some funds so the rescuers have something to give please donate directly via Paypal to donations@awabosnia.org but make sure to mark you donation for ‘human food and water’.***

Help is needed for the animals! Donations for petrol, veterinary care, food, everything. No amount is too small, with 10 euros it is possible can buy 10 kilos of dry food for dogs. If you can help please donate via our YouCaring or Paypal to donations@awabosnia.org as per the instructions below and mark it for EMERGENCY FUNDS. Thank you! 

Related posts:
DAY THREE: STATE OF EMERGENCY – all help needed!
WORST FLOODING IN 120 years! Strays and pets are in dire need!
EMERGENCY IN SARAJEVO – the strays need your help!

News:
Bosnia and Serbia floods: thousands flee as death toll rises
LIVE BLOGS AND UPDATES: DEVASTATING FLOODS IN BOSNIA AND SERBIA
Bosnia floods create new land-mine risk in Balkans

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DONATIONS

Funds are needed not only to help individual rescues but also to continue our advocacy work in Bosnia Herzegovina, uncovering the truth about what is happening there.

On our sister site, Animal Welfare Advocates for Bosnia, you can set up a monthly donation via PayPal, or if you want to make a one-off donation, please go to your PayPal account (or set one up, it’s very easy) and send the money to: donations@awabosnia.org . 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 or cause, 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.