A truckload of kibble to save the Bosnian dogs living at the pound!

1. In Bosnia, Ajla is running out of kibble to feed the 90 dogs at Zunovnica's pound. They are going to starve, if no one intervenes!

"We currently care for 90 dogs at the pound. We are four volunteers (Dalila, Nejira, Aida, and I), involved in caring for the dogs, cleaning, organizing adoptions... It is also the four of us who provide their food, as the municipality doesn't have the means for that: they can only pay the workers' wage and some vet bills. We try our best to provide for everything they need, but we are seriously lacking means...

Since the pandemic started, we receive much less donations and right now we are especially low on food, we only have one week of kibble left. We are stretching the food with bread and crackers, but it is still not enough... 

We feel powerless regarding the lack of kibble. We feel like we should be doing more, but we can't find a way...  All these dogs have known before is people turning away from them. Now, we want them to be happy, to get healthy, and to feel that they have someone that cares about them... We need your help to achieve that goal and be able to feed them."

2. The dogs are already aggressive due to the lack of kibble. Without a new stock of kibble, they will end up killing each other!

"The dogs have already become really aggressive due to the shortage of food. This will get much worse if we don't find more kibble in the next few days, they will start fighting. When they are starving, dogs fight for every bite and end up injuring one another... It has already happened in the past and we want to avoid this situation at all costs...

Apart from heightening the tensions among the dogs, the lack of kibble is also having an impact on their health: the dogs are more prone to diseases, they have diarrhea and are visibly skinny... 

We feel helpless and sad... If it wasn’t for us, many of these dogs would have been euthanized or died of hunger in the streets. Now under our care, we are responsible for them and have to make sure they don't go hungry..."

3. Abused and neglected by his previous owner, Selim is submissive and unable to fend for himself against other dogs. His life depends on this new kibble arrival.

"Selim is two years old, and was abandoned by his owner three months ago. He showed signs of torture, had injuries all over his body, and the vet said that he must have been beaten. He had also been neglected, he was skinny and his fur was very bad and tangled...

He was full of parasites when we got him, but we've been treating him and have been able to remove most of them, the situation now seems to be under control. He is a very nice dog, but his behaviour is very passive, he hides a lot and keeps his distance from other dogs. He waits until all the dogs have already eaten before coming near the feeding post.

If it came down to it, he definitely wouldn't be able to compete and fight over food with the other dominant dogs. It is absolutely crucial that we can continue feeding him, otherwise he won't make it..."

4. The pandemic has caused a drop in donations and adoptions... Left with many dogs to feed, Ajla needs help to buy kibble.

"We are entirely dependent on donations to buy kibble. People used to be more willing to help, but the pandemic has really taken its toll... lots of people are left without jobs, businesses have closed, stores that used to help can no longer do so... People feel insecure.

Adoptions have never been this low either. Before the pandemic, we had visitors coming by and seeing the dogs and adopting them. Now there are no visitors, no people interested in adoptions, and it is hard to invite anyone for a visit. The frequent changes to the restrictions are also leaving people confused.

We are a small team and need help, there are many dogs that already depend on us, and if we had the resources, there could be many more. If we had more support we would be able to make this a happier place for many."

5. Ajla is not asking for money, but for kibble to keep the dogs from starving!

"I started feeding street dogs about 13 or 14 years ago. At the time, the number of abandoned dogs was out of control, but there were no sterilization programmes and no shelters in our area. Then, when our municipality opened the Zunovnica pound, the street dogs that I had been feeding were brought there instead.

Unfortunately, back then, the living conditions at the pound were terrible: the dogs were all packed in dirty cages, covered in their own excrement, deaths were very common and nobody was doing anything about it.  Ever since we (Nejira, Dalida and I) managed to gain access to the pound a little over 4 years ago, we've been making many changes, and the dogs' living conditions have drastically improved, they have a much happier life. 

Still, the situation for abandoned dogs in our region remains pretty much unchanged and the government is not providing any solutions or has a plan in sight to make it better. We strongly wish there were more people who could see our devotion and help us with small gestures."

6. If this campaign is successful, Ajla will not receive any money, but 2400 kg of kibble will be delivered from the Animal Webaction logistic platform in Bosnia.

Animal Webaction has a logistic platform in Bosnia, which allows us to intervene quickly and deliver kibble.

7. The volunteers at Zunovnica's pound keep asking for help where they can, without much success. They are out of options!

"We, the volunteers, use our Facebook group "Zunovnica Help" to ask for donations and post updates. We try to raise funds whenever there is not enough food, but the amount we manage to collect is always small and never enough in the long term.

We have tried to contact some local organizations but were ignored. People always say that they do not have finances and say they are unable to help. Every door we knock on, we feel as if we are the last thing that needs help now.

Many of the dogs will be here for a long time, we are afraid some will live here until their death. We hope people and the government will understand this issue and do more, we need people to be more compassionate and open to our idea."

8. Campaigns launched on Animal Webaction often fail.

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

9. In Bosnia, stray dogs are tortured and killed illegally without anyone looking...

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

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

If you want to come to Zunovnica's public shelter or if you want to send some kibbles to Ajla directly or a check, contact her on Facebook (note: direct help is under your own responsibility).

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