Animals Need Us interview about animals with different needs

WHO: Our most important campaign, and in fact the secret to stopping animal breeding/abandonment, is the free sterilization/neutering campaign for animals with and without owners, which began in 2014. Since then the campaign has been uninterrupted and I must say that without the help of the foreign associations with which we collaborate, all this would not have been possible. I say this because financial support comes only from this direction, from the Romanian state in our case and not only, without creating such campaigns.
If I have to refer to the current moment of 2022, with the situation of refugees due to the war in Ukraine, we have also started a campaign to help them by financially supporting the need to prepare documents for animals, food distribution, medical support. All paid by our association.

PETMAX: Where do most of your donations come from? Romania? Germany? Other countries?

A delicate topic, but without which we would not exist: financial support. Most of them come from abroad, from people and associations with whom we collaborate, people who believed in our transparency, who came to meet us and without whom we could not exist to help anyone’s animals. The Romanian state has not supported and does not support these associations in any way. Practically, every month we tremble because we won’t have enough donations to pay for food and veterinary expenses, which are the biggest expenses. For some time now I have also noticed a discreet but firm involvement of those in Romania who are beginning to understand the phenomenon and our work. And this makes us incredibly happy and we thank everyone for their support.

PETMAX: What do people need to know/understand so that organizations’ effort is reduced?

ANU: It’s about changing the whole mentality of Romanians regarding this field: the dogs tied at the bottom of the yard, the raising and drowning of chickens, the legend that a dog has to do it at least once and many others. Furthermore, we do not want animals on the streets to suffer from hunger and disease, to die in torment, to become aggressive towards people due to primitive needs for food or because they are attacked by people. The secret, as I said before, is sterilization and blocking abandonment and uncontrolled reproduction. Since 2013 we have had laws that strictly regulate these things, but they are not enforced. Not at all, nowhere, by any authority. The animal police only exists on paper, without logistics, without trained people, etc…

PETMAX: Do you adopt different tactics seen in other countries to reduce abandonment and the number of dogs on the streets?

ANU: We have many ideas, but we don’t have the people to implement them. The key is education, starting from school. But it is also a deployment of forces, long-term and with the involvement of the authorities, not just the NGOs on the ground. When should we do it again, if we are a handful of people? The notion of volunteering, undertaken with full responsibility, is still a chimera in Romania.

PETMAX: Somehow from the outside it seems like a fight with windmills, a fight that will not end.

WHO: Yes, as I said above: we have laws, but they are not enforced! We also have a bitter saying: we cannot sterilize, no matter how much they abandon us! We experience this frustration every day and have the feeling of being like Sisyphus.

PETMAX: Are there dogs in shelters that will never get adopted? What would be the reason why these dogs are not adoptable?

WHO: Unfortunately, yes, they are. And they remain with us until the end of their lives. The causes are multiple: they were mentally and/or physically traumatized when they were found and no matter how much we tried to socialize them, this was their limit, no matter how optimistic we were. Even beaten and mistreated dogs end up in this situation.

PETMAX: Do you work with dog trainers before placing a dog for adoption?

WHO: Usually not. Socialization for adoption purposes is part of the volunteers’ activity. We organized walks with the puppies, to teach them to walk on a leash, to socialize with each other and with strangers. Here we also receive help from loving volunteers, who only come to help on these occasional walks. And their help is precious and we thank them. We do not cooperate with trainers, unfortunately it is too expensive for us financially, but we have had isolated cases that we have appealed to.

PETMAX: Is there a specific type of dog (age, color, size) that is easier to adopt?

WHO: When I started this beautiful and difficult adventure, I thought that the most adoptable puppies were the light-haired puppies. But over time we realized that no. Future adopters react very emotionally: perhaps it resembles their former puppy who is no longer with us, perhaps the animal’s story is very sad and impressive, perhaps it has a locomotor disability. But he definitely reacts more easily to chicken. They have the best chance of being adopted quickly. Otherwise, the more they grow in our enclosures, the less likely the adult puppies will be adopted. And in fact black animals are more difficult to adopt due to prejudices: in cats because they are superstitious, and in dogs because blacks are not interesting. It’s sad…

PETMAX: What are the future plans?

WHO: In these times we survive. We don’t really have the courage to make plans, to think that we could increase our capacity, for example, or create new enclosures, new spaces. Unfortunately, this is the truth. Lack of money and people forces us to stick to what we can manage qualitatively and quantitatively. And don’t think that there aren’t very hard months, in which we are at the limit of money, in which the accounts are almost empty and the bills arrive. This sword has always been on our heads, for 11 years!

PETMAX: What needs do you have right now besides money? Building materials, volunteers, cars, etc

WHO: Not just at this moment. Building materials are always welcome, for example, because fences need to be repaired every year, cages periodically changed, improved. We always use sawdust for cleaning, in winter hay bales for the cages. Now, for example, we have to build a water well in the paddocks. A great and constant lack is volunteers. The hand of the people I told you about is already tired after 11 years, unfortunately, it is becoming harder and harder. Most of them no longer have weekends, holidays, afternoons free with their family. I know, many say it was our choice and we can do it, but help is always welcome. And the machines leave us for a few years because they work every day, driven by different people, enter the field to reach the fences, etc. Actually, any help is welcome.

PETMAX: To which account can donations be made?

WHO:
Paypal: animalineedus.bv@gmail.com
Euro account: Animal Protection Association ANU – Animals need us
IBAN: RO48RNCB0059121037040002 – Banca Comerciala Romana – Brasov Titulescu
SWIFT: RNCBROBU

LEI account: Animal Protection Association ANU – Animals need us
IBAN: RO75RNCB0059121037040001- Banca Comerciala Romana – Brasov Titulescu

PETMAX: How can people who want information about donations find you?

WHO: We are available at any time via email: Animalsneedus.bv@gmail.com and/or on our Facebook page (facebook.com/animalsneedus), which is constantly updated.

Site: https://www.animalsneedus.ro/

NGO volunteers do everything they can to help these animals. They work without financial reward, they donate their little free time to these souls. We have the simplest task: first of all to be responsible, then to help these NGOs with what we can, as much as we can, when and when we want.