On a daily basis, right across Bulgaria, there is a shockingly high number of heartbreaking cases of animal abuse, abandonment and senseless cruelty – not just with dogs, but also cats, donkeys and horses as well.

This is a daily reality as those of us working in animal welfare in the Balkans know very well.

For us to say no to accepting every single case is emotionally painful but with our single sanctuary, which at its absolute maximum can possibly house 140 dogs with a good quality of life, the physical reality is that we simply cannot take on every rescue case, at least not yet.

Here is the exact criteria – in priority order – that we use to determine whether we take in a new rescue case (assuming that we actually have any available space or are likely to soon):

1. EXTREME RISK TO ANIMAL: for example:

– Is the animal in immediate danger of death e.g. survivor of a shooting attack by dog-hating locals, or,

– Chained up without food or water in a forest somewhere, or,

– The dog may be in an extremely malnourished state, barely moving, possibly lame in one or more legs and has little chance for survival without help.

2. HIGH RISK TO ANIMAL: for example:

– Has the dog’s owner died and now there is nobody to take care of the animal? or,

– Is the dog a newly dumped arrival in an area where the established homeless packs are very aggressive to this newcomer?

3. DUMPED PUPPIES?

– Puppy dumping by irresponsible pet owners is very common in Bulgaria (these pet owners still refuse to ever get their dogs castrated and just flick the problem and expense to organizations like Every Dog Matters EU). 

Caring for puppies from a very young age is expensive as treatments for parvovirus and other likely illnesses + preventive vaccinations all add up. 

Should you find dumped puppies, you can contact us via our Facebook page here or through contact@everydogmatters.eu to check our current capacity. 

Often we can help but sometimes we are completely overwhelmed and cannot take in any more puppy groups. 

When we can’t help, we recommend other organizations and Facebook Groups that may be able to help. 

In Sofia, the municipality runs a dedicated shelter for puppies here.

VERY IMPORTANT: Currently we are unable to take in newborn puppies under 21 days old as these have very special requirements. 

In such cases, these newborn puppies can be taken to a vet clinic and this Facebook Group here also specializes in newborn kittens.

Also, many homeless dogs live relatively stable lives in city neighborhoods where the locals help them and these are not a high priority for us. 

Often these homeless dogs are good friends with local pet dogs and even play together. 

This is more common in Sofia where some homeless dogs have kennels to sleep in and are well fed by the neighbors.

Every rescue case that we take on adds considerable financial expense to our organization. 

If you can help financially and/or through volunteering with us, this enables us to help more at-risk dogs. Our donation information can be found here (please note that a donation does NOT obligate us to take animals in, if we have no available space – the quality care of the animals we already have is our top priority).