A SAFE HOME FOR ABANDONED DOGS: Kennels Set Up by Citizens Will Be LEGALISED

After the great response to the campaign to set up shelters for stray dogs in front of the municipal building during the winter, and the kennels being stolen twice, the municipality of Stari Grad is not giving up on caring for abandoned dogs. All the kennels for abandoned animals that citizens spontaneously built and set up in every neighbourhood will be legalised by the municipality, which will mark them with special stickers and thus place them under its protection.

“During the freezing days behind us we saved a good many abandoned dogs. I saw for myself how much effort some of our fellow citizens put into building safe shelters for abandoned animals, and so I believe the least we can do is to legalise them,” said Marko Bastać, president of the municipality of Stari Grad, and called on all citizens to report the locations of the kennels to the municipality so that they can be marked and placed under municipal supervision as soon as possible.

Shelter, but food too

Alongside the legalisation of dog kennels in the territory of Stari Grad, the municipality is also launching a campaign to collect food for abandoned animals, and municipal representatives have called on pet shops, socially responsible companies and all residents of Stari Grad to donate animal food.

Humanity in action: Stari Grad, a safe house for stray dogs (PHOTO)

“A box for donations of packaged food will be placed in the municipality's Contact Centre, where citizens can leave their donations and so save, but also improve, the lives of our furry friends,” reads the statement from the Stari Grad municipality.

Ana Kojić, the organiser of this project to help abandoned dogs, says:

The campaign to build kennels for abandoned animals began spontaneously last winter. The plan was to make just a couple of kennels for the dogs I look after in the park near my house, but people's reaction was incredible! As I have a lot of friends and followers on social media, messages of support started arriving, and not only that! Many offered materials, transport, physical help. I never dreamed we would make over 70 kennels in no time! They were all set up across Belgrade, to the delight of our four-legged friends, and I can say they used them gladly and that the kennels probably saved their lives during the harsh winter. This year, at the request of many carers, we started producing new kennels, and little by little we reached the figure of 150 warm homes for abandoned friends. We were overjoyed when the municipality of Palilula decided to help us with this humane project, and now the municipality of Stari Grad also wants to legalise these lovely little structures, which will give us the strength to continue with this demanding but wonderful campaign.

(Starogradski.com)