Newsletter December 2009

Dear All,

Here we are again. We have decided to send an additional newsletter, especially since the holidays are coming up and a lot is happening at this moment.

Yet again a reminder for everyone that chocolate is pure poison for dogs. Extra caution is necessary around the holidays. The Christmas cookie scan easily be picked of the Christmas tree and chocolate surprises stolen form the table. Always be alert, because there are so many accidents.

And also once again the repetition of the threat of the use of salt. It seemed such a reliable method for the dog to vomit, but now it also appears to be pure poison. The salt can cause the dog to die. Do not use this! But go to a vet immediately. As with humans also a finger in the throat can be a solution, but be careful that the dog does not bite. A first aid course for animal tells you how to deal with these situations. Perhaps a good intention!

If we look back on 2009 we can surely speak of a very intensive year.

We have said goodbye to two very special people, unforgettable winners who will always be remembered: Albert and Yusuf.

Besides this the farewell of Wilma came like a bolt from the blue. How should we continue without the heart of the foundation? It was an adjustment for everyone, but we will continue the struggle for the dogs in Bosnia, and so we will go on! We are proud of the fact that Wilma had enough confidence in us to hand over the key. Wilma will always be a part of the foundation, because the SDB exists due to her. We must never forget this. So again an extra thank you for Wilma, who had the courage and motivation to found this organization. Only because of having a solid base and the ambition of the volunteers we could go on!

Besides these massive changes, there have been also some other events that made a big impression on all of us;
The new animal welfare law is in force in Bosnia!
There were two large dog walks. The first in January, really really cold, at the beach! The 2nd was recently on World Animal Day! It is great to see all the attending dogs.
We have had our first sterilization project outside the shelter, and we repeated this successfully. In total we visited 3 locations.
A large number of volunteers drove to Bosnia to help.
We have build a new website.
This year we had significant setbacks in the shelter of Orasje, but also in Bihac.
We have carried out major construction projects in Orasje and in Sarajevo.
We succesfully re-homed a pretty good number of dogs.

And we have a winning team which helps us to achieve all goals that we have in mind! This is essential for the success of the plans. Volunteers come and go, but the hard core makes us get the job done and enables us to sometimes take a dog to Holland!

Finally, we want to wish you happy holiday on behalf of all volunteers! Enjoy all the fun!

If you have questions or comments about this new newsletter, please let us know, tips are always welcome!

Due to the holidays and the planned trip to Bosnia, the next newsletter will be sent around February 1, 2010!

Projectsmap

We have added projectmap to our website.

Use this to see where we perform our work and what our focus points are.

Click on the red circles to read more about the project!

You can find the project map on our website under: Projects

 

 

 

 

Orasje

Mid November, there were discussions about the future of the shelter and the effect of the heavy physical and mental burden on the current employees.

There will have to be a careful way of handling the people we have now, because it is extraordinary that these great workers are in the shelter. In general, no one feels stimulated to work in a shelter, even when we pay a monthly salary.

Next year a meeting will be arranged with the mayor about the role of the municipality. With the introduction of new legislation, the municipality is responsible for establishing and maintaining a shelter. Currently, the town has gotten away fairly easy, they share little in costs. That has to change, so we try to have a meeting with the mayor as quickly as possible. Svjetlana is entitled to receive his support!

We will not let Orasje down, as long as the municipality does not share costs, we will continue to care for our dogs!

If you want to help and support to shelter in Orasje, you can adopt a dog on a distance from the shelter, through that way you support the shelter directly!

And then something cool:

They are familiar to us, but for the majority of our readers the names we mention do not have a face, to solve this Tanja have put all dogs in a gallery.

Click here for a view on all of them.

 

Transport Food

As we told in the previous newsletter, we are working hard to arrange the transport.

After this report we had received some critical questions. Several readers wondered why it was so expensive and if it was not smarter to buy the food locally.

We have made a conscious decision to do this transport. Bosnia is not part of the EU, and there are two very difficult borders we have to cross.

We can not risk it without the proper papers necessary for the transport. The food will be seized, and then we are in trouble even deeper.

A quick calculation shows that we spend about 25 cents per kilo of food. When we buy it in Bosnia this would add up quickly to 1.50 per kilo.

There is no big trading company in Bosnia where we can buy food in large amounts, and even then it would be significantly more expensive.

We are glad that people are thinking and giving extra information. It is always very welcome! But we simply have to keep ourselves to the procedures, we can not avoid or work around them.

We could use your help! Would you want to make a contribution to the dogs? Email us at info@hondenopvang.com!

If you want to support us, you can sponsor us, for info email info@hondenopvang.com.