We cannot let the street dogs and the ones at Ivana's shelter starve!

1. In Serbia, Ivana is running out of kibble to feed the 60 street dogs she cares for. They will starve if no one intervenes!

"I take care of over 60 stray dogs in different parts of town. Their number has significantly increased at each feeding site. There are more and more abandoned dogs and puppies in the streets… Indeed, the current inflation in Serbia makes more people feeling financially scared and insecure; many of them abandon their dogs, especially if they’re old, sick or wounded, only to save money! What a lack of compassion…  

Sadly, getting rid of dogs has been a never ending trend here, but this recent influx has brought particularly endangered new dogs in town. Most of them require veterinary care and also never experienced life in the streets before… They have no strong survival instinct that would allow them to feed themselves. What a terrible situation! They’re extremely reliant on me and the food I distribute, especially those who are physically weakened… 

These dogs’ horizon has gotten even cloudier: my imminent, total lack of kibble forces me to feed them with reduced portions of cheap, unhealthy food or leftovers… Being underfed, vulnerable and hungry put them in even more danger! They’ll start to fight, wander further in busy roads… The weakest ones won’t make it without this kibble delivery!"

2. Emaciated and submissive, Lepa cannot fend for herself to obtain kibble. She is entirely dependent on Ivana's ability to feed her! 

"Lepa is a one-year-old dog who was abandoned in the streets as a small puppy… She’s living near a supermarket, but she is not the only dog in this area. Other older, more aggressive dogs are staying there as well. It’s not unusual that she gets injured by one of them! She is very thin, underfed and has an eye infection that prevents her from fully opening her eye. 

She’s a calm and shy dog, but very vulnerable living outside. She doesn’t fit in any pack at all; she’s a submissive, lone stray dog and gets regularly attacked by other strays, if not by humans too! Most people don't like to see dogs near supermarkets… If this kibble campaign succeeds, her health and wounds will heal better and faster, she will put on more weight and get stronger, too!"

3. At Ivana’s shelter, 55 dogs are also threatened by the lack of kibble.

"I currently have 55 dogs under my care. I’ve tried to contain the amount of dogs I take in, but new ones, with urgent medical conditions, keep arriving, so it’s an endless cycle. It’s absolutely full, I have fewer adoptions now and that’s what prevents me from rescuing many dogs from the street… I tend to prioritise the most vulnerable ones who require the heaviest veterinary care. Just last week, I saved a dog who got badly injured in a traffic accident; it was an emergency so I took him to the vet to get the necessary surgery.

The dogs at my shelter are definitely dependent on kibble to survive and heal. My priority is to make sure every one of them has enough kibble to eat to make it through, especially as the coldest days are coming. I can’t let them down, they rely on me, but my kibble stock is now so low… I’m terrified. It has become really tough for me alone to cover all these shelter-related expenses, especially kibble.

Donations are on hold: with the global economy going down and huge inflation, I can’t cope! The help we used to get has also been interrupted or redirected to Ukrainian people and dogs, which I perfectly understand… Still, getting kibble has become my main concern and I feel powerless. If I don't find a solution, my dogs' health and behaviour will take a turn for the worse and I can't just release them back into the streets either! It's my biggest fear... I need this campaign to succeed to avoid such a heartbreaking scenario!” 

4. Molly was rescued from the streets: her skin was badly infected and a rope damaged her neck. She needs kibble to avoid further skin illnesses!

"Molly is a three-year-old dog I saved from the street, she was very thin, with a tightly attached rope around her neck. She looked so lifeless and sad and had demodex. This severe skin infection caused a foul smell and made her lose most of her hair… I took her to the vet to treat her and heal her wounds, as the rope had hurt and damaged her skin, too.

She wasn't going to make it if I had taken her back to the streets, so I took her to the shelter, despite the financial difficulties… She’s doing better now, especially mentally, but if she doesn’t get enough kibble, her skin condition will come back and her health will deteriorate. Without this kibble delivery, she will not be able to survive and even less if she goes back to the streets!"

5. Ivana's financial situation has declined with the global economy: donations and fundings have vanished. This campaign is her last hope to get kibble!

"It was a bit easier to fund the shelter at the beginning, as there were fewer dogs to take care of… Now that the World’s economic situation has gone really bad as a result of the pandemic and then the war in Ukraine, I have more dogs, less donations and the amount of people helping me has tremendously dropped since the last Animal Webaction campaign. 

Before, if I needed to do anything regarding the dogs (sterilisations, treatments, kibble, etc.), I would chip in with other volunteers from the shelter and relatives to try and gather as much money as possible and we somehow managed these costs. Right now, such a system has become impossible, being the only one to finance everything. I can’t do it alone…

The organisation that used to pay some of our vet expenses and sterilisation campaigns can’t do it anymore… It’s preoccupying as the latter are crucial to limit the number of stray dogs and consequently, the amount of dogs in need… I have thousands of euros of vet and kibble debts; the food supplier already asked me to partly pay them back to get more kibble. But it’s too hard for me, my finances aren’t good at all! This campaign is my only solution to solve the kibble issue for a while and focus on the dogs’ health."

6. Ivana is not asking for money, only kibble to keep the dogs from starving.

“I love helping dogs, I will always do it and I don’t mind if I don’t get paid for it! I do it in my free time, as I have a full-time job on the side. It’s a huge responsibility, feeding and caring for the strays requires extra work, time and money. Thankfully, there's a few people who help me with the dogs, but given the number of strays around, we’re definitely not enough to care about these animals!

On a local level, people’s attitudes towards strays are mostly unchanged. My actions are still unnecessarily judged and looked down upon... I often feel like what I do to help the dogs isn’t appreciated at all. Most people think I’m crazy, while others consider saving dogs is my duty and I therefore should take any dog in… which is unfortunately impossible, since the shelter is already too crowded! Adoptions have also really slowed down lately, which doesn’t help… People aren’t interested in animal welfare in the area, and the dogs suffer from that!

I want to continue my dog rescue mission because I know that ultimately, none of these dogs would have survived without our actions. And the sad reality is, there are still so many who desperately need help… They’re used to us feeding them and it's difficult for us to know that we’ll soon be unable to provide them with kibble..."

7. If this campaign succeeds, Ivana will not receive any money, but 1600 kg of kibble, delivered from the Animal Webaction logistics centre in Serbia.

Animal Webaction has a logistic platform in Serbia, which allows us to intervene quickly and deliver kibble.

8. Ivana has no local support and her foreign supporters have reached their limits: this campaign is her last resort to feed the dogs! 

“We have no partnership with anyone in Serbia and the municipality doesn’t help us in any way… We occasionally get some help from a British organisation with adoptions but their ability to help us has been greatly affected by the crisis. Other organisations have even stopped helping us altogether, due to a dire lack of means…

The online fundraisers I organize aren't successful either, there are too few people who participate, I never raise enough money to cover all my expenses and debts... I can't handle all of the demands and the expenses that the shelter and the stray dogs carry with them!

There are more and more abandoned dogs and litters of puppies, often in faraway places where they can't be reached for days on end... By the time I find them, these dogs' health is often very poor, some don't even survive... The lack of compassion is devastating to me, I will never understand it. It really makes me think that humanity among people is gone. At this stage, Animal Webaction is our only way to feed the dogs and keep them safe!"

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 Serbia, street dogs are hunted by the state and ignored by the population, volunteers like Ivana are their only hope.

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 welfare 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, or if you would like to directly send her some kibble 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.