We can' t let this shelter's 286 dogs starve!

1. In Russia, Elan has already run out of kibble to feed the 286 dogs at his shelter. They will starve if nobody intervenes! 

"We've already run out of kibbles several days ago. We had been adding porridge to the menu for a while in order to prolong the kibbles we had, but now we are left with only a little porridge, hardly anything really.

There’s no silver lining in the short-term future, the situation is catastrophic. I feel constant stress, I’m worried and constantly think about the matter of food shortage. I try to find a way-out day and night.

We’ll try to feed them with anything possible, whatever is probable for them to eat, and we will have no choice but to shrink their portions, but this can't last as food is vital for them. This food campaign is our only chance for survival."

2. Subjected to hunger, dogs will kill each other at the shelter, this has already happened in the past. But many will also die on the streets if Elan releases them. He is backed into a corner and knows that the dogs are doomed if he doesn't find any kibble.

"If we don’t find food for our dogs, we'll try to look for some families who can take care of ill and young dogs, although we know this task is almost impossible to fulfill.

Strong and healthy ones would have to be released, we could not let them stay in enclosures without food, it would be a slow death, and they would kill each other.

But even if we set them free, most of them would not survive on their own. The situation is drastic on the streets for abandonned dogs, they starve and are hit by cars, some would die without our medical help. Personally, I would never forgive myself for this situation."

3. Seriously injured by a car and starving, Klaus was wasting away on the street just a few weeks ago. Today at the shelter he is still too weak to survive without kibbles.

"Klaus is a young male of 5 years old. We found him not far from the shelter in January, he was thin and had been hit by a car. He had a contusion of inner organs, and his leg was smashed, we could see the bare bone. He was in so much suffering, and had been through so much, that he was aggressive and wouldn't allow us to treat him at first, he tried to bite us.

It’s been a long treatment process for him to get better, step by step, and he is not completly out of the woods just yet. His leg hasn't completly healed, and he still absolutly needs food to be able to recover."

4. Debts are piling up, and donations only cover a tiny part of the shelter's needs, Elan is no longer able to buy kibbles.

"The debts are piling up, and all the campaigns we can make in Sochi can’t cover our financial problems. Lack of food and medicine are our daily burden, these are difficulties we encounter every day. These are our primary worries.

We also can't pay the vet, we have to buy many drugs and treat our dogs ourselves. We can’t manage without doctors if we deal with difficult cases, if we need an X-ray or a surgery, but many vets are unwilling to take our patients, because we pay much later.

There are people helping, but this help is minimal. For exemple we have two or three people who can't remain indifferent and bring us food or some medicine when they can, or therapeutic nutrition, we are incredibly grateful for this, but in the scales of the shelter, this is far from enough."

5. Deprived of employment and income since the beginning of the pandemic, Elan is destitute and feels powerless in the face of the lack of kibble.

"I’m a concert manager and I can’t work due to the pandemic restrictions. We're allowed to sell only 30% of the tickets, which is not enough to earn money. Besides, some people are still afraid to go to concerts and other mass events, they are afraid of the virus, many here have old vulnerable parents, so they are afraid they'll bring illness to the family.

I’ve spent all the money I had already, and on a personal basis there’s no hope that I’ll cope with this financial difficulty this year, so I can’t rely only on myself now to help the shelter like I used to do at some point."

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

"The shelter was created by two women initially, they had less than 75 dogs when I first came in, back in 2016. I saw that they needed my help, I had money at the time and I offered to help with drugs, food and enclosures. Soon the shelter became dear to my heart. Now I can’t live without it. I’ve always loved animals, fed stray cats and dogs since childhood. I guess that is why the shelter plays the most important role in my life now.

I’m spending all my time there, I gave up my hobbies, I don’t spend time with my relatives, instead I solve the shelter’s problems. I’m always on the phone, trying to find food, medicine, talk to the vet if we have ill animals, drive to pick up another dog in need.

Our shelter is important for the city, it’s a life changer. It’s our mission to help. It’s not a duty, it’s a state of soul. You can’t pass by any living soul in need. Day after day we see more and more dogs in the streets, the situation is drastic. We’ve helped many dogs so far ; we are helping now and we are planning to help in future, I hope we’ll manage to collect enough to feed our dogs."

7. If this campaign succeeds, Elan will not receive any money but 3240 kg of kibble, delivered from Animal Webaction's logistics platform in Russia.

Animal Webaction has a logistics platform in Russia, which enables us to intervene quickly and deliver kibbles.

8. Appeals for help, search for sponsors and partners, Elan and his faithful supporters have already tried everything, they ask us to intervene.

"There are no governmental programs, no support from local authorities in Russia for private shelters at all. The authorities only help municipal shelters, which are created not to save animals, but to save people from aggressive dogs, that's all. And there is no municipal shelter in Sochi. We’ve sent letters, talked to the officials, but the outcome was unsuccessful.

We always try to find help from organizations and businesses. We receive help from the meat market, we are extremely grateful for this, and help especially from French associations and families, thanks to whom we managed to place many dogs for adoptions. And we have online pages of the Shelter on Facebook, VKontakte and Instagram, which help us find medicine, financial help for surgeries sometimes, or special food equipment.

As always we try our best to support the shelter, but this isn't enough. This campaign is a very much needed helping hand. And I want to thank all the people who help us, every person who is helping helpless animals. Small contributions from many people can make a difference, I know it."

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 Russia, donors are scarce, and there are no foundations or subsidies. It is very difficult to find funding for kibbles, many dogs remain starving on the street!

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

If you want to come to Elan's shelter to help her or if you want to send her directly some kibbles or a check, contact Elan 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.