THIS JUST IN: Dr. Olson tells us that one of the dogs brought to her for help had yet another very tragic story—the dog was raped by some kids, then they tied her to a cross like she was crucified! A kind man found her like that, and brought her in to Dr. Olson to be helped. She was "such a sweet little girl," Dr. Olson said.
Read Dr. Olson's blog for the story.
This is a terrible, but important, story--there are the horrible ones who hurt the dog, and then the good man who did help the dog in the end. We must continue our work to stop things like this from happening by offering free spay/neuter to STOP THE OVERPOPULATION of stray dogs and cats and by EDUCATING the people!
Dear RAR Friends and Supporters,
Thanks to you, our wonderful donors, the SEPTEMBER FUND DRIVE in support of Dr. Olson's trip to Romania, was a success! So many generous donations brought us above our modest goal, and many people brought donations of Frontline, cages, and equipment to Dr. Ileana and Dr. Olson for the animals in Romania! I URGE YOU TO READ THE MANY ENLIGHTENING EMAILS INCLUDED IN THIS NEWSLETTER RECEIVED FROM DR. OLSON, ESPECIALLY HER EXPERIENCES IN TWO ROMANIAN VILLAGES JUST YESTERDAY, WHICH APPEARS IN THE "FUNDING NEEDED FOR A VAN" SECTION BELOW.
Because of your generosity during our September Fund Drive, Dr. Olson's trip to Romania in October has been a success.
She was able to visit three cities, including Buzău where the need is urgent (and the people very willing to help and
continue the work). She feels that Galati is under control! What a difference a year makes!
During her trip, Dr. Olson has also become a terrific ambassador for the animals. As you may know,
RAR's primary goal is free spay/neuter in conjunction with education of the people through the schools and media awareness.
Along these lines, Dr. Olson has been interviewed on TV and radio (see the following emails). She
has met with reporters from Pro TV, who broke the story about the cat
torture here last month (see Stop the Torture). The local TV show host wants to film her meeting
with Constantin Boşcodeală, mayor of Buzău, on October 22 and
get on film his promises for the animals.
I thought you might like to read an email from Lynne at NUCA about Dr. Olson's visit and her work with their
organization, and Dr. Olson's most current message/report to Nancy from Romania. Also read Dr. Olson's latest
email below under "FUNDING NEEDED FOR A NEW VAN".
It's a fascinating read! (Earlier letters from Dr. Olson are posted in
this blog.)
Dr. Olson performing a spay/neuter procedure.
Observing her are: (L-R)
Viorel Cepraga, a volunteer for RAR
in Galati;
Dr. Ileana; and
a veterinary student.
Here is a message Nancy received from Lynne of NUCA about Dr. Olson's visit to Cluj:
Hi Nancy,
We just finished having dinner with Jeanne [Dr. Olson] and the NUCA crew. Jeanne indicated she's had very limited access to email so I told her I'd email you tonight. I hope she'll concur that her visit here in Cluj was a great success. Not that everything went smoothly... after all this is Romania, but she was able to work with several local vets and many vet students, showing her special techniques while spaying & neutering dogs & cats; giving lots of encouragement and reassurances and being an-all-round excellent person and volunteer. We absolutely loved her and are very appreciative of Romania Animal Rescue for making her visit to Cluj possible. I'm sure NUCA will contact you directly with a similar response. The NUCA folks and their associated vets also worked hard to make Jeanne visit a success - something difficult when all of them work full-time at other jobs -- but they reflect the new generation of Romanians and are role models of the 'can do' attitude.
Anyway, thank you! Jeanne is taking a bit of time out tomorrow to visit the countryside (after stopping by someone's vet clinic) and then Claudiu will pick her up Thursday morning and take her to Galati. We all feel blessed by Jeanne's visit here and hope the rest of her work in Romania will also be successful.
Dr. Ileana writes that the program goes very well and that she is "so proud of the performance we have managed to attain". She received the cages and said they will be of great help. As you can see from her
spay/neuter report below, she was able to do 179 Spay/Neuter procedures in September!
NEW AUTOCLAVE URGENTLY NEEDED! Dr. Ileana has been working with an old autoclave (the machine that sterilizes surgical instruments) in which a gasket burned out making it dangerous to use. She borrowed
an autoclave temporarily, and we just received news that
Joy and the Mayhew Animal Home is sending her a new gasket. This will enable Dr. Ileana to use the old autoclave until a new one can be funded.
A NEW AUTOCLAVE IS VERY IMPORTANT, one that not only sterilizes instruments but trays, so that she can immediately begin to treat the next animal. This is a very expensive, sensitive instrument, which Dr. Ileana will try to purchase in Romania and with your help RAR will be able to pay for at least a portion (hopefully all) of it.
Dr. Ileana made time in her busy schedule to take a few photos of surgeries and the animals she is able to help each day because of you, our donors.
Here are a few photos of sweet pups patiently waiting their turn for examination,
deparasite treatment, vaccination and spay/neuter by Dr. Ileana.
Below are photographs of Dr. Ileana's spay/neuter surgeries on cats and dogs. For those of you not too squeamish (smile) take a look at the terrific page created by our webmaster, Rob Cole, which takes you through
the spay/neuter process with photographs and descriptive
captions.
Dr. Ileana performing
spay and neuter surgeries
on dogs and cats.
One kitty that
is definitely
in dreamland, while
Dr. Ileana performs surgery.
SEPT
Spay/Neuter/Description
Number
Cost
per
Cost (in Lei)
Female dogs
83
100.43
8,335.69
Female cats
68
89.48
6,084.64
Male dogs
21
71.40
1,499.40
Male cats
7
59.50
416.50
Other Treatments
--
--
364.20
TOTAL S/N PROCEDURES IN SEPTEMBER 2007
179
SEPT
Total LEI
16,700.43
Total USD
$ 7,261.00
BIG NEWS!
RAR HAS FOUND A WONDERFUL VET WHO IS TRAINED NOT ONLY FOR CATS AND DOGS BUT FOR HORSES AND BURROS...NOW ALL WE NEED IS A SPONSOR TO FUND HER!
We need a sponsor for a new RAR vet who is trained not only to handle dogs and cats, but horses and burros for us. We would need to pay her about $2000 per month. This would be in addition to the fees we currently pay Dr. Ileana.
It should not be impossible to find someone who could give us $2000 a month - should it?
Well, we are thinking positively and are beginning our search for a sponsor RIGHT NOW, with you, our donors. Perhaps one of you works for a company that could use some good will or a large corporation that needs to use up those pesky extra dollars for charitable contributions before the calendar year ends? If so, let us know! We'll do the work; just let us know what door to walk through. Contact Nancy Janes at romaniadogs@sbcglobal.net.
This veterinarian has proven herself to be not only skilled in her profession, but, just as important, to be a person who truly loves and cares for the animals. Right up RAR's alley!
A PUPPY BEGINNING LIFE IN ROMANIA
The photographs below illustrate the condition of just one Romanian puppy--one of thousands born into a life of starvation, pain and worse.
FREE SPAY NEUTER PROGRAMS AND EDUCATION WILL HELP BREAK THIS CYCLE OF SUFFERING!
This puppy has "bear paws" (see photo below). The term "bear paws" refers to the appearance of oversized paws in relation to the body. This is caused by malnutrition resulting in lack of strength in the legs, making the paws look huge, even though they really are normal size. "Bear paws" would disappear if the dog began to receive good, nutritious food. MANY, MANY, MANY DOGS IN ROMANIA LIVE THEIR ENTIRE LIVES WITH BEAR PAWS.
Above is a close-up of "bear paws" caused by malnutrition and
the resultant weakness and illness.
FUNDING NEEDED FOR A NEW VAN TO EXPAND RAR'S WORK IN ROMANIA!
WE ARE DESPERATELY TRYING TO FIND FUNDING, AND/OR A SPONSOR, FOR THE PURCHASE OF A NEW VAN that will enable RAR to transport the animals, make emergency calls, and take medical treatment and eventually spay/neuter services to the many citizens unable, or unaware, to get services at Dr. Ileana's clinic. The cost of a new van would be
$7200 US. Claudiu of Animed Arad just purchased a new van and finds the guarantees that come with a new van vs. repairs to an old van make the purchase of a new
one the most sensible and cost-effective way to go. We have hired a staff member, Geo Capatana, who will drive the van and answer emergency calls for RAR.
We have no van now, but we find the need to be so great--it is important to let people now when and where we are in their town to help them. It will be basic services at first, but then we can start getting spay/neuter equipment for it. Initially, we will need to stock it with supplies for emergency care.
DR. OLSON WROTE to us (her letter follows), talking about her experiences in a small town, and the good that can be done by taking our services to the people, changing minds one at a time, one on one, gaining trust of the people, while helping the animals.
Dear Nancy,
Here's what happened yesterday. We were spaying dogs & cats Alaska style...outside in a lady's back yard. The sun was shining, a slight breeze to keep away the flies. Rainwater used for cleaning. All was pretty darn good. Well, there was a glitch. Many of the cats were quite feral and were going to be difficult to catch. So, I suggested that they not be fed the night before and to wait for us to arrive the next morning. All was good. The food was put out and dozens of cats arrived...but then, no one bothered to catch them and then they all disappeared. I think it was a good example of misunderstandings that occur between language interpretation plus Romanian organization. The Peace Corps volunteers in Cluj told me that most Romanians have a very difficult time organizing things. Wow, is that an understatement. So, tomorrow we will try again with the cat trick only this time they assure me they know what I mean except that we only have 4 kennels so we can catch only 4 cats. It was unimaginable to put more than one small cat in a kennel! Okay, I digress so back to the horses.
While in this small village, I was asked to look at a horse that was lame. Well, lame was an understatement. Big wound near the carpus and was non-weight-bearing, but a nice horse. I had no antibiotics or salve. but I had small hypodermic needles and did some acupuncture. I will check on him tomorrow. It only took a few minutes for two other horses to appear who needed help. One had a deep wound on his medial fetlock from hitting it with his hind leg. He was 14 and could have used some chiropractic, adequan and some bute. The Bucharest vet was with me. She said she found Phenylbute one time after searching for days...and that was in Bucharest! And, that she would die for Flunixin. Did you know that it is illegal for vets to possess (that means use) human meds in animals? Can you appreciate how many drugs we use extra-label in America? This is one thing that the EU membership hasn't changed for Romania. One vet in Cluj was forced to throw out his human drugs the day I arrived...he called the other vets to inform them that the authorities were on their way.
The most significant thing that happened in this village, Cernatesti:
As we were walking to see the horse, a young boy on a bicycle showed up. Of course, I don't look like a local, and he kept staring at me. Our eyes finally met and I said hello in Romanian. He seemed surprised because people simply don't say hello to strangers over here. The cat lady told me not to talk to him because he killed one of her dogs (not sure if that was true or not). I told her that I wanted to
give him something. She asked me not to, because he would then believe that he would be rewarded for doing bad things. In fact, all of the Romanian RAR volunteers were quite adamant that I don't speak with him. I couldn't help myself....I gave him the peace button that I was wearing. He sped off and disappeared. Well, while we were looking at the horse, he reappeared with his small
black poodle (sort of like having a poodle in Schzmimeref, Alaska!) Well the RAR volunteers were astonished and said that perhaps they were wrong about my action because this boy was bringing his own dog for me to examine. The boy's name was George but I couldn't understand his dog's name. She had cockleburs in her feet webs but he didn't know that...only knew that she would limp sometimes and it was on different feet. I showed him the stickers and explained they were like a splinter. He asked if I could bring him a collar and how much would it cost.
I think that perhaps, well hopefully, peace begins with all of us. We can do actions on the level where we can take action.
The best part of the end of the day was being invited to a widower's home that was so traditional. She had a setting of homemade wine for us and gave me a liter to take with me. I am sipping it now. We shall return and spay her cat tomorrow...a cute calico named Florentina.
Today, we spayed/neutered 19 dogs and 4 cats. We couldn't catch one of the local mayor's dogs so I don't know what will happen to her. On the way to the shelter, we picked up 2 dogs in our car, and the other vehicle picked up 2 puppies. And so it goes here in Romania.
Tomorrow is another day. Today we were interviewed by the big State TV News which is broadcast across the country. The reporters who interviewed us were the same one who broke a story about a cat being tortured to death last month here in Buzau. Thanks to their story, the legislature in Bucharest is about to pass some anti-cruelty laws...perhaps next week. We have been promised to meet with the big
mayor of Buzau County on Monday. I am encouraged here in Buzau, but they have a long way to go. I think if people in Fairbanks saw what occurs here, they would be so embarrassed about how wasteful we are with our disposable animals. That's about it for now.
--Jeanne
STOP THE TORTURE!
Below is one of many messages RAR received from our friends in Romania. This one, from Carmen of Nature Heritage Foundation in Bucharest, tells of terrible events involving torture and killing of animals. Some events were video taped and put on the web! As Carmen tells us, Pro TV in Romania heard of these terrible video tapes and has begun a campaign against cruelty on its website. They have a PETITION which you can sign and a box where you can add your comments. The site does not have an English option, but the "Stop Animal Torture" box on the right of their main page says it all. (http://www.protvintl.ro/). The petition cries out for action against abuse of animals and calls for legislation and a type of ‘animal police' (like on Animal Planet here in the US).
YOU CAN GO TO PRO TV's WEBSITE AND ADD YOUR COMMENTS IN ENGLISH.
Here is how: go to their
website. Just under the horizontal red banner, you will see a blue banner "Adauga Commentariu" (Add your comments). Then there is a box for your Name (Numele), Subject (Stop the torture of Animals), and then your Comments/Message (Mesaj). You do not have to sign in, just add your name and comments. You can talk about the need for education of the children, for laws against animal abuse, enforcement of the laws, and the need for spay/neuter.
Here is Carmen's email of September 29, 2007...even though it is horrible, it is reality.
Dear Nancy,
Last week 3 guys killed a nice, calm cat. They caught her and hit her with their legs till she died; they filmed themselves and put the video on a website. The PRO TV channel and others showed this on TV news and then PRO TV organised a campaign to promote a law against cruelty and to set up animal police. They showed other images with horses tortured and so on. There is a petition which many people signed. You can do it and make comments in English.
Today I saw a dog with a man a few cows near our shelter. We talked and he told me how nice and faithful the dog is. After 2 hours we heard a gunshot. Two teams of hunters shot the dog in front of his owner...for fun! When he arrived home, the other dog jumped over the fence to a dog in heat and the neighbour killed him with a shovel.
You can see how some people are! They don't care too much about laws or animals...the education must [begin when] they are very young.
--Carmen
FUNDRAISER EVENT! NOVEMBER 3, 2007
MARK YOUR CALENDARS TO BE A PART OF THIS HIKING AND WINE TASTING EVENT IN CALIFORNIA'S "VALLEY OF THE MOON"!
Join Lynne Pelletier and Nancy Janes at 10:00 as they lead a 9-mile moderate hike in Annadel State Park, to be followed by a wine tasting at St. Francis Winery! Spaces are limited, so book early--we can only have 20 participants! Lunches are provided, courtesy of Nancy Hair.
A donation of $75/person includes the cost of the wine tasting.
Please reserve your space by contacting our website at:
or you may email Nancy Janes
or you may call Nancy Janes at 925-672-5908
And guess what? Your donation is also tax deductible!
VEHICLE DONATION PROGRAM NEW!!
RAR NOW HAS THE ABILITY TO ACCEPT VEHICLES AS DONATIONS! *
*(Only available in California)
NEED A TAX DONATION FOR 2007? RAR is now registered with Car Program Inc. which will accept your unwanted vehicle (car, truck, boat, or RV) and provide RAR with a much needed and appreciated financial donation.
JOIN JANIE BRYANT AND DONATE YOUR CAR, BOAT, VAN OR TRAILER TO RAR!
WATCH our website which will soon have instructions and the Donor Form which you can complete on line, or if you need information right now, please
email Nancy Janes directly.
(You may not see RAR, Inc. on the Car Program website as yet, as they do not automatically list a new charity on their website; that happens after at least 2 vehicle donations per month, for three months, have been received.)
IN APPRECIATION
We would like to thank each and every one of our donors who participated in our September Fund Drive, making Dr. Olson's trip to Romania a success! There is much more to do in the coming year, but if we can count on your continued support, our hopes are high for the animals!
There are so many people to thank, it is so gratifying!
Our deepest and sincerest thanks to Keith Tyler, Merial - USA and Merial - France for their donations of: 2,460 doses of Frontline® for Dogs; Heartguard® and Previlox® (an anti inflammatory) to Romania Animal Rescue, Inc., to help the dogs in Romania to live a life that is worthwhile, free of parasites and pain.
Thank you - Bless you.
Special thanks to Edward E. Clark, Jr., President, Wildlife Center of Virginia, for the generous donation of supplies that were given to four vets during our training program in Galati,
Cluj and Buzau. These supplies included spay packs, sutures, instruments, and many other items that are very difficult to find in Romania!
Thank you big time to Margaret Gebhard for her great generosity! She now has her individual Plaque of Gratitude in Dr. Ileana's clinic!
Thank you big time to Cristina Peterson who now has her individual Plaque of Gratitude in Dr. Ileana's clinic!
Thank you big time to AJ Solomon who now has her individual
Plaque of Gratitude in Dr. Ileana's office (in Memory of Truman) for
her generous additional financial donation to help Mr. Cenac's shelter,
for funding Dr. Olson's flight to Romania! and for her gratifying, unending support.
A special individual Plaque of Gratitude for Dr. Ileana
Gheorghita will soon hang in her Galati
clinic, not only in appreciation of the many extras she has donated during
her work with the animals and RAR over the past years, but for her
ongoing unending work in support of the animals and RAR.
And of course, an extremely big time thank you to Dr. Jeanne Olson for donating her valuable time by traveling to Romania for RAR where she has shared her expertise and trained many vets in humane methods of spay/neuter.
A very special thank you to Janie Bryant, for donating an automobile through our new vehicle donation program with Car Program, Inc.
A very special thank you to Joy and the Mayhew Animal Home for the gasket they are sending to Dr. Ileana to enable her to use her old autoclave until a new one can be funded!
Big time thank you to Dr. Andreea Sleahtenea who helped with our program by volunteering her time to work in Buzau with Dr. Olson to spay/neuter animals, as well as train local vets.
Dr. Sleahtenea also helped tremendously by transporting crates, catch poles, and other supplies from the USA to Romania for RAR! We hope to work with Dr. Sleahtenea in the future, as funding permits. She is a fantastic vet who is open to change and loves the animals dearly.
Thank you once again to our wonderful friends at Emerald
Auto! Alex Caragata offered his company's free service to RAR, including transporting Dr. Olson to her hotel in Bucharest.
Thank you to ROMP (Rescued Orphan Mammal Program) of San Francisco for the donation of suture material and surgical materials.
Special thank you's to Bill Brothers of ACES for once again providing supplies to RAR at special discounts; to
Claudiu Iosim of Animed Arad for his continued help and support, and his tireless work on behalf of the animals of Romania; to all those very special friends of RAR at
NUCA for their unending support of the animals, and for their work with Dr. Olson in October. And to
Stichting WereldAsielen, Netherlands for their highly valued ongoing support of RAR!
And on a personal note, Rory and I wish to thank all of those who contributed to RAR in memory of
Cammy, Rory's beautiful 26-year old quarter horse who recently passed away. You have touched our hearts, and made her passing just a little bit less difficult. Thank you and bless you.
"HOPE: INTRODUCING ANIMAL WELFARE IN ROMANIA" our new book.
In our last newsletter, we announced the publication of our new photo book "HOPE: Introducing Animal Welfare in Romania." Not only is this book filled with full-color photographs illustrating exactly how your generous donations are being put to work by RAR in Romania for the benefit of the animals, there are illuminating chapters which describe the history of Romania,
its people, and the reasons for the overpopulation of stray dogs and cats there.
YOU CAN RECEIVE A FREE COPY OF "HOPE" AS OUR GIFT! For a tax-deductible donation of $75 (which will fund 3 spay/neuter procedures), you will receive a full-sized paperbound version of HOPE. For $250, you will fund 10 spay/neuter procedures, and receive the hardbound version of HOPE.
We have received many wonderful comments about HOPE. Here are just a few:
"Your book 'HOPE' arrived yesterday. It is quite moving and inspirational. The photographs are powerful, they made me cry with sadness, and laugh with happiness too. Really well done! I will be telling my friends and family about you and your wonderful work."
Lilith A.
"It is a Masterpiece. The photographs are lovely. Everything about it is fantastic. You should be very proud of your work! Oh what a treasure! I'm impressed."
AnnaBell W.
"I received the book yesterday on my birthday, what a surprise. It is absolutely beautiful and so well written."
Christina B.
WHAT WE NEED NOW
As mentioned above, we need funding for A VAN which will enable us to carry help to the animals! Funding for a new autoclave (instrument sterilization unit) for Dr. Ileana's clinic is a priority (the new gasket from
Joy and the Mayhew Animal Home will provide a temporary fix for her old autoclave until a new one can be secured). Also, thanks to the generous donations made by Keith Tyler and Merial, we are okay right now with anti-parasitic items such as Frontline, Advantage and
Heartgard; the Previlox provided by Merial covers the Metacam (anti-inflammatory med).
The things we are in need of now (microscope and autoclave top the list) are
A MICROSCOPE so that skin diseases can be accurately diagnosed!
Other instruments such as clamps (to hold the tissue with).
Antibiotics--Long Action (L.A.) antibiotics, which protect the animal for 72 hours.
A million dollars
AS ALWAYS, THANK EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED, GENEROUS SUPPORT, AND FOR MAKING OUR SEPTEMBER FUND DRIVE A SUCCESS. IN OCTOBER WE MADE SOME GREAT STRIDES, AND EVERY DAY THINGS CONTINUE TO CHANGE IN ROMANIA FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THE ANIMALS. IT IS ALL ENTIRELY DUE TO YOUR SUPPORT!
With warmest regards,
NANCY JANES,
Founder
ALTHOUGH RELOCATING ANIMALS TO THE USA IS NOT OUR PURPOSE, we feel it is necessary to help the animals who are alive in Romania as best we can, while preventing their births in the first place. We hope that someday in the near future Romania will be in a position to care for its own dogs, but currently, this is not the case. Please remember to adopt animals in your local shelters in the USA, who need loving homes as well!
OUR WEBSITE:
www.romaniaanimalrescue.com
OUR EMAIL:
romaniadogs@sbcglobal.net
OUR ADDRESS:
Romania Animal Rescue, Inc.
8000 Morgan Territory Rd, Livermore, CA 94551
Keep
up to date with new photos of Nick and Ash!
Dr. Olson performing a spay/neuter procedure.
