What happened and what is currently happening

Dear readers

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Perhaps I am too impatient with Kosovo, expecting too much and too quickly. In any case, in 4 1/4 years of working there, we have succeeded in doing some fundamental work in addition to the treatment and castration of almost 7,000 stray dogs - including a few hundred in Albania. What exactly?

State launched nationwide CNVR work (castration of stray dogs - Catch-Neuter Vaccinate Release) based on our model;
Support for the establishment of the first animal rights foundation in Kosovo (fondacioni për të drejtat e kafshëve), whose performance is impressive.
Construction of the very first and only veterinary clinic in the Western Balkans.
Import approval of pentobarbital for human euthanasia of sick dogs — most recently thanks to a university professor;
Amendment in the Veterinary Office from the planned mass killing of street dogs to mass castration and release - most recently thanks to a US embassy official;

None of this would have succeeded without us and our models, even though others in Kosovo are happy to add this to their list of successes today :-) Why am I still not happy?

There are still veterinarians who demonstrably use poison (Demestos) to kill dogs; many do not know how to inject pentobarbital and therefore do not capture sick dogs - they then die miserably hiding;
The government award of the castration contract went to friends, relatives, or veterinarians who promised kickbacks without any verification of their qualifications. Many dogs died later, the vet collected 74 euros per castration - this is because the “Big” Veterinary Association of Kosovo wanted to share the cake with everyone and has influence!
Despite repeated reports to the Veterinary Office, there was no action against fallible veterinarians, nor against gruesome dog husbandry in institutions that wrongly call themselves animal shelters.
There is a lack of laws that allow the prosecution of fallible veterinarians, agonizing husbandry and sale of dogs in shops and markets (although a new criminal law article will prohibit mistreatment of animals as of mid-April 2019).
There is no registration of dog owners and severe punishment for abandoning pets!
There is a lack of implementation of law and order by the police, e.g. at weekly dog fighting events.

IN SHORT, THERE IS STILL A LOT TO DO FOR US AND OUR PARTNERS.
If you are interested, you can find the 2018 Annual Report on our website under News.

We continue to do this work completely free of charge. Your donations will still go 1:1 to the dogs unless you specify otherwise. Expenses are paid privately.

Dr. Helen Wormser
President of the Board of Trustees

TRANSITORY CARE CENTER (CLINIC) AND GJAKOVA SANCTUARY

‍At the end of October 2018, the first and only veterinary clinic and the only sanctuary in the country of Kosovo were opened. We owe the donations to the ASMI NARDO Foundation (40,000 euros), ZÜRCHER TIERSCHUTZ (10,000 CHF) and TIBITS AG (5000 CHF). The remaining costs were covered by the founder's family and friends. The workers' house was paid privately by our regular donors from the very beginning, the two dog pens from BERNHARD'S ANIMALS FIRST & ONLY FOUNDATION. We are very grateful for these contributions. We did not use any of the donations received for dogs to build the clinic. Yet it is important and unique in the Western Balkans. It shows that pets also need veterinary care - and even if some residents of the country think that it would be better invested for people, we believe that we serve local people in the same way with healthy dogs (and cats thanks to our “Kosovo Small Animal Welfare NGO”)!

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Gjkova Gnadenhof Zentrum, Kosovo — Mickey and Bardha - our giant dogs

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Mickey and Bardha - our giant dogs - they enjoy running free in the evening and at night when the other dogs are cared for. Your job is to guard the clinic and sanctuary. Riki and Mona do the same on the other side. This is how we guarantee that everyone will run out. Living in an animal shelter would otherwise be indefensible.

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‍OBILIQ/PLEMENTINA

The Roma live in abject poverty here - without our help for dogs, we would never have noticed that the people here are no better off than the dogs. Some live as a family of seven in a single container. Stillborn puppies lie around with trash. Money and strength are long gone, no one cares about the dogs. We contacted the NGO “Voice of Roma” immediately, which took care of the medical care of the sick, while we had the equally ill dogs treated by our partner vet from Vushtrri, DVM Zenel Zhabari - and will continue to care for them. We have also brought dog food over again and again. The Roma keep dogs themselves, and there are also street dogs around the camp - which are often abandoned there by people from the city of Pristina. It is not enough that the Roma have nothing to live on; they are also burdened with the burden of urban street dogs. We have repeatedly heard the argument that the dogs are doing well there because there is a lot of rubbish lying around. But this applies to the whole of Kosovo and has virtually nothing to do with the Roma. It's just that many illnesses are spread there by dogs because no one is worried - and the Roma don't let everyone get close to their dogs! In addition to treating dogs, our vet also provides information about dog diseases and the risks of infection for people in the camp.

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Tierärzte mit Strassenhund in ‍Obliq/Plementina, Kosovo

Strassenhunde essen Futter von StrayCoCo

Strassenhunde ruhen sich aus bei Scheune

Aufklärung über Tierschutz in Kosovo Schule

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HELP FOR PRIVATE DOG OWNERS

As reported earlier, we offer asset-free dog owners throughout the Gjakova region and occasionally in other places upon request the opportunity to castrate their dogs. In Kosovo, as in Albania, we find few wild dogs that are born on the streets. Most dogs as well as puppies are abandoned. Therefore, every castration of both privately kept males and females is a contribution to putting an end to puppy misery on the one hand and to preventing the population of stray dogs from increasing on the other hand. In poor Kosovo, almost no one in rural areas can pay for their dog's veterinary treatment. We continue to offer free veterinary treatment as long as owners have their dogs neutered. The shepherd in the picture has 7 males and two females, all males are castrated. The females are already 11 years old... we are convinced that castration only changes the character for the better, if female dogs in heat attract, his males will not simply leave the flock of sheep by the day or week in the future. They remain loyal to him.

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Tierarzt mit riesengrossen Hund in Tierklinik — Shepherd from Rahovec with one of his seven herding dogs.

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“DISCARDED” PUPPIES

They can be found all year round, often on the road, often run over and dead, or begging for food. We can't save everyone, but we can't just pass by either. In Preoce (Serbian exclave near Graçanica) we have a young Roma who saved several puppies for us. Six puppies survived the DHPPL vaccinations and will hopefully be adopted at some point. We are looking for sponsors who provide 30 euros per month to feed and care - as well as an indirect income for the unemployed Roma. People and animals are important to us when people are committed to animal welfare!

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Two out of six puppies in private foster homes in Preoce. They are taken care of by Enis Gidzic. He is 22 years old, a big dog lover - and like most young men in the country, unemployed and as a Roma with no prospect of a job!

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SCHOOL LESSONS

Children in the country have no relationship with dogs, but are encouraged to avoid them. They grow up with the experience that puppies are beaten to death or abandoned by their farmyard dog. We are doing everything we can to change this, at least in the Gjakova region. Our partner vet DVM Blendi Bejdoni visited 15 school classes again a week ago - a total of 320 children from the Gjakova primary school and taught them about pet care - accompanied by his dog Gjina. Many children wanted to touch them. And the lesson will continue.

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Schulunterricht über Tierschutz in Kosovo

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ALBANIA

In Albania, we support the Austrian association “Pro Qen Albania” in Shkodra on the one hand, and “JETA Tier und Mensch”, a Lucerne association for street animals, which in Fieri And new in Lezha is active. In accordance with the contract with the city Shkodër We still have 230 street dogs out of a total of 500 to castrate - price 42 euros. Unfortunately, we currently only received a single donation for this work. The local framework is no longer right for us, which is why we will finish this project as soon as we have had the contractually agreed stray dogs treated. Cost: 10000 euros. However, we still find Pro Qen Albania worthy of support (www.proqenalbania.org).

On the other hand, we will continue to finance the small projects in Fieri and Lezha in the first half of 2019 with 100 street dogs each. “JETA Tier und Mensch” does not run an animal shelter, just a small sanctuary near Fieri. The association works on the street with two veterinarians, DVM Artemis Limoj and DVM Franc Fusha.

We therefore ask you to make a donation with the note Albania. The dogs there thank you for it and negotiations are continuing to make this work sustainable.

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Kastrations-Plakat in Albanien — Advertisement in Shkodra/Albania: The dogs should not be killed but castrated - FALAS = Free of charge. Advertising posters were made by

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Travel advice!

As was the case last year, we would be happy to organise a trip to Kosovo for you - combined with Albania on request - whoever wants to get to know these countries. The tour guide is Xhevdet Kallaba, who reports for Albinfo.ch. The trip can take place in the last week of September or the first week of October. With 5-6 registrations, the fee is around 200-300 euros for the tour guide, hotels cost an average of 40-50 euros per night, the Pristina/Tirana flight must be organized independently.Please get in touch in good time by beginning of May 2019if you want and can participate. Tell us whether you want to visit both countries or just Kosovo — the trip will take between 5-8 days, depending on that.