We can't let the stray dogs of Northern Macedonia starve to death!

1. In North Macedonia, Ivana has no kibble left to feed the hundreds of dogs abandoned in the streets and public dumps: they will starve if no one intervenes!

"I am usually a hopeless optimist, but right now I feel so desperate! I come to the dump every day and I keep seeing new dogs there every time... Just in the past month, around 30 new dogs have been abandoned. That's basically one dog every day, it is simply insane!

Living conditions at the dump are already very extreme so naturally, the more dogs there are, the worse it gets... I try to help as many as I can, but lately the situation has worsened, ilnesses are spreading very fast, the dogs are getting weaker by the minute and it's becoming impossible for me to manage on my own! I have much less donations and sponsors than before, in fact I didn't get any new sponsors lately.

Right now I have absolutely no food left to give the dogs. I've been coming to the dump empty-handed for a few days already, I can only give them water... It's better than nothing and it helps them with the heat, but I know that they will not be able to survive for much longer like this. The last time I was able to rescue dogs from the dump, they were all vomiting as they had only been eating dead flesh... It's horrible really. If I don't get help with kibble, dump dogs are doomed to die one by one..."

2. Ash and his 8 siblings were found at the dump during our visit, without kibble, they have no chance of survival.

"Ash and his siblings are around 1-2 months old, I found them at the dump for the first time during Animal Webaction's visit. It is obvious to me that they were taken from their mother and abandoned here. They're all weak, starved and dehydrated. I tried to give them water but they didn't even know how to drink it...

I desperately need help with kibble, so I can come rescue them and bring them to the shelter as soon as possible! They are very hungry and if I don't have kibble to rescue them, they have very little chance of surviving..."

3. The 97 dogs living at Ivana's shelter already aren't eating enough, they will not survive a longer kibble deprivation!

"Since the war began, there have been close to 0 donations and adoptions for our association.   Unfortunately there are always more dogs to be rescued, treated, fed... 30 new dogs came to the shelter from the dump in the past month. This quantity of dogs in distress leads to a lot of expenses but the help I receive only gets lower...

I've already started cutting down on portions a week ago and it is now so critical that I've started feeding the dogs in the shelter selectively... Some of my dogs are healthy enough to eat once in 24 hours, so I feed them every morning only instead of giving them food twice a day. They get enough food just to survive one more day...

This whole situation is unbearable, both for them and for me. I can't believe I'm not capable of feeding animals I'm responsible for. Every morning I wake up and think about what my family is going to have for dinner, and what to feed the dogs at the shelter with. I tried everything. People know how to call me to alert me about new cases but they rarely ever lend a helping hand. I don't know what else I can do on my own... I just feel like there's no way out."

4. Old and weakened by illness, Granny won't survive without kibble.

"Granny is a 6-7 year-old-female, she's been at the shelter for a few weeks. She was a stray dog from the dump, I came to feed her once and noticed she was bleeding, so I had to take her to vet and then to the shelter.

She has hip dysplasia, tvt tumour and demodex... Her immune system has lowered, her skin condition is bad, she needs supplements and medical bathing. She is also quite old, she can't be left alone to her own devices, it'd mean death for her. She is entirely dependent on me to be fed and survive..."

5. Vet bills keep piling up, while donations and adoptions are the lowest they've ever been. Ivana no longer sees any way to buy kibble.

"We are facing a lot of problems at the shelter currently, we have a large amount of dogs with bad medical conditions and even though we conduct online fundraising and receive help from some foreign supporters, it's simply not enough. I just feel like there is no progress due the to the global situation... We have huge debts at the vet, not only for a medical treatment but also because many of our dogs had to stay at vet stations for a while.

We also have around 60 dogs at the shelter who've been here for years because they don't get adopted, it's difficult to maintain them. We are living really hard times at the moment and I'm afraid that I will meet more dogs on my way that I don't have an opportunity to help, this breaks my heart already... My debts keep piling up and I just know that at some point I will reach a breaking point if no help is provided. Getting aid with kibble is a matter of survival at this stage."

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

"Dogs take up a huge part of my life. I live at the shelter with my family and I spend a lot of time with the dogs, getting to know each one of them, caring for them, showing them that there is someone who loves them, that they have support in their lives. I try to establish some trust because they are very disappointed with life and with humans... I am there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, I know everything about the dogs I take care of.

My action does not stop at the shelter of course, I also do everything I can for the dogs in my area, I try to save as many as possible. People recognize me and some of them understand that my actions are necessary, some of them help me from time to time by feeding some street dogs, that's something.

But on the whole, the vast majority of people do not care about animals. Many are not willing to change anything about their behavior, they don't see the big picture and the impact of their actions. People really need to wake up, start spaying and neutering and stop abandoning their pets..."

7. If this campaign succeeds, Ivana will not receive any money but 2400 kg of kibbles, delivered from Animal Webaction's logistics platform in Macedonia.

Animal Webaction has a logistics centre in Macedonia which enables us to intervene quickly and deliver kibbles.

8. Over-indebted from the many rescues and deprived of sufficient financial support, Ivana can no longer buy kibble.

"People contact me all the time about new cases. Sometimes I think they just expect me to be invincible and take care of every dog they find, but they don't realise that I am just a human and my resources are limited. I post on social networks so they can see how much effort I put to save abandoned animals and the results of my actions. I depend a lot on fundraising but donations have dropped lately due to the global situation.

There is so much to do, people really need to understand that without support, it is impossible to maintain an animal shelter. This campaign is my last chance, I really hope my dogs can benefit from your help!"

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 Macedonia, neither the state nor the population wants to help the abandoned dogs. A lot of animals are left to die outside, there is no care for them.

If you know of a foundation or NGO that could help Ivana, 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 Ivana's dogs, contact us and we will put you in touch!

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

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