How much is a dog’s life worth in Bosnia?

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Sandra Jensen

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A dog’s life is worth very very little, is the sad truth. If you have been reading these blogs you will know that animal suffering in Bosnia Herzegovina is one of the highest in the world. Take this poor dog, now called Brenda. Bojan Veselica, an IT specialist who lives in Prnjavor spends most of his time trying to help the dogs dumped at the public shelter in his town. Dogs are dumped in the shelter on almost a daily basis and although it is required by law, they are not given any food or veterinary treatment nor are they sterilised. And the suffering is not just in the shelter – but all around.

12993414_10153898097628387_8578790558326871041_n A friend called Bojan on Tuesday April 12th, and showed him pictures of a female dog roaming the yard of a nearby horse stables. He could see that the dog’s leg was ripped off by something or someone – the bone was sticking out.

“I knew I had to go and get her. I found her. Worst thing is she’s got 2 puppies with her. But they are big enough to live on their own (4 months old) and the workers of the stables will feed them. I had to leave them behind,” Bojan told us. (Pictures of the puppies are in the slideshow below)

As you can see from the following video, in spite of what must be incredible pain, Brenda still loves and trusts humans (and who knows how this happened….):

Bojan took Brenda straight to the vet and we are fundraising to cover the costs of surgery and after care, and then somehow we need to find a home for her. If you can help please email us at info@awabosnia.org, but the critical thing right now is to raise funds for the surgery. If you can help you can donate via Paypal to donations@awabosnia.org and please be sure to mark your donation as ‘For Brenda’. Any excess funds will go towards keeping her safe until a home is found and hopefully there will be enough to sterilise her and her two puppies (the cost in Prnjavor to do this is 50 euros per dog, including rabies vaccination). If possible, he will take the puppies to safety, to a ‘pension’ but cost for this are high.

The surgery took place today. The leg was infected and she has to be in vet treatment for at least a week.
operation

12931167_10153898084328387_1496926047757349088_n Also on Tuesday the 12th, the same day Bojan rescued Brenda, in front of a shopping centre, he saw a tiny thing running around. Running away. Lost and confused. “I have no place for her, but, I also knew I can’t leave her there. She is too small to take care of her own. Too small to go to the public shelter. I took her to my home where I already have 3 dogs. She is safe and sound this evening. I set up a grid cage for her. Tiny female….I will call her Laska.”

laska1 What can we do to help Bojan? Can you offer this sweet dog a home? Email us at info@awabosnia.org,

Bojan needs our help for ALL the dogs at Prnjavor shelter. Last month 20 of the dogs there were offered a chance to get out of Bosnia by the Bosnian German organisation SOS Vergessene Pfoten who covered the transport costs and are homing them in Germany. This month they have offered to help another 20 dogs from the shelter. This is truly an unprecedented chance. But… the dogs must be fully vaccinated against infectious diseases, they need to have microchips and passports, and funds need to be raised for this in time for the transport at the end of May. If you can help, please go to the YouCaring fundraiser:

Please join the Facebook group supporting Bojan in his work at Prnjavor: Saving Prnjavor Dogs

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UPDATE 17th April:
Brenda seemed to be doing well after her operation. But then she began to bleed badly, and although the vets did all they could, she died. Bojan found out that Brenda’s accident happened last November, when she got caught in illegal wire traps for deers. And she was stuck for 7 days in the trap. The vet said she had osteomyelitis, an infection and inflammation of the bone and bone marrow. Her poor bones where rotten. This poor girl suffered so much. Why did no one help her? Or think to call Bojan sooner? We don’t know. All we know is a dog’s life is not worth much, no, not at all. We are all devastated that she has left us, she had so much support, on Facebook she had so many people rooting for her. But the bad news doesn’t stop there. Bojan was told that her puppies had been inadvertently eating rat poison around the stables. He went there to rescue them…. only to find out that the male puppy had been accidentally run over. The female puppy was rushed to the vet as she was in a bad way from the poison. She was put immediately on fluids and vitamin K, and finally pulled through. She has been moved to a foster home in Banja Luka. All donators to Brenda have been contacted to find out what they would like to do with their donations. restinpeace

Shelters in Bosnia Herzegovina

Stopping the Suffering: you CAN help the dogs of Prnjavor Shelter!
Bosnian public shelters for stray dogs – A True Horror Story
What to do about Gladno Polje Shelter in Sarajevo?
Uncertain future for Dogs at Gladno Polje Shelter in Sarajevo
Saving the Dogs of Gladno Polje, Bosnia
Veterinary Office of Bosnia: is it possible to solve the problem of stray dogs?
Another Horror Shelter in Bosnia
THE HORROR SHELTERS OF BOSNIA – SOMETHING MUST BE DONE!
Saving Lucia and the dogs of Foča and Gorazde
Dog Shelters in Bosnia: A Complex Situation
Horror Camps for Animals in Bosnia
Concentration Camp for Man’s Best Friend
Concentration Camp for Man’s Best Friend PART TWO
Mass Graves Found Near Dog “Shelter”
Hresa Shelter:
Part One – Part Two – Part Three – Part Four – Part Five – Part Six – Part Seven

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DONATIONS
Funds are needed not only to help individual rescues and to help us keep safe the rescued dogs we are sponsoring but also to continue our advocacy work in Bosnia, 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 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 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.

The responsibility of an animal rescuer

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Sandra Jensen

By Dalida Kozlic

Not so long time ago, I wrote a post about animal rescuers who have been doing the work of Bosnian authorities.

Summary is that NGOs, rescuers, activists and ordinary people have had to find a way to save as many animals as possible. Because of this awful and paradoxical situation, many private shelters – kennels – called “pensions” have been built in Bosnia. Rescuers are forced, at great financial cost, to take their rescues to these pensions since they cannot keep a lot of dogs at their home. Many rescuers have in fact turned their homes into shelters, but the difficulties here are enormous and there is a limited number they can keep.

When a Bosnian rescuer finds a wounded or abused stray dog or cat, they must take all responsibility if they are to rescue the animal: they must take the dog or cat to the vet on their own and they have to pay veterinary costs and costs of pensions in order to save the lives of these strays. This is the only way to save stray dogs and cats in this country, and yet all these things are actually the obligation of the Bosnian authorities. But, not only do rescuers do the authorities’ job, many of them are actually attacked by the Bosnian authorities because every time a rescuer saves the life of a stray animal, the rescuer is actually preventing the authorities from catching and then killing that animal – which means they are preventing them from pocketing money. Bosnian authorities use public dog shelters and dog catching services to launder money from the budget by killing stray animals and then pocketing money that is in fact meant for food and veterinary services for these animals. The more dogs the rescuers rescue, the fewer animals the authorities can use in these illegal money-making activities.

After 15 years of rescue work and hundreds of saved and adopted animals, I can tell you that running an animal rescue is not an easy job. There are a staggering number of animals who need help every day and if a rescuer can or cannot intervene, it’s often a case of life or death for the animal.

People often tell me they can’t visit animal shelters in Bosnia because it makes them sad. Animal shelters make Bosnian rescuers sad, too, but we refuse to let our emotions get in the way of saving lives. We understand we can’t save them all but we can and do make a difference. Alone, rescuers have shed many tears for animals they can’t save. But they get up the next day and get back into the ring as they fight for those creatures who can’t speak for themselves.

The number of lives we can save is dictated by the amount of funds raised and every adoption is a victory and a joy.

Responsibility of the animal rescuers is huge. Thousands of lives depend on us and our ability to find places to keep them safe, provide a veterinary care and find right forever homes.

Responsibility to save a being’s life is the biggest responsibility in the world. If we fail to provide the right care for saved animals, we fail to save their lives. There is a famous quote saying: “In rescuing animals I lost my mind, but I found my soul“. This is an absolute truth.

Rescue isn’t a verb, it is a promise that every rescuer gives animals.

You must make sure that whatever actions you take are in the best interest of the animals, and when you live in Bosnia it is very difficult to have the best solutions if you want to save a dog or cat’s life. Rescuers are often forced to choose between saving lives and finding finances to pay for pensions and veterinary care needed for their existing rescues. But it is a price we all pay for the situation in our country.

Rescuing doesn’t end once an animal is out of a death situation. It is important to take the time necessary with each animal and make sure that all the proper steps are taken to find them a loving, permanent home. Rescuing animals is a very high stress endeavour. Caring for them requires 24 hour a day, 7 days a week and there is an additional huge stress because of the fundraising needed to be done to do the work and to keep the animals safe. Fundraising is almost a full time job. It is important not to underestimate the amount of care and the level of commitment that is necessary to save animals in Bosnia.

As rescuers we know that every time we save an animal there is the possibility that this animal can make a profound impact on one person’s life. We dream of a day when our services won’t be needed, where there is a loving home waiting for every dog and cat in the world.

By Dalida Kozlic

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DONATIONS

Funds are needed to help individual rescues, for spay-neuter projects, for education also to continue advocacy work in Bosnia, uncovering the truth about what is happening there. Donations are managed by AWABosnia, an independent group of animal advocates. On their website, 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 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. Even just one dollar or one euro will help make a difference.

IN MEMORY OF VUČKO

raising awareness and funds to stop animal suffering in Sarajevo and Bosnia-Herzegovina

Monthly Archives: April 2016

How much is a dog’s life worth in Bosnia?

The responsibility of an animal rescuer