We cannot let the dogs at Innocente's shelter starve!

1. In Romania, Maria and Ferenc are almost out of kibble to feed the 397 dogs at their shelter. They will starve if no one helps! 

“We are completely overcrowded in the shelter : a total of 397 dogs depend on us and too many kennels already have 6-7 dogs inside. The abandonment rate continues to be very high, and more dogs means more kibble to provide, more bills to pay, and a lot more work. It is a very big responsibility to make sure that all of our dogs are fed and safe, it is our main concern, everyday.

The problem at this stage is that we simply don’t have the funds to buy more food for our dogs! Finding donors has been so difficult lately, we have never received so few donations... And to make matters worse, prices have doubled for everything. With the same amount of money, we can only buy 2/3rd of the amount of kibble we could buy last year! 

Financially, emotionally and physically we are at a very low point... We only have 4 bags of kibble left today, it will only last a couple of more days, with maximum cutting... Even if we try to stay positive and pray for good things, we need to be able to feed all our dogs for them to stay healthy. This kibble campaign has to succeed for us to be able to accomplish that."

2. The shelter is full and tensions among the dogs are at their peak : without kibble, Maria and Ferenc know they won't be able to prevent fights.

“Dog fights are our main concern right now: the dogs are on top of each other, very few kennels have only one dog inside. When you add to this hunger and heat, there is always a risk of fights... We try to isolate the most aggressive dogs but with almost 400 hungry dogs, we don't know how much longer we'll be able to hold on.

If we don't get a new stock of kibble soon, we'll have to cut down the dogs' portions even more, which would make an already worrisome situation even more dangerous..  We've already experienced serious fights in the past and we absolutely want to prevent it from happening again because that situation is simply unbearable, for the dogs and for us. We want all our dogs to be safe together but the only way to achieve that is for them to be satiated! If they are too hungry or exhausted from the heat, fights will soon become inevitable..."

3. Hit by a car and suffering from fractured spine, Blanca needs kibble to fully recover from the accident.

“We found Blanca on the side of the road a few weeks ago, she was hit by a car. She was so weak and barely moving, we honestly didn't know if she was going to make it... We took her to the vet and the x-ray revealed that her spine was fractured. Considering the awful state she was in, the vet said we had to consider putting her down but we wanted to give her a second chance!

She underwent an operation and luckily everything went well, she's actually starting to walk again very slowly... it truly feels like a miracle!! But despite that amazing turnaround, Blanca is still very skinny and weak. We really need to make sure she has everything she needs, and that means regular, stable, balanced nutrition. Without kibble, her chances of making a full recovery are very slim..."

4. Affected by rising veterinary bills and a long-term drop in donations, Maria and Ferenc can no longer buy kibble for the dogs.

"When the pandemic started, we thought that donations couldn’t get any lower, but now with the war in Ukraine, they are even fewer! A few people still donate from time to time but those amounts are never enough to sustain a shelter of this size. Even adoptions are at a very low point, but abandonments on the other hand, are on the rise... We've had a very high number of rescues during the months of April and May, including many badly injured dogs.

It's becoming increasingly difficult to provide a constant and stable kibble supply for this amount of dogs. Not to mention that we also have to make sure they are all sterilized and receiving the medical care and treatments they need.When you add everything together plus the fact that all prices, from dog food to car fuel have increased : all our expenses inevitably got bigger... Right now, we have reached a stage where we absolutely need the involvement of more people to be able to survive."

5. Maria and Ferenc aren't asking for money, only kibble to keep the dogs from starving.

“Our devotion and love for animals are endless. It has been that way since we opened the shelter and it will remain like this forever. It's simply imprinted in us! Over time, we have dealt with so many scared and injured dogs... All the difficulties stress us a lot but the dogs bring us so much joy... It is hard to put it into words, but we are so proud and happy : we have saved and changed so many lives for the better... 

Thanks to our actions, we have also witnessed some changes : the local population has gotten to know and accept us, now they call us whenever a dog is in danger, instead of just walking away. I honestly think they are happy that there is a place that collects and takes care of stray dogs, but for more things to change and improve, we need to change as a society, and that takes a lot of time... and a lot of resources for associations like our own! It's important to remember that without support, nothing can ever fully change."

6. If this campaign succeeds, Maria and Ferenc will not receive any money but 3000 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. Maria and Ferenc don't have enough support and too many expenses, this call for help is their last hope to feed the 397 dogs at the shelter!

“Obtaining donations for the shelter is getting so complicated. Every week we go in front of the store, asking people to buy bags of kibble for our dogs but unfortunately these initiatives have been less and less effective lately. We also try to collect money on our Facebook page, but people mainly respond when we post photos of dogs in desperate need... When we post about needing food, people don’t donate...

Two foreign organizations help us every couple of months according to their possibilities with food, clothes, blankets and construction materials sometimes. Their help is invaluable but with so many dogs and incessant rescues, our needs unfortunately exceed their ability to support us. We can only count on this campaign to ensure a steady kibble supply for our dogs over the next weeks."

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 Maria and Ferenc, 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 Maria and Ferenc's dogs, contact us and we will put you in touch!

If you want to help Maria and Ferenc at the shelter or if you want to send them kibble or a check directly, contact them 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.