About StrayCoCo
StrayCoCo = Straydog Control through Cooperation
Supporting street dogs in the Southwest Balkans
With your donation, you are helping dogs in Europe's poorest area: KOSOVO
Donate with ZKB online banking in Euro.
Scan the QR code and enter the amount.
Confirm amount and donation.
Directly to
STRAYCOCO BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Dr. Helen Wormser
Lawyer and psychologist
As a former public prosecutor for the Canton of Zurich, Dr. Helen Wormser was always committed to protecting the weaker, first in child protection, then animal welfare. We are working in Kosovo because hardly any other foreign NGO is doing it!
Med. vet. Nadja Berger
veterinarian
After completing commercial training in banking, Nadja Berger studied veterinary medicine and gained extensive experience as a veterinarian in Swiss practices and cantonal veterinary offices. She has also dedicated herself to animal welfare and is a qualified animal psychology consultant at VIETA. In her free time, she is active as a dog trainer in Wila.
web page: Paw psychology
Kaj Seidl Nussbaumer
solicitor
Kaj Seidl-Nussbaumer is a partner at the law firm Probst & Partner and has been a member of our Board of Trustees since its founding day. He is our legal conscience and also the vice president of our foundation.
Markus Nussbaumer
Hotelier
Markus Nussbaumer is a hotelier (Hotel Limmathof Zurich) and dog lover. He is a co-founder of the StrayCoco Foundation.
Helpers and volunteers
Athina Löhrer
Certified animal caretaker and trainer
Athina Löhrer was already in Kosovo for a week in 2016 to support the care of our sanctuary dogs back in Nagavc.
In 2023, she was responsible for training our employees in sanctuaries.
Matias Peitzolenka
Self-employed designer
Matias Peitzolenka, known as El Zonko, is an independent designer and has been with us since the very beginning. He prepares our adoption certificates and is responsible for publishing our documentation brochure every year — all as a volunteer.
web page: Cartoonmasters
email: elzonko@hal-media.com
Sandra Michel-Rinderer and Anton Rinderer
Administration
Sandra Michel-Rinderer and Anton Rinderer are volunteers responsible for our monthly donor lists and annual accounting.
Thanks to this support, we save administrative costs, for which we are very grateful.
Anton Rinderer is a Dipl. Auditor at AUDITCO AG, Zurich.
Guido Migliaretti
trustees
Guido Migliaretti is responsible for auditing.
web page: www.cmt-treuhand.ch
OUR ANIMAL CLINICS IN THE SOUTHWEST BALKANS
GJAKOVA SANCTUARY AND VETERINARY CLINIC
Pro Vet Gjakova with DVM Eriola and Blendi Bejdoni
Our main location is Gjakova in the west of the country. The project manager for the country is DVM Blendi Bejdoni, one of the very few specialized small animal veterinarians in the countryside.
We have been working successfully with him since 1.1.2015.
Vushtrri Sanctuary and Veterinary Clinic
North Animal Hospital Nevolan with DVM Zenel Zhabari
This is our second deployment site in Kosovo Vushtrri, under the direction of the veterinarian DVM Zenel Zhabari. The clinic was built in 2020, after we negotiated with the city, which contributed to the costs for three years until the end of October 2024
Time and again, our Vushtrri vet is active on an outpatient basis in the Roma camps Obiliq/Plementin, vaccinates the puppies, deworms them, and later fetches them for castration. People and dogs live in misery there.
Other locations that are regularly visited include the Serbian communities of Graçanica.
Mitrovica SANCTUARY AND VETERINARY CLINIC
Mitrovica Transit Center: The old factory that we rented for our work in Mitrovica is insufficiently furnished. The concrete floor absorbed all kinds of odors, an unacceptable situation for humans and animals. In November 2022, we had to line the floors and walls with expensive epoxy. Shortly after, the clinic was flooded and our work was in vain.
That is why we are currently setting up a new veterinary clinic. Since December 2024, the sanctuary has been standing on the hill near Mitrovica. Our partner vet for the Mitrovica and Skenderaj region is DVM Labinot Osmani.
SANCTUARY AND VETERINARY CLINIC DRENAS
The sanctuary was already set up in December 2021 - and thanks to a great donation from the Asmi Nardo Foundation, the small animal clinic with 5 inner boxes was completed by the end of 2022. The opening ceremony was on March 31, 2023, with the local politician Haki Abazi, our vet partners, and many guests! The responsible vet is DVM Shaban M. Mehmeti.
Co-operations in Kosovo
With DVM Blendi Bejdoni, we have hired an experienced vet in Kosovo who has already played a significant role in previous, American-led castration projects. He completed his education in Tirana/Albania (like his Albanian wife DVM Eriola Palla Bejdoni). He comes from Gjakova and initially worked in the rented Nagavc Veterinary Clinic, and since October 2019 at his small animal clinic in Gjakova (pictured above). A few dogs have found a place to live there because they have a severe handicap, e.g. a missing limb, etc. - so that they would no longer be able to survive on the street. He is not only our liaison but also responsible for the entire CNVR organization in the western part of Kosovo. He also provided support in our past Albanian projects and Montenegro.
The former mayor of this city, Dr. Xhafer Tahiri, has welcomed our treatment of street dogs and private dogs since 2018, the appointed vet is DVM Zenel Zhabari. Since October 2019, we have been collecting donations for his small animal clinic in Nevolan/Vushtrri - North Animal Hospital, with a larger operating room, restrooms, and indoor boxes. Cooperation and joint financing agreements were also concluded with the new mayor Ferit Idrizi, but these expired in 2024. The city then commissioned a large animal doctor with 3000 castrations and 800 killings - a protest was launched against this.
Our two youngest small veterinarians were contracted in 2019 and 2021. DVM Laboinot Osmani serves the Mitrovica and Skenderaj region, DMV Shaban Mehmeti Drenas.
Left and center: DVM Labinot Osmani, Mitrovica, feeding street dogs during COVID when markets and restaurants are closed.
Right: DVM Shaban Mehmeti, Drenas, working for us since October 2020.
During holidays or when you travel through or out of Preoce-Graçanica, your dogs are temporarily in good hands with Atlan Gidzic. He and his sons repeatedly feed street dogs in the Preoce-Graçanica regions and help rescue abandoned puppies that are brought to one of our clinics in Gjakova or Vushtrri.
We are happy when healthy dogs are adopted.
ADO's Service transports dogs for you in Kosovo and neighboring countries. contact: +383 49 762 018
WANTED: VOLUNTEERS FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING
We are excited if volunteers contact us for an assignment in Kosovo.
WE ARE LOOKING FOR:
- Veterinary students
- Ethologists
- Ethnologists
- Zookeepers
- Animal trainer
- Laboratory assistants
- Sociologists
- and others
YOUR CONTRIBUTION CAN BE:
- To dedicate your master's or bachelor's thesis to the topic of street dogs
- Carrying out repair work in sanctuaries
- Grooming dogs and taking them for walks
- To look after our sanctuary
- Carry out dog training
- and more
If your contribution is beneficial to the foundation, flights and accommodation will be paid. If not, but you would like to deal with street dogs, you can travel there at your own expense and negotiate directly with the respective vet about your possible assistance.
Donate for animals and Europe's poorhouse: help Kosovo.
ORGANIZATIONS THAT SUPPORT US OR ARE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH US
THESE ORGANIZATIONS ARE FIGHTING BACK WITH US AGAINST THE KILLING OF HEALTHY DOGS IN KOSOVO!
- Stichting Dierennood - Netherlands - PDF download
- Susy Utzinger Foundation - Switzerland - PDF download
- Cane Corso in Need - Germany - PDF download
- KSAVA - Kosovo Small Animal Veterinary Association - PDF download
- Vier Pfoten, Vienna - castration work in Decan and Junik
ANIMAL WELFARE PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
KOSOVO
Udruženje za zaštitu životinja “Šapa” Severna/Kosovska Mitrovica
This NGO works in North Mitrovica and has been our partner in the CNVR program together with the city government since autumn 2024.
austria
Four Paws Vienna
Vier Pfoten Vienna, in collaboration with Pro Vet Gjakova and our vet partners, carried out a castration program at our small animal clinic in Decan and Junik in October 2023.
switzerland
Susy Utzinger Foundation
The Susy Utzinger Foundation has been active in Switzerland for decades and is committed to animal welfare in general.
The president initially provided us with advice and helped to protest against killings.
IMPORTANT LINKS FOR OPEN SHELTERS - OPEN ACCOMMODATION
As an animal welfare organization, we are clearly opposed to the construction of animal shelters with individual boxes, which make it impossible for dogs to live out their innate social behavior. In the Balkans, there is a tendency to lock up street dogs and, due to lack of adoptions, either kill them in the country itself or keep them in a small area for life - as is the case in southern Italy, for example. These experiences, whether in southern Italy or Romania, make us opponents of every animal shelter building - apart from the so-called Open Shelters.
In addition, these animal shelters are less expensive to build and maintain, but require a larger share of land. Veterinary control, food and fences with dog houses are required.
CONVINCING MODELS FROM CENTRAL AMERICA AND EASTERN BALKANS, AS THE DOGS CAN LIVE FREELY.
ANIMAL WELFARE/ANIMAL LAW in general
ANIMAL WELFARE ALBANIA
- Pro Qen Albania is an Austrian association that works for street dogs (but also cats) in Albania in Skodër.
- JETA animal and human, Swiss association that works for dogs in Durrës and Fieri, Albania.
Thank you for the free support,
Because without these people, it wouldn't work at all
- El Zonko - Design and print flyers and cards! He also drafts the sponsorship certificates.
- Erza Cermjani, linguist A-Graz Lbanese translations
- Anna Fleischhauer, illustrator, D-Berlin - drew our school flyer, in our spirit - and made two educational films for us.
- Arnisa Juan Photography, Albania/Tirana - took our promotional photos!
Former Board of Trustees
Dr. med. vet. Hans-Ulrich Rey
Dr. med. vet. Hans-Ulrich Rey, Hittnau, was there from the very first day the foundation was founded. He gave us valuable insights into simple veterinary medicine and advised our first partner veterinarians in Kosovo when there wasn't a single X-ray device, let alone ultrasound.
He repeatedly traveled to Kosovo with our President and saw what was urgently needed to promote small animal medicine. He was an extremely valuable member of our Board of Trustees and we regret that he resigned in July 2022 due to age.
Dr. med. vet. FVH Mona Irmer
Dr. med. vet. FVH Mona Irmer, Zurich, also came to our foundation very early and helped us with advice and the procurement of material as well as donations.
As a mother of two children and a working vet, she was unable to actively participate any longer, which is why she unfortunately also resigned from the Board of Trustees in July 2022.
Both Dr. Rey and Dr. Irmer served our foundation for 7 years. We are deeply indebted to both of them.
Laura Shqipe Frei
Laura Shqipe Frei, Basel, was a member of our Board of Trustees for a short time and managed the finances.
The Foundation is very grateful to her for this.
