The Forgotten Dogs of Romania
Why we do what we do:
Claire’s Fostering Journey
I am Maple’s foster mum and decided to foster a dog from Romania to give her the chance to experience a loving family home and live the life that all dogs deserve.
Some friends have questioned this choice; commenting that we should foster or adopt a lockdown dog from the UK, which has been giving up for rehoming after the novelty of owning a dog has worn off post lockdown. Our reason for fostering Maple and to adopt a dog from Romania in the future is to give a Romanian stray dog a future, a happy life and to the change the world for that dog.
The saying “it’s a dogs life” was first used in the 17th century when dogs were used to guard houses; dogs were fed scraps, slept outside and lived hard and short lives. Today, people use the same saying when they feel that life isn’t fair, when life is difficult, boring, unhappy or full of troubles - just like the life of guard dogs of the 17th Century.
Today in the UK, our pet dogs are well fed, groomed, pampered, have many designer clothing ranges, have toys to play with and sleep inside on a warm bed. In Romania, a dog’s life is very different to a dog in the UK. In Romania, the saying “it’s a dogs life" is still very apt for the vast majority, (in fact nearly all) dogs.
Over 600,000 dogs live on the streets in Romania, which is more than any other country in Europe. This came about when the communist regime, who ruled Romania for many years, attempted to industrialise the country. They forced people to move from the countryside into the cities and towns. People left their dogs behind and the dog population grew exponentially and the number of dogs living on the streets grew into tens of thousands. To deal with the growing numbers of stray dogs, in 2003, the Romanian government passed a law to euthanise stray dogs. Kill shelters were built; the most common ways to kill dogs was through lethal injection, suffocation and being gassed. No pain relief was given and the dogs often died long and painful deaths.
In 2008, an animal protection law was passed to neuter and spay dogs as a way to control the dog population. This was in a bid to prevent animal suffering, but after a young boy was attacked and killed by stray dogs in 2013, the Romanian President passed the 2013 Killing Law,. A law which allows dogs to be killed in a kill shelter after 14 days if they are not rehomed: a law is still in affect in 2021.
The owners of these kill shelters are paid by the government to kill the dogs. This has encouraged the catching and killing of dogs from the streets for profit. Dogs are being beaten to death on the streets by dog catchers, or being dragged by dog catchers into vans to be caged and beaten in horrendous kill shelters. Many of the kill shelters are inhumane, where the dogs are kept in cages with no bedding, so they sleep on a cold, hard, concrete floor until they are killed 14 days later. The dogs are underfed, meaning many ill and elderly dogs starve there. It really is survival of the fittest, as the dogs fight for food, with some suffering from horrendous injuries which are left untreated by vets: left to die with the corpses of the dogs left in the communal cages.
OUR Dog Foundation strives to change the lives of these dogs by raising funds to send some lucky dogs to foster homes in the UK as a step to find loving adoptive homes and raise awareness of the plight of dogs in Romania.
I will continue to foster for OUR Dog Foundation and eventually adopt a loving pooch from Romania. It is a wonderful experience to foster and prepare a dog for a loving home. Maple will have her life changed for the better and it is a privilege to be able to be part of her journey from street dog to pampered and loved pet.
Please think about fostering yourself and message our FB page if you’re interested.
Claire, Maple’s foster mum
