April 2023
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Beginning of April - Spring was supposed to come to Romania, but instead, 2 days before Easter, a snowstorm hit several counties. Among them was Botosani. It snowed very heavily. A red zone was in effect for two days. No cars were allowed to drive. Everything came to a standstill for 2 days. Anca could not go out to feed "her" street animals and was therefore quite restless. She hoped that the street animals found shelter in time.
Michael Hiemann, an animal lover, long-time supporter and dear friend, wanted to visit Anca for 5 days. As this snowstorm swept across Romania, it was questionable for a short time whether it was even possible to keep up the visit. But, thank God, the red zone was lifted and the plane could land.
In the first few days, Michael looked at Anca's "safe place" and the quarantine station. With a trained eye for craftsmanship, he discovered weak points, where something should/needed to be repaired or improved. Michael had very good ideas and advice for which we are very grateful and which Anca will gradually implement. Of course, Michael didn't miss the opportunity to get down to work himself, repairing things, setting up shelves and putting one of his ideas into practice. Of course, how could it be otherwise ... in between, the dogs were also stroked, cuddled and tried to keep Michael from working.
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But not only did Anca want to show Michael the "Safe Place", her wish was for Michael to accompany her on her feeding tour of Trusesti.
We started early in the morning. Anca's car was loaded with wet and dry food, and 1 transport box was stowed.
The first stop was a petrol station on the way to Trusesti. An elderly female lives there and is tolerated by the petrol station's tenant. The female is friendly, but she does not like to be touched by people. Nevertheless, she is very happy when she sees Anca arrive. Word has spread among the dogs that there is food at the petrol station early in the morning and so other stray dogs rush over. Just before we were about to leave, Anca saw a new furry nose that didn't quite dare to come to the feeding station at the petrol station. Over the next few days, Anca would try to gain her trust so that she could take her to be neutered.
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It will turn out that this female is very sweet and very fond of humans. We could not take her back to the streets after the castration. Now she lives with Anca in the "Safe Place" and we hope that she will find a nice home soon. Michael gave the female the beautiful name Felicita.
The journey continued. The snow was still everywhere. Mountains of snow lined the country roads in places.
Arriving in Trusesti, the next stop was the orphanage of Trusesti. There Michael met the dog's grandmother Hera and the male dog Lucas. Both have been living here at the orphanage for many years. We will meet Roxy on the way to Trusesti. Across from the orphanage is Anca's workplace, the high school of Trusesti. There, Gipsy and her dog buddy were already waiting for Anca, her breakfast and petting. Michael was enraptured by the friendliness of the two dogs and could hardly tear himself away.
The journey continued to Ion's house and his pack of street dogs, which Anca had been feeding for many years. Sadly, Ion, a very kind and charming gentleman and great animal lover, had passed away in 2019. His house and property was now occupied by another gentleman. More info about this feeding place can be found under the category feeding places.
The new owner of the property was home and told Anca that the house roof was leaking. Without further ado, Michael tried to help there as well. Together with Anca they tried to find a remedy, at least for the weekend.
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Afterwards we went to the farm, which is located just outside Trusesti. There are some stray dogs living on the premises. Anca wants to castrate these dogs one by one. We had reported about this farm in the category "News". (Edy, the 3-legged, lovely male dog comes from this cow and pig farm). You could clearly see that Michael was very touched by the sight of the dogs. The furry noses were very dirty, they were friendly towards humans, but also very suspicious. The hunger of the animals was enormous.
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They were joined by a cat without a tail. Anca told Michael the story of this cat.
Weeks ago, before Anca came to this farm, this cat had fallen into a machine where rubbish is shredded. The workers did not care. No one helped the cat and when she tried to get out, her tail was torn off to the root. Even then, no one helped her. Since Amelie, as she is now called, is very sweet and cuddly, we would like to try to find a home for her and took her with us that day.
Later it turned out that Amilie is already very old and Anca doesn't want to put her through a long journey in a transporter. Therefore, Amelie is allowed to stay with Anca. The cat granny likes to be close to dogs and now lives with Dodo, Anca's dog, and the three-legged Edy.
The road went back to Trusesti. There Anca showed Michael a family that supports her with food to their dogs and cats. Some stray dogs and cats live on the property. (Anca was able to have the females dogs/cats castrated bit by bit through donations) Some were thrown over the fence to the family as puppies, others found their way through the dilapidated fence and stayed. The family are animal lovers and help Anca in situations when Anca takes in emergencies and cannot house them due to lack of space. Now Michael understood how important it is to support people who provide shelter and a place for animals to live.
Then Anca made a short stop at a family's home to show Michael an example of the success she had in helping chain dogs. First of all, you can't compare this "dog keeping" with our standard. Chain dogs in Romania have no lobby. They are "tools for use" and are treated as such. Most chained dogs have no shelter, no water or food bowl, the chain, if they are lucky, is a maximum of 1 metre long. The collar usually consists of a chain or rope, which has never been extended... The dogs do not know how to be approached or even cared for. Through Anca's work and educating the owners, she has already been able to give some chained dogs a more comfortable life. They got a hut with straw, pots for water and food, the chain was extended considerably and they got collars. Anca explains to the people the needs of the dogs and also how important it is to castrate their animals.
We continue through the paths and small streets of Trusesti. Again and again Anca stops at small rubbish dumps to give food to dogs and cats that are looking for food there. But Anca also stops at owner dogs that now have to live alone on the property due to the death of their master (these dogs are usually aggressive towards strangers) and gives them their daily ration of food.
Now we went back to Botosani, as we still had an appointment at the Public Shelter, we could not show Michael all the stops on this day. However, there was a food stop on the way back, the Deal Mare car park.
Dogs and cats are abandoned there again and again. Mostly puppies or animals that are old or infirm. Unfortunately, it also happens again and again that abandoned animals run after their owner's car out of sheer panic and then die there on the country roads. But not only abandoned animals wait here, but also stray dogs that live in the vicinity to get their daily food needs.
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This time, we are also expecting 2 puppies here. A girl and a boy.
Of course we took the 2 furry noses with us. You could clearly see in Michael's face what feelings he was struggling with at that moment.
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Michael expressed his wish to also see the Botosani Public Shelter. Of course, Anca tried to comply with his request and get an appointment there. Unfortunately, the animal welfare workers, who take care of the animals as best they can, did not have time that day. So we were able to make the appointment, but without getting any information. It was very depressing to see so many dogs housed in one place and not really being able to help them. This mood was not only felt by Michael, but also by Anca (she has a very painful past with the Public Shelter) and me. It is good that some animal welfare associations help there with food and vaccination donations as well as adoptions.
After this appointment we went back home to Anca. There, the dogs were already waiting for us in the "Safe Place". We had to clean the enclosures and feed the dogs. Michael had to let all the experiences and feelings of this day sink in and joined the dogs for some cuddling and stroking.
Michael told us how impressed he was with Anca's dedication, sacrifice, time and love she shows to the street animals. How important it is to talk and educate people and to continue the castrations to prevent future animal suffering. Michael donated a total of 12 castrations and much more. In addition, his ideas, his active support and his encouragement give us the strength to continue.
Michael's conclusion:
He wants to come back to Botosani, continue to help with donations and support Anca in her work for the stray dogs and cats.
Michael, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your many years of help and support. Also for your visit to Botosani to see, experience and feel everything personally. We really appreciate your opinion, ideas and suggestions and hope to see you again in Botosani at the "Safe Place".
You are also welcome to support Anca with her work for the stray dogs and cats.
She would be very happy about it.
Paypal: amelinte13@yahoo.com
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A small addendum as the icing on the cake:
A short video about the road conditions, which are very adventurous and time-consuming in places.
* You can enlarge many photos with one click
