Romania Trip - November 2019

​In November 2019, a team of Dogs Walk This Way Volunteers headed over to Romania for an outreach trip

​These wonderful volunteers funded their own travel, accommodation and all expenses. In the run up to the trip, they filled 6 suitcases with donated treats, food, medication, wormers and flea-treatments.  Thank you to each and every one of you who donated.

Jenny, Jo, Caz, Mandy, Kay, founder Rachael and Sam

​The plan for the trip was to visit one of our trusted shelters to help out by spending time with the 600+ dogs; treating them for worms and fleas and giving them some much-needed love.  In addition, the team planned to visit one of the horrific government run kill shelters to save as many dogs as possible.
 
Read more to find out how they got on, on their trip, in the words of Rachel Welch - our amazing Founder;

​“This trip has been extremely emotional for all of us. We started each morning by feeding the stray dogs and cats outside of our hotel before jumping into the mini-bus to arrive at the shelter by 7 am. 
 
Our main job was to get around as many of the dogs as possible to de-flea and worm them.  In addition to this, we treated any dogs that needed it with antibiotics and pain-relief.  We also tried to spend some time with each and every dog to show them some love, and even those that were too scared to interact with us were given treats.  We managed to get some of the dogs out for some exercise as well but there were over 500 dogs to get around to, so time was limited. 

​One of the highlights of the trip was when our delivery of a van load of straw arrived.  In the winter, temperatures get well below zero and the most affordable and manageable way to keep the dogs warm is by providing straw.  We were taking it into all of the kennels, and the reaction of most of the dogs was incredible, they seemed to love it and they were playing in it, rolling around and then getting all cosy and warm.

During the trip, we also visited an awful, barbaric government-run kill shelter, which was one of the hardest things for the team to do.  The team were so brave to visit this hell-hole but there were a lot of tears shed because we knew that we would not be able to save them all.   
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We spent time in each kennel giving them food and tasty treats. Some of the dogs were incredibly friendly and happy to see us and others were so shut down, they didn’t even lift their heads from inside the dark kennel, which was just hear breaking.  The single most difficult thing I have ever had to do, is decide which dogs to save, because the reality is that the dogs that we leave behind will be brutally murdered (not PTS in a humane fashion).

18 Dogs are saved

After assessing the dogs, and feeling heartsore, we eventually chose 18 to be removed from the kill-shelter and transported to one of our trusted shelters. There, they are reserved for Dogs Walk This Way Rescue and cared for until they are ready to travel to the UK.   
 
We have been lucky enough to find some sponsors, each of whom have kindly agreed to donate £35 per month which pays for the care of one dog.  You can find out more about the dogs saved from the kill-shelter here

​All in all, we were satisfied that we did the best we could on our trip but we still feel helpless and heart-broken for the dogs left behind.  Sadly, the safe-shelters in Romania only have so much space and we have only limited resources to support them - so we have to accept that we did the best we could in difficult circumstances.
 
Our volunteer team already work so hard to help these dogs, but this trip has driven each and every one of us to do even more to protect these dogs.  We have to continue to raise funds, raise awareness and fund fosterers and find adopters and sponsors so that we can continue to bring them to the UK for the lives they deserve – safe, warm, fed and happy – it really isn’t a lot to ask for is it?”