De 10 jarige Lucia van Kuijen uit Den Haag heeft dinsdag een kalfje uit een melkveehouderij vrijgekocht om het dier te redden van de slacht. De basisschoolleerling was afgelopen week op schoolreisje naar een boer in Maasland en vond het verschrikkelijk om te zien dat de kalfjes niet bij hun moeder stonden. Nadat de boer vertelde dat het twee weken oude kalfje Keesje vrijdag naar de mesterij zou gaan waarna hij geslacht zou worden, was Lucia vastberaden het dier te redden.
Koeienrusthuis
„Ik heb de boer gevraagd wat het kalfje kostte, en na de excursie tegen mijn moeder gezegd dat ik niks voor mijn verjaardag wilde en dat ik het kalfje van al mijn spaargeld ging kopen”, vertelt Lucia. „Mijn moeder zei dat we het kalfje niet konden kopen omdat we geen ruimte hadden om een kalf te houden. Dus heb ik koeienrusthuis De Leemweg in Friesland gebeld en gevraagd of hij daar mag wonen, en dat mocht.”Op weg
Lucia heeft het dier dinsdag samen met haar ouders opgehaald bij de boer. Een hachelijke onderneming met een trailer door de lentestorm. „Het is eigenlijk onverantwoord, maar we doen het omdat we het vreselijk vinden voor het dier”, zegt moeder Rosella van Kuijen dinsdagmiddag. „We stonden vast bij Amersfoort, maar inmiddels rijden we weer richting Friesland.” De dierenvrienden hopen einde van de middag het kalfje over te kunnen dragen aan het koeienrusthuis.Vastberaden
Lucia doet regelmatig mee aan acties van Een Dier Een Vriend (EDEV), een organisatie die opkomt voor de rechten van dieren. „Wij zijn erg trots op haar vastberadenheid om dit kalfje te redden”, zegt een woordvoerder van EDEV. „Ze weet dat ze niet de hele wereld hiermee kan redden, maar wel de wereld van kalfje Keesje.”http://ikzoekbaas.dierenbescherming.nl/
Yet again, our spectacular monthly supporters
have enabled us to provide aid to three dog rescue centers in Romania. You’re
providing food for more than 2,000 dogs here!
This is Sienna who was found in a grocery store
parking lot. She was hungry and shivering and was spotted by our beloved rescue
partner Norica Prigoana who runs a very special rescue center in
Gherla.
Every month Harmony Fund sends aid to sponsor
the rescue, veterinary care and sheltering of street dogs in Romania who are
injured or simply hungry & alone. The caregivers of these animals are some
of the most selfless and devoted rescuers on the planet.
It’s a bit hard to get a photo of the stray
dogs of Travnik standing up. Every time Bosnian rescuer Anela Elkazevic
approaches, they simply fall over as the excitement of receiving affection
washes over them. It’s hard to believe that gentle souls (like this one
being warmed in blankets) are among the dogs under threat from a new task
force of dog catchers. But many of the dogs can stop running soon. The fence is
going up around the new sanctuary at this very moment and dogs will start
pouring in next week.
This gorgeous piece of land, pure wilderness,
will become a haven for the dogs. We’ll start with fencing and then housing will
be erected for a caretaker and for the dogs. Volunteers from Germany will be
helping to organize spay/neuter for the incoming dogs and to also help host an
adoption program.
Anela says the homeless dogs chase after her
car to follow her home after she feeds them. She thinks of how many have chased
after the cars of the families who left them. Soon, very soon, they’ll all be
home and the only running they’ll do is to chase each other through those
gorgeous, great big fields.
We’d love to take you all on a balloon ride
over the streets of Avsallar, Turkey. This is something you simply must lay eyes
on to appreciate. Volunteers here walk the streets for six to eight hours each
day, feeding the hungry street animals. The sacks of food are wheeled along in
carts and so many of the cats and dogs come running when they see the “chuck
wagon” approaching. In a community where animals are chased and poisoned and
stoned, we bring them love and good food. The lucky ones are adopted
internationally. All of this is made possible by our monthly
supporters.
Want to Volunteer in Turkey?
Those of you who follow us on Facebook may know
that we’ve been hosting the international protest against the round-up of dogs
in advance of the upcoming European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan. After watching
undercover video and hearing reports from local residents that dogs were being
rounded up to cleanse the streets, we went to work to force the European Games
leadership to be held accountable for the welfare of dogs in host cities like
Baku.
This week, the state veterinary staff was seen
administering rabies prevention to street dogs – instead
of grabbing them and driving away.
“At this time, we are only surviving because of
your support.” Those are the profound words uttered by Viktoria Vasilyeva who
runs the PIF shelter in Eastern Ukraine.
In a thousand full moons, we couldn’t begin to
express the depth of our gratitude for all of you who have donated to help.
Please accept our apologies for asking for continued support for the animals
here,but the need is ongoing and substantial. We do need
help.
This month, we sent a donation to The Twala
Trust Animal Sanctuary in Zimbabwe to help in the care of wild
animals.
Frank was hit by a car a few weeks ago in
Bosnia. Luckily a girl found him and started calling for help. She knocked on
the door of her teacher, asking what to do.
After responding to so many emergency
situations this month, the "kitty" is rather low. In addition to our normal
projects, we had so many rescues in Sarajevo that couldn't wait. It's just so
difficult to turn away animals in need for the simple lack of
funds.
Grace is one of the dogs we
saved recently. She was trapped inside an abandoned house that collapsed down on
her. Because she was a street dog and is unfamiliar with human kindness, she
needs one-on-one care with a rescuer there who is trying to help her. We bought
Grace this bed and we're quite certain it's the first one she's ever had. Our
goal is for her to learn to be touched by people, to walk on a leash -- just the
simple things.
