We cannot let the street dogs under Danijela’s care and those at her shelter starve!

1. In Serbia, Danijela will soon be out of kibble to feed the increasing number of street dogs she cares for. They will starve if no one helps!

“The various crises in the last few years had already caused an alarming surge in the number of abandoned dogs in streets, forests or even dumps... But now, with the closing of the local pound, it’s chaos: the density of stray dogs on the streets is surreal! People have been continuously abandoning their dogs over the last few months…  

These dogs are mostly unsterilised when abandoned and now that the pound no longer works, there are no more free sterilisation campaigns - it’s very concerning, there are already many pregnant female dogs and puppies out there! On top of that, animal abuse and neglect are rampant, a lot of people keep mistreating strays in awful ways and with absolute impunity… 

Lately, I’ve been taking care of 45 of them and this number will only keep growing! Their living conditions are already deteriorating fast and less and less people can afford to feed and care for them. Whereas we truly lack support and food donations… They don’t eat enough and develop all sorts of diseases... I need this campaign to succeed because keeping these dogs somehow fed and healthy is the very least I can do for them…"

2. At the shelter, Danijela also takes care of 70 vulnerable dogs: they are threatened by the lack of kibble, too!

“I currently have 70 dogs under my care and the shelter is full! Adoptions have slowed down and getting a dog adopted also involves lots of complex paperwork. Nevertheless, for each adopted dog, there's always another desperate one to take their place! We just feel so helpless, being unable to help as many dogs as we want to… But we cruelly lack the space and means to do so! 

The economic context has made many people unable to help us, so getting kibble has never been so tricky; it’s become too pricey and I get too few donations: now, I can only feed the dogs with the cheapest kibble... To save as much of it as possible, I ration it and mix it with whatever leftovers I manage to find. But it’s not healthy at all and the dogs aren’t eating enough: they lose weight, get diarrhoea and other diseases. Lacking kibble is by far the worst issue, it directly affects the dogs’ immunity and they become more nervous… Our most fragile dogs won’t make it if the campaign fails!”

3. Lola has just had a major surgery... She's blind and the deprivation she suffered on the streets has left its mark: she won't survive the lack of kibble.

"Lola has come a long way... When I rescued her from the streets, she weighed just 20kg (her normal weight is around 60kg, which says a lot about her extreme emaciation and malnutrition...). She was very weak, ill and her skin was infested with demodex. Her eyelids were seriously infected and she had to undergo eye surgeries several times. Despite this, she is blind and still suffers from the after-effects of her infections and deprivation...

Even though her condition has improved since her rescue, she is still very vulnerable and, what's more, she recently survived a stomach torsion in extremis... She underwent emergency surgery and, to ensure the best possible recovery, it's vital that she eats enough quality kibble to regain her strength, heal properly and, above all, not lose weight... It would be far too dangerous for her health if I could no longer give her kibble, I fear for her survival..."

4. Debts are stacking up and donations are becoming increasingly scarce... Danijela's last option to feed the dogs is this campaign. 

“Debts are crushing us and they just keep piling up, mostly for vet care: new rescues, surgeries, emergencies - it's a constant cycle! We try to raise funds for the most urgent cases, but people are struggling to help us. We lack resources so much that we have to desperately ask for help to cover any basic yet vital expenses, like antiparasitic treatments and kibble… 

Our pleas for donations are met with meagre responses and it’s mostly the same few foreigners and friends who help us as much as they can… Whenever we manage to collect money for food or kibble, it’s always in too few amounts for us to have a lasting stock. And kibble is just one vital thing among many others that are also needed when you run a shelter…  

We have two French organisations helping us a lot when it comes to adoptions and the related costs… Otherwise, the only new cooperation we have is with some state companies for water donations, but it's far from what we need to manage a shelter with over 70 dogs! We're out of options; this campaign is our last hope to keep our dogs safe and sound!”

5. Danijela isn't asking for money, only kibble to prevent the dogs from starving.

“Ten years ago, I rescued my first dog and soon, I realised how desperately the severely injured dogs needed help. That’s what led me to create an association. Now with the city pound closed and dogs being abandoned daily, our rescue work is more crucial than ever. The situation is already chaotic but if I didn't step in, it would be even worse for so many dogs… 

I wish I had more resources and space to save even more of them… These dogs I care for, they've become like my family. Some have been here for years, they’re desperately waiting for the day they’ll get adopted! Most of the time, I work alone at the shelter - but I’m lucky, I have 2 amazing friends and my brother who help me sometimes, when they can. 

Many would think that a shelter is about petting dogs all day, but it's way more - monitoring their health, their behaviour, cleaning, vet visits, trying to find them homes... It's a 24/7 job and it's so hard to find folks willing to get involved in animal welfare, here… Nothing and no one will ever make me give up on these dogs. This is my life now, and as long as it's this bad for dogs in Serbia, I'm going to help as many as I can!”

6. If this campaign succeeds, Danijela will not receive any money, but 1600 kg of kibble, delivered from the Animal Webaction logistics centre in Serbia.

Animal Webaction has a logistics centre in Serbia which allows us to intervene quickly and deliver kibble.

7. Calls for donations and fundraising efforts are attracting little interest, and the association's supporters have already done their utmost: this campaign must not fail!

“Two French organisations, Les Gloutons-garous and Une médaille à ton collier, have been a great help for the association... They promote our dogs for adoption, communicate about the shelter’s needs and support some medical costs when they can afford. Yet, despite their best efforts, it's just not enough. 

I use Facebook to call for help and donations, whether to fundraise for vet care bills, treatments or kibble… It has not been very fruitful for a while now. Many who previously helped us are either struggling themselves or are already committed to helping other associations and can’t help all of them. 

So many dogs in Serbia are suffering, and there are only a few organisations that can help, it’s really difficult to build new partnerships in this context… Despite our requests to the municipality, we never received positive answers. We basically lack everything and this is why we really count on this campaign to succeed, our dogs need people’s support more than ever…”

8. Campaigns launched on Animal Webaction often fail...

When a campaign fails, Animal Webaction cannot deliver the products. The beneficiary doesn't receive anything and the buyers are refunded. 

9. In Serbia, street dogs are hunted by the State and ignored by the population, volunteers like Danijela are their only hope.

If you know of a foundation or NGO that could help Danijela, please invite them to contact us, so that we can put them in touch.

If you represent a foundation or an NGO for animal protection, please help Danijela's dogs, contact us and we will put you in touch!

If you wish to go to the association's shelter to help or if you want to directly send some kibble or a cheque, contact Danijela  (note: direct help is done on your own responsibility).

10. If you make a purchase on Animal Webaction, it will be protected by our guarantees.