SUST neutering campaigns in Romania
Nereju, County Vrancea, Eastern Carpathians - June 2024
Our neutering team from OAH Bucharest tours tirelessly with the mobile clinic, even in very remote areas of Romania, to help animals.
From April to June, among others in: Sibiu, Frumusani, Popesti, Moreni, Comanesti and Nereju.
This was the team's first time in Nereju, so we will summarize the beautiful story of Nereju for all the neutering campaigns during this period:
It begins with Dorina, who is called Dodo by everyone.
Dodo lives in the very remote village of Nereju in the Romanian Eastern Carpathians. A classic "dead-end" area. You don't move here, you just move away. Also because of the strong seismic activity. The earth is constantly shaking in the region. Animal welfare and therefore the compulsory castration of strays was therefore not a focus of political issues for a long time. However, this has changed since the town has had a new mayor. The newly elected mayor even volunteered as a driver for our neutering campaign.
There is no vet in Nereju and the nearest clinic is a 2-hour drive away. The number of strays is therefore huge, but Dodo no longer wants to watch her four-legged friends suffer.Even though there is a legal obligation in Romania to castrate, identify, register and vaccinate animals, if there are no vets on site, these animals will not receive any help. Fortunately, Dodo's daughter is a vet, so whenever she had the opportunity, Dodo drove 70-80km to her clinic with a car full of dogs. Dorina has been able to help up to 60 animals in this way - and her daughter is also involved. In 2023 alone, she was able to neuter 1000 animals.
She would have loved to be part of our campaign, but Dorina's daughter gave birth on the first day of the campaign.We naturally hope that this will ensure the next generation of animal welfare activists in the region.
Speaking of offspring.On the way to Nereju, about 20 minutes before arrival, our team's hitherto monotonous journey took a dramatic turn.
"We saw a wobbly, black thing in the middle of the road.
We stopped immediately.It was a tiny female puppy, more dead than alive," is how Dr. Irina Corps-Rudnic describes it."We quickly memorized where we were, but then immediately provided emergency aid.Driven by the red-yellowish liquid dripping from the poor ball of fur's mouth."
The examination revealed that she was unable to move anything but her head and her eyes were closed. The team took all the necessary measures, even though they thought there was little chance of saving her.It looked as if she had been hit by a car and had suffered a traumatic brain injury, with or without spinal cord injuries, but certainly some internal injuries.These are difficult moments, even for a team that experiences terrible animal fates on a daily basis.The team was all the more delighted the next day when they greeted the puppy not just alive, but really alive!
These are difficult moments, even for a team that experiences terrible animal fates on a daily basis. The team was all the more delighted the next day when they greeted the puppy not just alive, but really alive!
With her eyes wide open, she was very interested in everything - but especially in the tempting smell of wet food. Although her movements were still very uncoordinated, Naruja couldn't get enough. Yes, she did. From this point on, she was given a name, namely that of the village where she was found.
And as if that was the best medicine, she got steadily better over the course of the day. By the evening, Naruja was already able to drink, eat, pee and also do "number 2" - and she accompanied this loudly with her nightingale song. We don't know what awaits Naruja in the future, but we are overjoyed that we were able to give her a future.
The "motto" of the campaign was "speed". Due to the extreme heat, the team wanted to work quickly so that no animals had to wait too long. Thanks to this, 122 animals were spayed and neutered free of charge over these two days. 20% more than planned - including the 3 cats of the new mayor, who wants to help raise awareness of our important animal welfare work from now on. With Dodo, her daughter and the newborn offspring, we have wonderful animal welfare activists at our side in this remote region who carry on the idea of animal welfare...
...Tired and happy, the neutering team set off on their journey home. And this is symptomatic of our work in Romania...
Because, of course, they stopped at the place where they found Naruja. What they discovered there was so bitter that tears flowed. "We met our patient's mom, a tail-wagging black dog with another puppy in tow. A local resident who discovered our ambulance told us that the dog had been abandoned there a month ago with seven small puppies." She was fed from here and there, but no one could take her in. As the puppies have now all reached the age of discovery, but their "home" is right next to the highway, their fate was sealed. "Naruja was just lucky that we found her quickly after the accident," says Dr. Irina Corbu-Rudnic, adding:
"Now we were faced with the next dilemma.
Taking the mother dog and her puppy would mean "life in a shelter" for her.As animal rescuers, we know that such animals have little chance of being adopted and that animal shelters are overcrowded.We have often been faced with such terrible decisions, but we "only" drove on with Naruja - and the images of her family left behind and their uncertain future still haunt us today.We feel powerless!"
Our team's days are often filled with music, jokes and, of course, hard work. But sometimes, on days like these, when they are confronted directly and personally with fate, the feeling of helplessness and frustration grows almost immeasurably.
"We then tell ourselves that this is why we are constantly on the move, away from our families, with a gypsy existence. We strive to make a difference to as many dogs and cats that cross our path as possible. And we are part of a big family that makes this possible: our longtime friends at SUST. We try to keep this thought somewhere above everything else so we can focus on continuing to spay and neuter one campaign at a time with humble gratitude." Dr. Irina Corbu-Rudnic
This shows how important your donations are. We are also grateful to have such a dedicated and professional team at our side. Animal welfare professionals with heart and mind. Together we can tackle the root of the problem. Thank you for helping us with what you can! Because you make the difference, the decisive difference for Naruja and countless other animals!
> www.susyutzinger.ch/donate
Nereju, June 18 and 19, 2024: 122 neuterings
Moreni, May 8 and 9, 2024: 133 neuterings
Popesti Leordeni, April 15-17 , 2024: 180 neuterings
Frumusani, April 10-12, 2024: 247 neuterings
Sibiu, April 3-7, 2024: 396 neuterings