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

1. In Romania, Maria and Ferenc are running out of kibble to feed the 386 dogs at their shelter, they will starve if no one helps!

"We currently have 386 dogs at the shelter, we’re completely overcrowded... We’re the only shelter in this rural area and there are lots of villages around; people here are sadly still reluctant to sterilize their pets so it leads to more abandonments… We managed to send a few dogs for adoption recently but for every adopted dog, there’s been another 2 or 3 who came to take their place!

More dogs in our care means more kibble to provide but we’re currently experiencing a very unfortunate combination : donations are dramatically low, dogs keep coming in and pet food prices are through the roof. We are drowning in debts… this is by far the worst year we’ve ever had!

We only have 6 bags of kibble left and we’ve already started to ration the dogs’ portions to try and make the little we have left last longer. We’re trying everything to collect kibble for our dogs but our donations are too low and the collections we organize weekly in the supermarkets barely enable us to last one day at a time… We really need some help to be able to feed the dogs!”

2. The dogs are hungry, tensions are at their highest : without kibble, the situation will degenerate!

"The dogs don’t eat enough... They’re very stressed and unhinged and rationed portions aren’t the only reason: it’s scorching hot and the kennels are overcrowded. We give our dogs plenty of water to survive the heat but at the end of the day, if they’re too hungry, even the nicest dog can enter “survival mode”, become aggressive and start to fight…

If we don't find a solution to up their portions and fill their bellies soon, tensions will keep escalating and the dogs will be at risk of getting seriously hurt. With many vulnerable, young and old dogs in our care, any further escalation can become very serious, very quickly... We cannot let that happen!

The lack of kibble not only affects our dogs' behavior, but it also impacts our ability to rescue more dogs in need. It is heartbreaking seeing that we’re unable to help all these beautiful souls! We’ve already noticed a mother with puppies hiding in an old factory, and a few more dogs with serious skin conditions... They all need our help but without kibble, we won't be able to approach them and bring them to the shelter."

3. Severely injured by a malicious neighbor, Dionis needs kibble to recover from his physical and emotional wounds.

"Dionis is a 5-year-old dog, he's been with us for around 6 weeks now. Dionis was badly injured by the neighbor of his previous owner. He had threatened to kill him before and certainly attempted to carry out his threat : he badly cut his leg. Dionis' tendons have been deeply severed as a result of the attack.

We took Dionis to the vet and even though he is on his way to physical recovery, he’s been mentally traumatised. He’s particularly scared of people and he will need a lot of attention and patience to trust humans again... Kibble is essential for him to fully recover both physically and mentally!" 

4. Donations are too low, Maria and Ferenc are indebted and cannot keep up with the price increases, they need help to feed the dogs!

"Inflation in Romania has made our financial situation go from bad, to even worse... the price of one single bag of kibble increases by 50cts every other week! The rise in fuel prices also impacts us a lot, as we depend on our car for everything related to the dogs: vet care, collections at the supermarket… 

We rely exclusively on donations to get kibble and finance all the shelter-related expenses but right now, they are much too low for us to keep up, unfortunately... We are indebted to several veterinary offices, the construction company, my brother… Our different debts reach thousands of euros overall, we are reaching a point of no return! If this campaign succeeds, our dogs will be fed for the next while and we might even be able to start paying back some of our debts!"

5. Maria and Ferenc are not asking for money, only kibble to prevent the dogs from starving!

"Our love for dogs is what helps us get out of bed every day and give our best for them… We’ve sacrificed our home, our free time, our health, our lives and given the shelter our all. And we’ll continue to do so, because they’re family to us! Taking care of them, getting them adopted and offering them a better life is so fulfilling… We have one employee and he’s such a good match! But we definitely need more help… There are so many dogs out there and only the two of us are trying our best to take care of them all…

Here, animals are generally treated cruelly and considered like goods… Dogs are easily abandoned when they become too much to handle, when they are sick or when a bitch gets pregnant for example. Being the only shelter in the area, they only have us to count on! We need this kibble campaign to succeed so we can sleep well at night for a while, knowing that the dogs are fed...."

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 tirelessly searched for donations and ways to get kibble, but they are running out of options.

"We collaborate with two organisations, one French, one British. They help us with adoptions, promoting the dogs, and paying for the salary of our only employee. Yet we noticed that they’re going through hard times too! Their help is always very welcomed and important for us, but unfortunately they cannot help us all the time, our expenses are too high.

We're trying our best to gather donations on our own, we do supermarket collections every week and we appeal to our community's generosity on Facebook. Unfortunately for both methods, the help received has dropped overall and is very occasional at best. We have tried everything and we've reached out to everybody but the only way for us to gather enough kibble for our dogs is with this campaign!"

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.