We can't let these street dogs and those from the shelter starve!

1. In Bosnia, Velimir is running out of kibble to feed the 50 or so street dogs under his care. In the thick of winter, they will starve if no one helps!

"On a local level, there is no strategy, plan, or research in place to help abandoned animals or even address the issue. The only thing the municipality of Srebrenica does is hire a "stray dog removal" company, to come and pick up dogs from the area, without notice. They are later taken to the pound and killed after a few days if nobody comes for them...

I've already taken 14 dogs recently abducted by this company, they are now safe at the shelter. But despite my efforts to continually rescue dogs, it feels like the streets are never emptying. Every day, I receive phone calls from people requesting that I pick up their dogs or dogs that have been abandoned. It's a never-ending cycle...

Of course, I would be the happiest if I had the capacity and ability to welcome them all in the shelter, give them the necessary care and love, but our food stock is desperately low and the shelter is overcrowded... Even though we can't take them to the shelter right now, we can't let them die - the dogs must eat! 50 dogs count on me to get their meal, it's cold and snowing outside... Without food, I'm afraid they won't be able to survive long..."

2. Injured in a car accident, Lisa needs kibble to recover!

"I found Lisa on my way to the shelter, she was on the road, limping and with a visible injury on her leg, most likely caused by a car accident. Thankfully, the injury wasn't too severe; after staying two days at the vet station, Lisa was released.

She is now back on the streets and we are monitoring her closely. Although she seems to be doing fine, one thing is certain : she needs regular food to be able to recover fully. The lack of food, combined with the intense cold we are facing will affect her health badly. Not to mention that if she ventures out of her usual area to look for food, she risks getting caught in another traffic accident again... We cannot take that risk."

3. Velimir's shelter is also home to 165 dogs, who are also at great risk due to the upcoming kibble shortage.

"There are many problems, at the shelter : lack of water and electricity, limited supply of living space, lack of funds to pay the rent, workers, transportation...But the most pressing issue is surely the lack of food. This issue is only heightened by the fact that it's now winter and the dogs need to eat high quality food, in large quantities.

Unfortunately right now, we only have enough for the next 3 days. It is winter, we cannot reduce their portions.When dogs are hungry, they become aggressive, stronger dogs steal food from weaker dogs, everybody suffers as a result. This has happened in the past and I really do not want it to happen again...

We are attempting to accommodate all the needs of the dogs in the shelter but every day is a fight to survive, we need some help. We'd have fewer worries, less stress and most of all our dogs would be safe if we could provide food for the next two months thanks to this campaign."

4. Medi's health is deteriorating rapidly, she is losing weight and absolutely needs kibble to survive the winter!

"Medi was abandoned by her owner in front of the shelter's doors. She has a head injury and she is beginning to go blind... Her health condition is not good, she is losing weight, moving slowly...She won't survive winter if she doesn't have enough food to build her strength from."

5. Burdened by growing expenses and ever so fewer donations, Velimir is indebted and can no longer buy kibble.

"On February 6, 2018, our association Silver Dog was established. We had 38 dogs when we opened the shelter, we had the help of friends and animal lovers who helped us and bought food, as well as donations. There was more aid and donations but ever since the pandemic, the assistance has sharply lessened, it is no longer sufficient to cover our costs.

We currently have 165 dogs in the shelter and around 50 on the streets to care for. Our costs have increased by a factor of six or seven and we have received no concrete assistance from the municipality. I no longer have personal funds with which to support the shelter either, and I am in a lot of debt.

Every day, I am stressed about how I will manage to buy food. My health is seriously compromised as a result of this situation and I'm burdened even further because I can no longer afford to hire a worker, I have to deal with all of the obligations alone. My biggest worry is that if things don't get better, I will have to close the shelter and put the dogs out on the street... It would be a disaster. I can't even think about it.

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

"Here in Bosnia, there aren't many people who genuinely care about dogs. I am very proud to have started this rescue project on my own. Of course, there are many challenges and problems, but I can be proud that I decided to start a story like this, which I believe serves as an example of humane dog rescue in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

I just hope that someone will eventually recognize our efforts and help us to continue to serve the dogs and the local community, as our actions have many benefits for the city. No one wants to face the truth about the abandoned dog problem, but if all the dogs we have at the shelter were still on the streets... It would be total chaos!

We have a direct impact on reducing the number of dogs on the streets and making sure they are treated with love. My wildest dream is to be able to accept all dogs at the shelter and make it the most wonderful place on the planet for animals."

7.  If this campaign succeeds, Velimir will not receive any money but 2300 kg of kibble, delivered from Animal Webaction's logistic platform in Bosnia.

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

8. Calls for donations and attempts to establish new collaborations have been unfruitful. This campaign is their only chance to buy kibble!

"We try our best to come up with different initiatives to gather donations and find new partner-associations, but so far we've been out of luck. Even though we still receive small support from friends, the overall number of donations to our shelter has decreased dramatically. People are less concerned about animals and more preoccupied with themselves and their own survival.

We simply do not have enough funds, the shelter costs are extremely high and my debts continue to pile up. The food issue is especially serious and repeats itself, the number of dogs is growing and they need to eat! Right now, I can't think of any other way to get kibble except through you."

9. 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. 

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

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

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

If you want to come to Velimir's shelter to help him or if you want to send him some kibbles or a check directly, contact him via the association's Facebook page. (Note: direct help is under your own responsibility.)

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