ROLDA President’s Message May 2023
ROLDA Sverige was founded in 2014 by Lisa, and a group of volunteers dedicated to helping homeless animals live better. The main goals of this association are to help ROLDA Romania: fundraise to keep our shelters functional and rehome dogs from our shelters in Sweden.
The story of Doina
Even though Doina was someone’s pet, she was never given a name. It was us who named her Doina when her family brought her to us after their other dog (who is more than twice her size) bit off her left eye.
The history of ROLDA large shelter read details
In 2004, ROLDA became aware of a horror scenario unfolding on our doorstep. A local steel mill, owned by one of Britain’s and the world’s richest men, Lakshmi Mittal, had become an involuntary home to countless stray dogs desperately seeking shelter and food.
ROLDA in Caracal
My name is Dana and I live in Caracal, Olt county. For many years, I save cats and I consider that the first step to stop the abandons is to spay/neuter cats. I contacted ROLDA who helped me already cover a large number of sterilizations for cats from Caracal town.
ROLDA in Tulcea
Starting in September 2021, ROLDA expanded its support to the nearby county, Tulcea. Danube river separates Galati and Tulcea counties (10 minutes by boat, which was the only connection between these two counties before the bridge was built).
Latest blog posts
Dogs free to good homes in UK
ROLDA has successfully rehomed 200 homeless dogs from Romania in the UK. We are very proud of this achievement, but we believe the numbers can be better There are 2.5 million homeless dogs in Romania. 20,000 of these dogs struggle near our shelters in Galati. 6,000 puppies are born on the streets of Romania every year.
Deadline: Twice as strong and… free!
What would you think if someone offered you a free dog? Believe it or not, many people think that there must be something wrong with that dog. The truth is there are many reasons for offering a free dog: financial troubles, medical issues, unable to provide quality care, unable to own pets, allergies… The list goes on.
Theory of Big Bang
The aging horse asks for a peaceful end! I know they mean well. As difficult as my life is, at least the same difficult it’s theirs. I was born on a farm in Romania, and I was expected, as everyone in a low-income community is, to work hard. And work I have. Now, however, I am an old man. 17 years may not seem like much in human terms, but for a horse that has been a beast of burden since birth, it’s a lifetime.
They need you!
When I look around me these days I feel a great sense of pride. It was over a decade ago that we built our first shelter and rescued the first 60 dogs from a lonely and harsh life. Today we have 2 shelters that 700 dogs currently call home. Every day I try to spend time with each one, but the truth is that most days I cannot. However, the precious moments I experience with these beautiful animals remind me that whenever I am not with them, I am fighting for them.
Heroes
Give a concise definition of the word” hero”! Everyone heard of a hero, some were lucky to meet one, face to face. We know about the heroes from the history books, about the heroes of our present time, we honor the veterans of the wars, we even heard of the other heroes (not humans) – a dog who saved a man from drowning or another who saved a child from a fire.
Rex social clinic
What happens when a tiny puppy catches a cold, an abandoned Rotweiller has a toothache or a 130-pound intimidating shepherd dog comes down with an intestinal disorder? If they happen to be just some of the 650 dogs at the REX charitable clinic, the chances for a speedy recovery increase.…because of your support! But first, we must purchase the basic needed equipment, to make it functional.
Letter from ROLDA founder 2014
Dear friends and supporters, We’ve been together another year to rescue, provide help, build up, cry, fear and enjoy some amazing moments. All these moments represent the puzzle that completes the real, whole picture of what rescue missions mean, what saving lives mean! We passed through all these moments TOGETHER and this is for me and my team, by far, the most important achievement.
Christmas letter
Dear Santa, I heard that you might be out there somewhere you help bring people and make kid's dreams come true. I have a different kind of request in case you are there, for me, too. Right now, it's snowing and I am very cold. I wish the warmer nights of springtime would come back soon. Or at least, it would be nice if I could have something to keep me warm.
Important moments 2014
The day-by-day challenges in Romania keep our lives extremely busy, from the lack of volunteers and financial resources to the corruption, bureaucracy and the authority's indifference to our efforts to help the local community to solve a major problem. When a new year is about to start, my heart and mind get full of new ideas, enthusiasm, new planning, and new hopes. I learn from dogs and one important thing is to never lose hope.
Starving, scared, in pain… but never hopeless
This is probably the shortest description of a street dog’s life. If you ever experience the feeling of being hungry – you know how exhausting this is. Thirst on hot summer days is real torture. On that, frozen paws are very painful and it’s worse when the dogs stop feeling them at all…
Trap, neuter and release
The Catch, Neuter and Return program was held until 2014 for the dogs collected from the steel plant. This program was fully supported financially by Arcelor Mittal Galati (AMG) and logistically by ROLDA. Since ROLDA started the partnership with AMG for the dogs, our charity managed to reduce humanely (developing sterilization and adoption programs) the stray dogs’ population by 70%.
Visit from Embassy of Holland
On 30 June, H.E. Matthijs van Bonzel and the Economic and Commercial Counselor of The Netherlands Embassy, Mr. Huub Drabbe visited our shelters and the clinic building. For ROLDA it was the first experience at such a high, official level but the Embassy’s representatives made the emotions go away.
Special request from special kids
Compassionate kids ask our help for responsible solutions! Law 258/2013 demands to all Romanian citizens to sterilize their pets by December 2014. The only exceptions are the dogs with certificates for breeding, for dog shows. The fine for not sterilizing the pet starts from 1100 EUR to 2200 EUR, the lowest represents the average 4 salaries in Romania.
SOS Romanian Strays
If this image breaks your heart, imagine how it is to watch the World from the inside! No medical care. No food. No hope. No life! Abandoned, neglected, suffering in silence: they are the street dogs of Romania. You see them at the edge of the road, trying to survive. On occasions, they eat dead corps of other dogs, hit by cars.
The smell of death
There are thousands of street dogs suffering day after day on Romanian streets but nothing compares with the conditions of the local public shelter which can be summarized in just one word: despair. The place was a farm during the communist time and was later, used alternatively as a dog pound and storage space.
About Lolita and ROLDA
People with big hearts DO NOT forget! Back in 2010, Marie read an article about ROLDA in Swiss Dog Magazine and she decided that she can’t remain indifferent to Romanian dogs’ plight. A few weeks later, she made the first attempt to raise awareness about the Romanian dog's plight and our work in Switzerland by organizing a small conference for the Monthly area.
Rescuing Romanian street dogs
Do you know how awful it is to be constantly hungry, sick and scared – and have nobody to care for you? To have an itchy rash that spreads all over your body, one that is so bad you scratch and tear your own hair out? But that you can do nothing about?
Donor Bill of Rights
Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. To assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the not-for-profit organizations and causes they are asked to support.
28 ways help
Considering that millions of dogs die in shelters every year while millions of others are the victims of abuses across the World, it takes a massive collective effort coming from communities of compassionate animal lovers to confront these cruelties and change these dogs present and future.
Memorial gift
A Memorial Gift is a beautiful testimony to the life of a beloved person or pet who has passed on—and the gift of life for animals in need. It can be just the right touch for expressing compassion to someone who has had a loss.
The story of Cookie
Cookie spent years in the ROLDA shelter and nobody wanted to adopt him. He got used to sheltering routine and survived, exactly like he did on the streets before we rescue him. Cookie is a senior dog and with a shelter full of cute pups, not many people give a chance to a senior. But Avril did.
Rescue Ioana
If this dog could speak, she would say: “It’s been over 6 months since I couldn’t properly eat because I can’t close my mouth.” I can speak but I would prefer not to, especially when I have to tell you her story. However, if this dog survived for 6 months like that, I must find the energy to speak up for her. Even if it's so painful!
One bite is all it takes!
Shortly after we rescued Angel, she was diagnosed with Dirofilaria immitis—heartworm disease. Sadly, Angel passed away. Heartworm is both complicated and expensive to treat, which is why most infected dogs don’t survive.
Help ROLDA to rescue Ellie
Every time we rescue a new dog, we try to figure out where he/she comes from so we can try to understand him/her better. When Delu brought Ellie to the shelter, these are the facts as we knew them: A local animal lover called Delu went to pick up Ellie. Ellie and a mixed chow named Bunga were sharing a transport crate when they arrived. The person who called Delu said she found both Ellie and Bunga wandering the streets. She mentioned briefly that Ellie was limping.
