We cannot let this shelter's 280 dogs starve!

1. In Romania, Ramona will soon run out of kibble to feed the 280 dogs in her shelter. They will starve if no one intervenes!

"These are very difficult times... The war has caused a "financial explosion", the price of petfood has risen by 40% in recent months and we have lost many sponsors who have decided to move their support to shelters in Ukraine. Our finances have never been as low as they are now.

Our biggest and most important problem is kibble, because we need a lot of it! Around 1000 kg weekly to feed all the dogs. We started to reduce the dogs' portions a few weeks ago and we only have enough left for 2-3 days at this stage. We have bought a lot of bread but we know it won't be enough to keep them satiated...

We desperately need to stock up on kibble to prevent the dogs from becoming aggressive and fighting each other. We've been through this situation not too long ago and we want to prevent it from happening again... And to be honest, we also need the kibble for ourselves, so that when we come to the shelter we have something to give the dogs! It's heartbreaking to come to the shelter and see the dogs celebrating you when you have nothing to feed them..."

2. The shelter is home to many aging and vulnerable dogs who will not survive a kibble deprivation.

"A lot of our dogs have been at the shelter for a very long time, we saved them from the streets or from local pounds, where they were subjected to the worst treatments and dangers. Some are aging, some have special needs... Most of them will remain with us until their last day because nobody has unfortunately ever shown an interest in adopting them.

We give them a chance to live, we offer them everything we can, we love them. Even the dogs who, when they came here, were very shy and hated to be touched; now we can touch them, I can touch their nose, they lick us... The difference is clear. But all this progress is lost as soon as we have no more kibble to give them...

Food is the cornerstone of all our work and for the dogs at our shelter, it means life! We've seen what the lack of food brings in the past and it's really only disastrous. If we do not find a way to restock, our dogs might fall sick, lose weight, get diarrhea, or get aggressive again. We really need a helping hand to help us provide for the dogs and keep them all safe!"

3. Badly bitten by other dogs in his kennel, Hunter needs kibble to recover and heal properly.

"Hunter is a 13-year-old male, he was found on the street and was brought to the shelter a few years back. A few weeks ago, we found him in the morning, badly bitten, the wound was very deep... We don't know what happened exactly but it is possible that the dogs did not have food and started a fight. Hunter was the oldest in his kennel and we assume that is why he got attacked by the others.

After the attack he was with antibiotics for 2 weeks and now every evening, we treat him with wound-healing spray. He has been moved to a separate kennel so that we could treat him appropriately and we feel it is better for him to stay single in the cage still. Hunter is injured and he is old, his recovery will surely take time. He needs kibble to heal completely as his wound is very deep. If we can't feed him anymore, it will be terrible for him."

4. Affected by the drop in donations, indebted to the vets, Ramona can no longer buy kibble.

"We finance our actions by asking for donations on social networks. The rest of the time, it is us, the volunteers, who take from our own salaries to fill the gap. There were even times when I had to ask my colleagues to lend me money so that I could buy at least 1 or 2 bags of kibble. Sometimes I just don't know who to turn to for help...

We have lost sponsors that helped us previously, we still receive donations but over the last few months, they have generally become less regular and in smaller amounts. Until recently, we had a lady from France who would send us money every month so we could order food, but unfortunately, she is no longer able to help because she has lost her job.

We have debts at the vet, for vaccines and treatments, they amount to around 800 euros in total. We have a fundraising open on Facebook to cover our vet bills but it’s been a week and we have only collected 70 euros so far. Everything is just becoming harder and harder and we could really use some help."

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

"The Santulham shelter was founded 22 years ago, as a public institution initially. Our association, Natura Deva has been taking care of the dogs and everything shelter-related since 2009, taking over the work from a previous association that is no longer involved. I have personally been volunteering at the shelter since 2013, and became vice-president of the association in 2016.

I started getting attached to the dogs as soon as my involvement started and since then, I haven't been able to dissociate myself from them. I cannot remember who said this quote, but it goes like “Without dogs, you can live; but it would be in vain”... At the moment, I care so much for the dogs that I basically gave up on my personal life and yet, I truly believe that they do more for me than I do for them! 

Every dog is a soul... There is no one as devoted as a dog to care for you, forgive you, to be there when you are sad… I go to the shelter to charge myself with positive, good energy from the dogs to be able to fight and tackle all the problems we face on a daily basis : fighting to get donations and food, fighting against the local government that does everything in its power to ruin our work. At the end of the day, wat keeps me going is knowing that our actions make a huge difference in these dogs' lives, knowing that many of them have left to live in loving and caring families..."

6. If this campaign succeeds, Ramona will not receive any money but 2400 kg of kibble, delivered from Animal Webaction's logistics platform in Romania.

Animal Webaction has a logistics platform in Romania which enables us to intervene quickly and deliver kibble.

7. Calls for donations aren't as successful as they used to be and partner associations have already done their best to help. Ramona is asking us to intervene!

"The majority of our funding comes through donations in-kind, mainly from abroad. We have support from the German association "Helping Hands for Romanian Strays (HHRS)", they help us with food, but not that much since they themselves have their own issues lately.

Otherwise, it is just private individuals that help us. We are doing everything in our power to gather donations, by opening fundraisers, asking for sponsorships but unfortunately the results are low. We have tried all the ideas that we had so far. We really count on this campaign to get us out of this rough patch!"

8. 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. 

9. In Romania, it is difficult to find funds for kibble, there are no grants, no foundations. Many abandoned dogs die alone in the streets, in complete indifference...​

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

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

If you want to help Ramona at the shelter or if you want to send them kibble or a check directly, contact her via Facebook (note: direct help is done on your own responsibility).

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