Full of anticipation, part of the feed a dog team set off for Romania on Tuesday. We wanted to be there when the biggest food delivery since feed a dog's existence was handed over. In addition, we had the unique opportunity to get an insight into the largest animal shelter in the world - the Smeura.
The arrival
After our arrival at the airport in Bucharest, we continued our journey north for another 1 ½ hours. Already at the arrival one guessed by the gigantic gate entrance that something special expects us here. At the latest after we got out of the car, this premonition was confirmed: We were impressed by a dog barking that can probably only arise when in an animal shelter over 5,000 dogs come together. This only happens once in the world.
Your feed a dog food donation
After the very warm welcome by the chairman of Tierhilfe Hoffnung e.V. - Matthias Schmidt - we went directly to the food depot of the animal shelter.
Here were already the food donations of the feed a dog donors. A huge load of food distributed on several pallets! The fact that so much food was collected is of course also thanks to ZooRoyal, who contributed a lot to this amount of food with their doubling campaign. Matthias emphasized once again that the feed a dog donations arrived at exactly the right time: Food just became very scarce again at the shelter!
This need was directly shown by the fact that the food had to be fed to the animals even on the day of our visit - and we were allowed to be there. Such a great moment. It's fantastic to see how your donations through the feed a dog app are now going directly to the animals.
Feeding the animals
Even the preparation for feeding the animals is unique. Over 20 helpers load their wheelbarrows full to the brim with food to then feed the hungry fluffy noses. The way to the animals is arduous: the fully loaded wheelbarrows have to be pushed through corridors that are barely wider than the wheelbarrows themselves. Walking upright is out of the question. This makes feeding the animals a daily effort. We were there in early summer - it's hard to imagine what conditions are like in the harsh Romanian winter.
As soon as the helpers roll into the paddocks with their wheelbarrows, they - and on this day also us - are greeted by a very loud but joyful barking of dogs.
All the fluffy noses know, of course, that the bowls are about to be filled!
When it actually happened and the bowls were filled, we were very moved by the moment:
How wonderful to see how the bowl donations from the feed a dog app now become filled bowls on site.
Lonely but wonderful souls
After the feeding was over and many of the dogs took a nap, we visited them again, of course. It is very impressive to see so many dogs in one place. The moment is even more precious as soon as you take time for the loving fur noses. Joyful but also sad eyes are looking at you. Some are fearful, some are playful and some are very cuddly. At the end of our days we could no longer count how many we would have liked to take home immediately.
Animal Aid Hope - great work
There are still a lot of killing stations in Romania - thanks to Tierhilfe Hoffnung dogs are rescued from them every day. In addition, many injured street dogs are medically treated and cared for in the Smeura. It has already become known among the population that injured dogs can find help here. Some of the animals actually find not only the necessary care, but also a new home in Germany. This is because Tierhilfe Hoffnung cooperates with animal shelters in Germany that help with the placement.
A thank you - from Tierhilfe Hoffnung
Matthias shared his thanks to all the feed a dog donors on behalf of Tierhilfe Hoffnung. He was impressed by the amount of food you collected. Every single food donation is very important for the furry noses - after all, more than 2.7 tons of food are needed - every day!
Therefore, the great thanks of Matthias is also connected with a sincere request:
Please continue to think of the furry noses in Romania and donate food.
Every donation counts and is well received. Of course, the most valuable are food sponsorships, which you can also conclude via the feed a dog app:
Go to feed a dog app: https://app.feedadog.com/futter-fuer-hunde
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank every single donor who helps to fill the bowls of the four-legged friends! And of course a big thank you goes to Matthias and his team for this incredible work for animal welfare on site.
