Felix - the king of survival

             Felix is a young tomcat who was  sentenced to death for a crime he didn't commit after only a few months of life; but young tomcats rarely have the chance to "speak" in their defense, so they end up paying anyway. Because he dared to be born in a world that has no use for him, Felix was dumped on the side of a busy national road, nowhere near houses, so his chance to survive this was slim; sooner or later he would have ended up as road kill, if not for the nice old couple who spotted him and decided to help. At first, they were shocked by the sight of Felix, missing half of his right front leg with bones sticking out and desperately crying for help, so much so that they left food and water and drove away, thinking it was too much responsibility for them to take on. But their conscience wouldn't let them pass by twice, so on their way back, praying he is still alive, they sopped the car and took Felix home.  There was still the pressing issue of funds to support his recovery, so they came straight to us asking for help. 

               Felix impressed us from the start with his sweet nature, despite the horrors he had to endure at such a young age; he alone knows just how great the pain, the fear and the wonder of what he had done wrong in this world was and where he had found the courage to survive despite all odds. We immediately decided to step in and have him come for a free amputation, so that his precious life could start over, free from any pain. Lucky for him, the old couple decided to adopt Felix and are forever grateful for the help we could provide, thanks to your amazing support. They tell us Felix has recovered 100% and has found the will to play with the other cats they have, trying to put the horrific past behind him. SUST Orphan Animal Hospital Bucharest is proud to be part of such successful stories and, with your support, we hope we can bring more happy endings into this troubled world.

                Here you can donate: https://www.susyutzinger.ch/en/Donate  with the message "for Felix".

                Thank you for your care and trust in our cause!

The Eleni family - victims for Felina Panleukopenia virus

              Lately, we at SUST Orphan Animal Hospital Bucharest have seen an outburst of cases of Felina Panleukopenia (FP) virus, mostly in street cats, but also in owned cats who's owners can't afford to pay for their vaccines. This virus is lethal in 90% of the cases and there is no cure for it; moreover, it is a very resilient virus which can survive up to 1 year in the environment and is shed through urine, stools or nasal secretion or even through fleas. This is a natural response to the overpopulation issue and we came to see that prevention is much more effective and less painful than dealing with lethal diseases such as FP; but both financially and time wise, vaccinating all street cats is impossible, so our goal is to spay/neuter as many cats as possible, so that in the future less animals will be infected and die alone and unknown in some back alley. 

            However, there are still so many kittens being born each year in Bucharest and left to fend for themselves against the big city's dangers, such as crazy traffic, lethal viruses, ignorance (many cat owners still choose to dispose of infant kittens, throwing them as garbage even before their eyes are open, thus making it impossible for them to have a chance to life), abuse etc. We are constantly being asked for help to treat such cases, mostly by people who found sick cats - adults of kittens - lying hopeless in the street.

            This week, a whole litter of kittens came to seek help as they were feeling poorly and stopped eating; they live in a restaurant's back yard and the manager there barely tolerates their presence.  God only knows how many brothers and sisters their mother had before them, but she is pregnant again; the restaurant's manager won't let volunteers help with catching her, stating he doesn't care about them and wants them all gone, anyway. An old lady feeds this poor feline family regularly and she noticed that the kittens were sick, so she came to us to ask for help. She has no money, living on a small pension with 9 cats of her own and trying to feed as many street cats as she can and also catching them and bringing them to us for a free spay.

           

               These poor kittens have no understanding for the harsh world they are living in, a world where they often have to go to bed hungry and scared and where they rarely find a peaceful moment when they can show their loving nature without being in danger. All of them came to SUST Orphan Animal Hospital Bucharest feeling very sick with high fever over 40 degrees Celsius and could barely stand; although they were very scared and wanted to get away from us, they were so weak they could hardly react to what we were doing to them. One can easily imagine how vulnerable they would be in the street in such moments and how much suffering they have to go through with no fault of their own, other than being born unwanted. If their mother gives birth again in that area, the new kittens will most likely become sick as well. 

              We have made it our mission to spay/neuter as many animals as possible, but also to lend a loving hand to everyone who asks for help saving street animals or to poor, but caring people who can't afford to pay for their pets' treatment. Although to most this seems like a mission impossible, we believe we can do it with your generous support, because where there's a will, there's a way and because we know that TOGETHER we are an unstoppable force! So, please, choose to be the Eleni family's guardian angel today and donate so they can get their daily treatment, antibiotics and iv fluids, as well as their life saving vaccines when they recover!

              Here you can donate: https://www.susyutzinger.ch/en/Donate with the message "for the Eleni family". 

               Thank you for your care and trust in our cause!

Desperate appeal for Frumusani project

             Frumusani is a village not far from Bucharest and one of the best examples of our ongoing free mass spay/neuter projects. It all started in 2016 with the appeal of a local rescue who felt overwhelmed by the vast number of stray dogs and cats and the cruel fate waiting for them: death by poisoning, car accidents, starvation or even brutal killing by the locals who were fed up with this situation and didn't know or care about finding a more compassionate solution. 

           Since then, SUST Orphan Animal Hospital Bucharest returned 23 times and managed to spay/neuter for free a total of 975 dogs and cats and this amazing result is possible thanks to your generous support and care for those who can't defend themselves. But for this project to be a successful one, we need to go back to Frumusani on a regular basis, just so we can make sure we reach every household. Although we have the support of the local authorities - the mayor offered us a good space for our projects and his wife not only manages to inform and convince more and more people to spay/neuter their animals, but also goes to remote gypsy areas to make sure no animals are kept from this amazing chance and no more unwanted litters are born - our project is now blocked for lack of funds. There is still a great need for our return, because Frumusani is a place where people from other villages bring unwanted animals and dump them - sadly, this is a very common practice in Romania; 80 dogs and cats are waiting for our help as we speak and it seems unfair to disappoint them and their owners. 

          Free mass spay/neuter projects in villages are special because people in the rural area of Romania are used to treat dogs and cats as tools, with little or no respect at all for their lives. Over the years, I came to understand that most villagers don't care about their dogs or cats and as long as the chain is still in their yard, they will always find another dog to wear it around their neck. Cats are kept hungry, so they become more motivated to hunt for mice and if they dare to take food off the table, they are killed; dogs are kept hungry, thirsty, chained in the back of the yard with little human contact and no sign of affection, because they need to be fierce and catch potential thieves. And that is why our projects in rural areas are so important, because even though people there are raised to see their animals as tools and control their breeding by drowning the unwanted puppies and kittens as soon as they are born, if shown the better and more humane way, they will slowly come to see that there is more to their animals than they thought. One my favorite moments during such a project is when people come to take their animals home and witness the care and affection our medical team and volunteers show them and somehow the owners feel compelled to see them differently; the look on their faces is priceless. 

             If you think this is a cause you would like to get involved into, if you think that chained dogs have had enough of suffering, please support our Frumusani project! Please choose to reward people who managed to step beyond what they knew for generation after generation and chose compassion over indifference!

             You can support Frumusani project by donating here: https://www.susyutzinger.ch/en/Donate or here: 

https://www.susyutzinger.ch/spenden .

            Thank you! 

The price to pay for being unwanted - Misu

             

              This very tiny tomcat is another victim of being born into  a world that has no place for him. After only 4 months of life, cast away on the streets to fend for himself, Misu had the miss fortune of being badly injured to one of his hind legs. We can only imagine the pain he has been in, a pain greater than we, humans, could ever endure in silence. He was lucky to be found by a kind woman and brought to SUST Orphan Animal Hospital Bucharest, after being already turned away by another vet clinic, for lack of money to pay for the intervention; we, of course, couldn't add to the list of Misu's disappointments in his young life and decided we would help him. We could immediately see that his life was in danger due to the severe infection that had spread out through his leg; the terrible smell  made us realize he had been suffering in the streets like this for some time.

               

              Sadly, Misu lost his leg through no fault of his own, other than being born unwanted. He learned, at a very young age, that this world has no use for 98% of the puppies and kittens born each year, yet the people responsible refuse to do the one thing that could save millions of lives, and that is to spay/neuter their pets. 

                     The nice lady that came in with Misu for help has 9 other cats saved from the streets and couldn't possibly afford to pay for his surgical intervention. SUST Orphan Animal Hospital Bucharest decided to step in help save little Misu's life from further pain and possible death, but we need a safety net that would give us the possibility of helping other victims of people's ignorance and indifference. 

        

          Please support our work, so that tiny tomcats such as Misu get a second chance in life! So many kittens get thrown away in the streets each year, sometimes even before opening their eyes, it makes it impossible to help all of them, unless you decide to join us in our battle to save their lives!

             Here you can donate: https://www.susyutzinger.ch/en/Donate  with the message "for Misu"
             Thank you for your care and trust in our cause!

The price to pay for being unwanted - Dawn

             

            

            As it will show in a number of articles I will dedicate to this theme, there is a very high price to pay for being born in a world that has no need for you. No matter how sweet and innocent your gift to the world is, if you are an unwanted dog or cat, suffering and possible death will follow. As cruel as this may seem, and as uncalled for, there is simply not enough homes, resources and not enough compassion left in this world to deal with so many souls born every hour. 

            There was a time, very long ago, when man needed the help of a creature who could protect and offer him companionship, therefor, he tamed the mighty wolf and called him "dog"; from then on, dogs were loyal friends who had their masters' backs on dangerous hunting trips, protected them from thieves and wild beasts or were used as companions for their families. Whether loyal friends or tools in their households, dogs had their purpose in man's world and, as long as they were useful, dogs were safe. But modern times showed us that in different parts of the world dogs became undesirable, as their number grew more and more. Some countries found better ways to deal with the problem, still leading to a lot of unwanted dogs being killed, humanely, while others seem to get more and more creative towards ways to torture them, with no visible result in reducing their numbers. 

           Romania is one of these countries and the past twenty years have been a continuous struggle for animal welfare organizations to put a stop to the torture they are submitted to by the authorities and also to deal with the increasing number of the animals born unwanted on the streets and in the shelters. Mass free spay/neuter events throughout Romania, supporting local rescues, shelters, poor owners who have no means to solve their animals' uncontrolled breading, this is the only viable, efficient and humane solution to the overpopulation of dogs and cats' problem. 

              Dawn is one of the silent victims of this plague that punishes the innocents while the people responsible for the problem are free to get rich on their backs, sustaining illegal dog catching businesses or even pose as "rescuers". 

               As so many other puppies and kittens, Dawn's only "crime" was she was born unwanted and the people responsible for not taking the mothers to be spayed, although there are clinics that provide this service for free, thought they would solve the problem by simply tossing the puppies away in some park, for it to be other people's problem. And by doing so, they are contributing to the very issue they are most viciously against: the big number of stray animals, the streets not being safe, clean, free of fleas and infectious disease spread to pets which are not vaccinated. 

             Parvovirus is such a disease and it can be deadly for young puppies such as Dawn and for beloved pets who are not vaccinated properly. It wasn't enough for Dawn to be separated from her mother at such an young age (about 8 weeks) with no means to feed or protect herself against cars, bad people or the elements, but she was also put into a world where deadly disease give young puppies no chance of survival. 

              I found Dawn in the park near my home while walking my dogs. She was terrified beyond words, screaming and trying to get away, although I used a soft voice, trying to reassure her. I could see Dawn was starving and was very filthy and thin. 

A trip to SUST Orphan Animal Hospital Bucharest showed me what I feared the most, that Dawn had Parvovirus; this disease attacks the stomach's wall and slowly destroys it, sending it outside the body by feces or vomit. After years of trying to treat this awful disease, I can only imagine the excruciating pain the puppies feel while fighting for their tiny lives; some make it and so did Dawn, she was lucky enough to be found and treated in time and is now recuperating. 

But there are thousands of dogs who die unknown, who suffer to their deaths on the side of some roads or in public shelters, so soon after being born into a cruel world, too soon to show us what their lives are worth and without the chance of sharing their love with that special someone. 

           After more than 10 years working with the stray animals in Romania, after witnessing  more cruelty than a human being should see in a lifetime, the death of young animals still haunts me and I don't know whether to wish them a quick and painless death soon after being born, before they understand  how cruel and bleak this world truly is, or to pray they have a chance to happiness, even if this chance is paid with suffering, neglect and despair. 

             I will never understand why people need to repay kindness and love with cruelty. Why do we insist to torture our best friends, those born to be our loyal companions, why not show the kindness of spaying and neutering them to put a stop to their over population ? If you wonder the same, please know that you can help by supporting SUST Orphan Animal Hospital Bucharest to hold more free mass spay/neuter events throughout Romania, so that less animals are born to their futile deaths. You can also support our social cases, as we are not only trying to prevent more lives being born and wasted, but also save those already born, such as Dawn,  from their terrible fate.

             Here you can donate: https://www.susyutzinger.ch/en/Donate  with the message "for Dawn".
             Thank you for your care and trust in our cause!