Romania Animal Rescue, Inc. 8000 Morgan Territory Rd. Livermore, CA 94550 romaniadogs@sbcglobal.net Tax ID: 72-1546354

Highlights:

• Important plea to our donors from Nancy
• BIG AND IMMEDIATE REQUEST FOR SUPPLIES!!!
• Reminder -- PETITION TO HELP TREATMENT OF ANIMALS IN ROMANIA
• RAR'S TRIP TO BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SANCTUARY
• LETTERS FROM ROMANIA
• NEWS FROM DR. ILEANA
• IN APPRECIATION
• LIFE ON THE STREETS OF ROMANIA – PHOTOS
• CLUJ KITTY UPDATE – HAPPY ENDING!
• WHAT WE NEED NOW
• DEDICATION TO "MICKEY"

January's Newsletter is dedicated to the memory of "Mickey", a beautiful little dog who passed away the day after Christmas. Please read the "Dedication" section below for more about the life of this wonderful little girl.

Dear RAR Friends and Supporters,

Well, here we are beginning our 5th year of establishing animal welfare in the country of Romania! I would like to thank each and every one of you for supporting RAR and the animals with your generosity. We have some new projects coming up this year: Dr. Bachman is going to Romania in May to train vets and perform spay/neuter in Bucharest, Buzau, Sibiu and possibly Braila. Dr. Olson is returning to Romania in October to work with NUCA in Cluj, our program in Buzau, and to train vets and spay/neuter in Iasi. Thanks to Nancy Eisman, Dr. Bachman's airfare to Romania is secured. The vets and charities we are working with in Romania have offered their homes and apartments to Dr. Bachman during his visit, thus saving RAR a great deal of funds!

Another great piece of news is our new sanctuary will start being built in Buzau in 2008. Thanks to Cristina Peterson, we will have a sanctuary on approximately 200 acres in Romania! This will be for horses, burros, dogs and cats. Our plan is to have the sanctuary for spay/neuter and recovery of the dogs and cats. Our sanctuary will be built with the blueprints from Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah. Thank you to Cristina, Dr. Valentine and all the wonderful people in Buzau and at Best Friends for offering their help and advice to us!

Once again everyone - we simply could not have done all this work without your financial and mental support. Bless you all.

Love, Nancy

 

IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO OUR DONORS

Dear Friends of Romania's Animals,

The success of our spay/neuter program with Dr. Ileana has been tremendous thus far. Our program has been announced in the newspapers in Galati and on the television station.

We find ourselves in the position of not being able to cover the expenses for all the animals that are being brought into Dr. Ileana's to take advantage of our program for free spay/neuter.

I hope that we will not have to cut back on the numbers of animals and their people that we can help. The Romanian people have had far too many false promises in the past, and I hope with all my prayers that we will not be in a position to turn anyone away due to the lack of funds for spay/neuter in Galati.

I hope you will understand this situation, and help support RAR's spay/neuter with Dr. Ileana.

With heartfelt thanks,
Nancy

BIG...REALLY BIG...AND IMMEDIATE REQUEST FOR SUPPLIES!!!

Thanks to the efforts of Cristina Peterson, RAR will be able to send a large shipment of urgently needed supplies to Romania AT A FRACTION OF THE NORMALLY PROHIBITIVE USPS COSTS! Nancy will be driving a van of supplies to Washington to send to Romania, but the van is almost filled with larger items, so...

WE NEED TO ASK YOU, OUR WONDERFUL DONORS, FOR YOUR HELP!

IF YOU CAN DONATE ANY SUPPLIES, ESPECIALLY ANY OF THE IMPORTANT ITEMS LISTED BELOW, AND MAIL THEM DIRECTLY TO CRISTINA IN WASHINGTON SO THAT WE CAN GET THEM ALL TO ROMANIA POST-HASTE, IT WOULD BE OF INCREDIBLE HELP TO THE ANIMALS!!

We need donations of:

• Crates
• Beds (washable is best)
• Bowls (non-breakable)
• Lightweight fleece blankets
• Warming beds, and
• Lightweight pet warmer pads (the "Self-Warming Thermal Cat Cushions" are great for dogs and cats).

IT IS FREEZING IN ROMANIA RIGHT NOW, ANIMALS NEED ANYTHING TO KEEP THEM WARM. All of these items will continue to be used year-round by animals that are very ill or recuperating from surgery.

And those items we ALWAYS need (and are lightweight) such as:

• Suture materials (sizes 0, 1, 2, 3, and 2.0)
• Surgical gloves (numbers 6 5 and 7)
• Other vet instruments such as clamps to hold tissue
• Antibiotics (especially long-acting)
• Frontline^®, Revolution^®, Advantix^®
• anything and everything in the way for deparasiting dogs and cats.

Thanks to a donation from PET FOOD EXPRESS, 2 holding crates will be sent to Romania, they will be great for Buzau!

Of course, lightweight items are the best for shipping costs, but ANYTHING you can afford to donate, no matter how small, would be la life-saver for the dogs and cats in Romania! If you have questions about donating items, please contact Nancy Janes directly at romaniadogs@sbcglobal.net. If you have questions about donating or shipping items to Cristina, please contact Cristina directly via her email cgaleata@msn.com.

PLEASE SHIP ITEMS DIRECTLY TO CRISTINA AT THE BELOW ADDRESS:

Cristina Peterson
4511 Lake Washington Blvd., NE 2
Kirkland, Washington 98033

(Cristina's email is cgaleata@msn.com)

REMINDER – PETITION SUPPORTING A "EUROPEAN CONVENTION PROTECTING PETS AND STRAY ANIMALS"

As our recent email outlined, Mr. Alain Hutchinson, Member of the European Parliament, is committed to cooperate with animal welfare and to get a "EUROPEAN CONVENTION PROTECTING PETS AND STRAY ANIMALS" passed as soon as possible, but he NEEDS ONE MILLION SIGNATURES in order to present this project to the Parliament.

Therefore, if you have not already done so, PLEASE GO TO OUR WEBPAGE to sign the petition. PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION, AND JUST AS IMPORTANT, PLEASE FORWARD THE WEBSITE PAGE TO ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS, CO-WORKERS and FAMILY MEMBERS.

Together with other agencies and caring people, we CAN get the required signatures. This is an extremely important step for the animals in Europe, we must work hard and ensure the largest possible audience has a chance to sign. RAR will forward the signatures directly to Mr. Hutchinson.

RAR VISITS BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SANCTUARY

Nancy Janes and Cristina Petersen just returned from Best Friends Animal Society's Utah sanctuary. It was a great trip!! We learned the ins and outs of how to start a sanctuary in Romania from the professionals at Best Friends. Thank you to EVERYONE at Best Friends and to FAITH MALONEY, our knowledgeable, wonderful guide!

At Best Friends, Cristina and Nancy were able to study and photograph the wonderful sanctuary run by Best Friends in Kanab, Utah. The outlay of their octagon dog homes, indoor/outdoor cat enrichment homes, and horse facilities were all inspirations for RAR's upcoming sanctuary that, thanks to Cristina Peterson and Dr. Valentine in Buzau, will begin construction in 2008 !

Cristina makes some adorable new friends
Nancy, Cristina and friends
Nancy with a beautiful male cat

A caring Soldier stationed in Romania needs advice and help:

LETTERS FROM ROMANIA

Hello Ms. Janes.

My name is David Rudoy and I got your email address from Pam Constable. I am in the military and am stationed at present in Constanta, Romania. I found and made a pet of a kitten here and would like to take it back to the States with me. He has gotten the required shots and will have the microchip installed under his skin per EU regulations. I am concerned though about the long flight to Chicago. According to Delta airlines you can only take a pet with you inside the cabin on domestic flights. That means I would have to place him in the cargo hold. Previously when my family and I PCS'd (transferred) from Germany to the states and had a dog travel with us we gave him a sedative from the vet for the flight and he was fine. Is this the same I should do for a cat? Should I place food inside the cage? With our dog we were told not to feed or give him water 24 hours prior to the flight. Also, should I worry about the temperature in the hold?

Thank you.
David Rudoy

Dear Nancy,

The animals, mostly dogs (90%) are roaming all over the post. It reminds me when we first deployed to Hungary and Bosnia in 1995-6. Then we had taken over abandoned Russian bases but within a week or two they [the dogs] were all gone. All over the city they are around but I have not come across one that has been mean. They all either run away or come up to you so you can pet them. Also, I don't understand how most of them are fully grown. It is almost that they had been abandoned by owners. One of the dogs on base had fallen into a waste oil pit and was drowning but one of the Seabees (Navy Mobile Construction Battalion) pulled him out and saved him. A beautiful Labrador a little dirty now but alive. They do not even have an animal control here at least none of the natives knows of one. You probably already know that. At least the situation is not as bad as in the Middle East. However, the sheer number of them is discouraging. I feed one and the next day, three more show up. And the local philosophy is not to be kind to animals, they are considered as tools if they are lucky. That is the same situation in the countryside in Poland but at least there they are not all over. Please tell us how we can help and we will see if it is possible. ...

Thank you.
David R.

23 Jan 08

Nancy, I need to ask for your help. I was originally going to have my cat sent to the states when my wife came to visit last week. But the airline she traveled with, British Airways, no longer allowed pets to travel as baggage with a passenger. He would have to travel as cargo which at $750.00 was prohibitive. Is there any way that the cat could be shipped at a lower price and how? Also, do you know about what type of health certificate I need for the Romanian authorities? Here in Constanta a vet at the health services said he is the only one who can give the certificate. That is ok but I do not speak Romanian and do not know where his office is. One of the Seabees also would like to take

back the dog he saved from the waste oil pit here when he leaves next month so please formulate your answers for both of us.

Thank you.
David Rudoy

Geo and Viorel, who continue to work on behalf of RAR in Romania, found a stray dog, and within twenty-four hours adopted her to a wonderful new home! Here is their email:

Here is a picture of the female Boxer and her new "dad".

Hello Nancy, Finally we succeeded to make an adoption and we want to say that we are truly happy. We were surprised last night when we were with our dogs outside to play with them in the snow (we have it the first snow here on this year) when we were surprised to find this adorable boxer female, 3 maybe 4 years of age and she is full of love. We took her in our house and deparasited her inside and outside and made her a warm bath. This morning, when Viorel went to work at 5:30am, he decided to find someone to adopt her, and he succeeded! He found one of his college friends who is staying at a house with a big yard and he wanted to adopt our dog. What a great day: one, that we find it this precious dog and second, that we succeeded to have the 'doggy' adopted. You do not imagine how we feel now that we know that the dog is staying in a place where is warm and she is having a good man near her, but on the other [hand] we are upset to know that there are more and more dogs on the street that are still staying in the cold... We love you, Geo and Viorel

Dr. Ileana writes with her concerns for the coming year—if you our fantastic donors—can continue to help us with financial support, I hope we can say "yes" to Dr. Ileana's questions below!

Dear Nancy,

There are so many bills to be paid for last year. Do you think we could take care of them?

People waited for the holidays to pass to bring in the animals to get spayed/neutered. We have 10-13 per day. Do you think we should slow down?

The program has become very well-known and I think this year we will have even more animals. Think we will manage?

Fondly,
Dr. Ileana

On January 10, Dr. Ileana wrote:

"Today our pressure pot which we use to sterilize exploded. God protected us and we were not in the sphere of action. Just a few minutes before, I finished surgery and left the room, and was in the consultation room when it happened. Cannot imagine what happened. I will designate a separate room for sterilization when the new autoclave comes. We could have been dead right now. Only God protected us.

Dr. Ileana urgently needs the autoclave to be able to effectively carry on our spay/neuter program. With a decent autoclave, instruments and trays can be quickly sterilized and the next dog or cat can be given medical help or spay/neutered immediately...THEREFORE WE HAVE AUTHORIZED Dr. Ileana to purchase a new autoclave using the RAR credit card. Unfortunately, our credit card already has a very high balance, therefore, if you, our generous donors, could help us defray the costs of the autoclave it would be oh so appreciated!!

HOLIDAY WISHES TO OUR DONORS FROM DR. ILEANA

December 24, 2007

Dear RAR supporters,

Thanks to your help we are closing a year full of accomplishments. The spay/neuter program has been a success in Galati, Romania. Your love for animals helped us reduce the number of street animals considerably. Only together we can do this.

Thank you to all donors, the RAR team, Nancy Janes. May the celebration of Christmas be a reason for joy for all of us.

Happy New Year!

With respect
Dr Ileana Galati Romania

IN APPRECIATION

An extremely large "Thank You" to FAITH MALONEY and all the great people at BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY for taking Cristina and Nancy under their wing at their sanctuary for a few days in January!!

Great thanks to MO CRUTCHFIELD for her constant support, and for supplying over 200 blankets for the dogs and cats in Romania to stay warm! Thank you to NANCY HAIR for collecting fleece blankets and jackets for us to send to Romania as well. The shipping cost will be extraordinary, but cheaper than if we sent regular blankets. We will be shipping the blankets directly to Bucharest and Galati, Romania. Any help in funding the shipment is GREATLY appreciated!

Big puppy breath kisses to KATRINA, the daughter of one of our terrific donors, KAREN KIECKHEFER. When Katrina read RAR's "Happy New Year" email, asking for donations of warm lightweight, fleece blankets to keep the animals warm during the freezing Romanian winter, Katrina decided to take matters into her own hands, and will begin a "blanket drive" at her school! The animals send Katrina big hugs and kisses for her heart of gold!

Thanks to PET FOOD EXPRESS for its donation of 2 large holding crates! They will be great for our spay/neuter work in Buzau!

Great big thank you to AJ, who continues to be a steadfast friend of RAR and the animals.

And once again, our deepest appreciation and thanks go out to ANNABELL, for her unending support of RAR.

Big puppy hugs to CRISTINA for her ongoing support, both financial and personal, and her active participation in RAR, all of which help the animals so much!

Very heartfelt thanks go out to DR. NURRE, FRANCES, KATE, KATHY, LISBETH, CRISTINA, MARILYN and MELANIE, whose support these past few months has helped the animals tremendously.

Very special thanks go out to all of you who have contributed to RAR for the animals: BARB, BARBARA, BERNADETTE, BONNIE, CHARLES, CHRISTINE, DENISE, DIONISIA, DONNA, GAIL, GINETTE, HOWARD, JANET, JEANETTE, JULIE, KIM, KIRA, LYNN, LYNNE FOR ANNIE - IN MEMORY OF WILLOW, MILON, MO, MR. LEVY, NEIL, NIKKI, PETE & JUDY, REBECCA FOR MO C., RENEE, RHONDA, RICHARD, ROB, SHEILA, SHIRLEY, STEPHEN AND WILBER, VERA

Great thanks to PAULA for her donation of supplies that will be sent to Romania!

Thank you to JANIE B. and MELISSA J. for their contributions via the Car Donation program!

Big thanks to FREMONT GROUP MATCHING DONATIONS PROGRAM, I GIVE HOLDINGS and NETWORK FOR GOOD FOUNDATION for their valued donations.

Great thanks to CHRISTESEN'S SUPPLIES for once again supporting the animals.

And a great big thank you to STICHTING WERELD ASIELEN for their unending, generous support of RAR!

Thank you to the HUMANE SOCIETY of the UNITED STATES (HSUS) for their generous donation to Mr. Cenac's shelter!

And on a personal note... Nancy Janes' father, John Owens, passed away on Christmas Eve Day 2007. Nancy sends her heartfelt thanks to GAIL, JUDY, LYNN, RENEE AND VIRGINIE, and to WINDSOR, BURKE, LOGAN, WARREN AND MARJORIE, for your sympathy and donations in memory of her father.

LIFE ON THE STREETS OF ROMANIA - PHOTOS

Our friends Geo and Viorel took these photos of poor, lonely strays on the streets of Galati.

CLUJ KITTY – UPDATE

You may recall the story in our July 2007 Newsletter (see our Newsletter page for previous newsletters) about the cat found at the railroad station in Cluj, by Nancy Janes, Claudiu of Animed Arad, and Lynn of NUCA. The cat was starving, had an ear tumor and gum and ear infections; through teamwork among RAR, Animed Arad and NUCA, she was able to receive medical treatment through NUCA's efforts, and Claudiu, of Animed Arad, offered to take her to his home, have her neutered when she was physically able, and then adopt her out.

WELL, CLAUDIU HAS SOME NEWS!

Claudiu has named her "ALBA" (meaning white). Alba has settled into Claudiu's home/office, where she has made a wonderful recovery. She gets along fine with the other cats...and doesn't even mind the dogs! Since she is old and has become so comfortable there, Claudiu tells us she will have a home with him as long as she lives. (Alba loves to sleep "on" Claudiu's mom at night!)

What a difference teamwork, medical help – and lots of love and care – can make!

BEFORE	AFTER
"Alba" found at the train station, starving and very ill.	"Alba" seven months later, at home with Claudiu. What a difference medical help and a lot of love can make!!
BELOW: Alba taking some time to groom, all curled up with Claudiu.	BELOW: Alba's personal space...deciding whether to jump out of her basket to play, or eat....decisions, decisions.

Newsletter Dedication "MICKEY"

Mickey, a 5 year old mixed breed was taken in by Second Chance Rescue (a no-kill organization). Second Chance tried so hard to find her a home, but every time she was adopted out, the families would bring her back -- little Mickey "was just not ‘socialized" they would say... frightened, she would bare her teeth and growl at people...she was just afraid.

Cindy, a worker with Second Chance, didn't want to give up on little Mickey, and began taking her to the local dog park where she knew her friends, Trudy and Brian, took their dogs. She had a feeling these two wonderful, animal-loving humans would be the right family for Mickey. The first time Trudy picked Mickey up, Mickey growled and bared her teeth, Cindy shouted to Trudy to "put her down", fearing Trudy might be nipped, Trudy lovingly held on to Mickey...for a long time...and fell in love with her. Brian and Trudy took her home where she hid under the bed for days, they fed and watered her there, and remained patient. It just so happened that Trudy and Brian had a very special, wonderful dog named Jessye who loved all other animals and had a heart of gold. (Jessye passed away in 2005.) Jessye "understood" all about Mickey's fear...she stood back and let Mickey drink from the water dish first and eat from the food dish first. Brian and Mickey bonded almost immediately. It was soon that Mickey became a loving, wonderful member of their family. Patience and love absolutely can create miracles.

The past few years, Mickey was not able to walk or see very well, and had to be carried up and down the stairs. She was blinded in one eye when a friend's large, playful dog came for a visit and accidentally damaged her eye. Then, the day after Christmas 2007, Trudy and Brian's beloved Mickey passed away at fifteen years of age.

Although Trudy and Brian's family still consist of Sophie (the cat) and Lucy (the dog), they are having a hard time understanding how such a little dog could leave such a large hole in their hearts.

Everyone at RAR understands, and sends Trudy and Brian their sympathies and their love.

WHAT WE NEED NOW

IN ADDITION TO OUR GIANT URGENT PLEA AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS NEWSLETTER, here is a list of things that are most needed:

• SOLUBLE SUTURES; catgut chromic sizes 0, 1, 2, 3 and 2.0
• SYRINGES- 2 ml and 5 ml syringes
• SURGICAL GLOVES, numbers 6.5 and 7
• SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS - MANY VETS NEED THEM
• ANTIBIOTICS - Long Action (L.A.) antibiotics, which protect the animal for 72 hours.
• We ALWAYS need FRONTLINE, REVOLUTION, ADVANTIX... anything and everything!
• AUTOCLAVE - Since Dr. Ileana's temporary work-around, a pressure cooker-exploded, the need for an autoclave was immediate, therefore, we have told Dr. Ileana to purchase an autoclave using RAR's credit card (which already has a very large balance). Therefore we must PLEAD WITH YOU, OUR DONORS, to help us recoup some of these funds for the autoclave. ANYTHING you can donate would be of great help!
• VAN FOR RAR - $5000 still needed to purchase the van! We are still desperately looking for the rest of the funds to purchase a van for RAR. It will be used to take medical care TO THE ANIMALS for spay/neuter and urgent medical treatment! It will be a wonderful good-will "vehicle" for RAR and the animals in Romania!

"HOPE: INTRODUCING ANIMAL WELFARE IN ROMANIA"

REMEMBER, our photo book, "HOPE: Introducing Animal Welfare in Romania" is 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, it's 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.

Click here to purchase HOPE and HELP the animals!

The Janes' family has grown...again! Nichole, a dog that was brought in to the US by Carmen in July along with Nica and Nickey. Unfortunately Nichole's new family underwent foreclosure of their home and could not have her in their apartment, so the Janes' family has again grown by one. She is a very sweet little girl.

I WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND MY DEEPEST, HEARTFELT THANKS TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU FOR YOUR ONGOING SUPPORT--FINANCIAL, PARTICIPATORY AND EMOTIONAL! IT IS IMPORTANT FOR ME TO BE REMINDED HOW MANY PEOPLE CARE SO MUCH FOR THE ANIMALS.

THIS COMING YEAR WE HAVE GREAT PLANS, BUT GREAT PLANS REQUIRE GREAT FUNDS. WE NEED AS MUCH SUPPORT AS OUR WONDERFUL DONORS CAN MUSTER. OUR FINANCES ARE VERY TIGHT RIGHT NOW, BUT WE STILL HOPE AND PRAY FOR THE DOLLARS THAT ARE NEEDED MORE THAN EVER NOT ONLY FOR RAR'S FINANCIAL WELL-BEING, NOT TO MENTION OUR PLANS FOR A VAN, A SHELTER, A SECOND VETERINARIAN WHO IS TRAINED FOR BURROS AND HORSES. THINGS CONTINUE TO CHANGE IN ROMANIA FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THE ANIMALS, BUT WE CANNOT LET DOWN OUR GUARD, WE MUST CONTINUE THE GOOD FIGHT ON BEHALF OF THE THOUSANDS OF HOMELESS, HELPLESS ANIMALS!

WITH WARMEST REGARDS,

NANCY JANES,
Founder

OUR WEBSITE:

www.romaniaanimalrescue.com

OUR EMAIL:

romaniadogs@sbcglobal.net

OUR ADDRESS:

Romania Animal Rescue, Inc.
8000 Morgan Territory Rd, Livermore, CA 94551

OUR TELEPHONE NUMBER:

925-672-5908

OUR TAX ID:

72-1546354