Short history
Speranța Foundation was founded in 1996 and for more than two decades we have done everything in our power for the good of our silent friends, especially for abandoned and suffering dogs.
Speranța Shelter appeared literally overnight, in April 2001. It was the night that our then staff, together with the Vier Pfoten Romania team, rescued over 300 dogs from a public shelter in Bucharest. If we had not removed them, those dogs would have been euthanised the next morning, following a decision by the mayor at the time.
Over the past decades we have done a lot and gone through even more. Specifically, I have cared for thousands of dogs as I knew best. Most are still with us, some have been adopted, and some have left us. When there was joy, we rejoiced. When it was the case of weeping, we wept. But we never stopped, because we always knew that they, our dogs, needed our care every day.
Shelter organisation
The shelter has an area of 5000 square meters and 105 paddocks. These are of different sizes depending on the needs of the dogs. The dogs are placed in paddocks taking into account important aspects such as: their friendships, size, age, special needs, family, etc. Of the 105 paddocks, 6 are heated and are intended for very old dogs. We have also recently refurbished and refurbished all the paddocks, trying to make them more comfortable and welcoming for their residents.
Every day the work starts with washing and cleaning the paddocks, during which time the dogs are taken out to the play areas one at a time. Then they are fed and their water is changed inside the paddocks. Old and sick dogs are given two meals, one of which is hot.
Caring for puppies that arrive at the shelter is different and more expensive than caring for adult dogs.
First, they need to be isolated. Puppies are extremely vulnerable to all sorts of diseases, so it is essential that they do not come into contact with other animals until their immune systems are fully developed, with our help. This is a difficult step both for the pups, who, usually without a mother, want to interact with anyone and anything, especially humans, but also for us.
During this time, puppies are fed much more often than adult dogs and are also given various medications (vaccines, deworming). In addition to all the materials involved, which we have to buy, we also have to make sure there is at least one person constantly looking after them. It is therefore a very costly procedure, both financially and in terms of time. And that’s also why it’s very important to donate and support us when we have a lot of puppies housed.
Only after we have done the above steps can we finally let the puppies out to play and interact with other dogs, then finally find them families. Here, our mission ends and yours begins.
Over 220 dogs at Hope are retired (each at least 12 years old). The elderly also need special care, as some have age-specific illnesses. But most of them are still perfectly adoptable!
In fact, in January 2022, Buni became the oldest dog adopted from our shelter and quite possibly one of the oldest dogs ever adopted. At 19 years old, after a lifetime in the shelter, Buni found her first family of her own.
7 of our dogs are paralysed in the back and can only move with the help of a special trolley. The shelter has a specially designed room for paraplegic dogs, each dog has its own “garage”. They are sanitised whenever necessary. Every day they use individual carts built for their needs. Recovery and maintenance therapy is done according to individualized programs. Over time, 5 out of 23 paraplegics have not needed a wheelchair after physiotherapy sessions and have started to walk on their own.
We pride ourselves on our physiotherapy practice dedicated to paraplegic dogs that have come (and most remain) in the shelter, usually as a result of road accidents or aggression from people. Thanks to this practice, but also to the patience and superhuman efforts of our colleagues, we have been able to work wonders over the years and get dogs back on their feet that no doctor ever thought could recover.
They can’t be physically adopted as they need special care, but any ongoing donation (we also call it “foster”) would mean the world to us and to them.
Veterinary clinic and
physiotherapy office
Thanks to our partners and donors, our shelter benefits from 2 modern and high standard veterinary clinics equipped with state-of-the-art equipment. One is dedicated to surgical interventions, but also to the necessary analyses for medical investigations. The second clinic is intended for light veterinary activities such as “vet check monthly”, but also for registers, registration of dogs in files, keeping of medical records, adoptions, entries, deaths, etc.
We employ a veterinarian and collaborate with other doctors, especially for more complicated interventions. This allows us to treat most health problems of the dogs “in house”. However, we still have high costs for medicines and equipment for analyses and investigations, which would also be very useful, but we cannot afford them yet.
Separate from the clinics, we have also set up a physiotherapy office in another part of the shelter, dedicated to the recovery of dogs with various locomotor problems. The practice is equipped with a banded pool and water. The importance of this place has been demonstrated on many occasions, most recently with Stafide, who was paralyzed in the back, but made a miraculous recovery and can walk today after about a year and a half of work in the practice.
Playground and training area
Recently, we have set up 4 very useful playgrounds in the shelter, which the dogs use intensively, so:
- The place called Platou where the agility track and a swimming pool are located
- 2 places called "La copaci" where we have 2 swimming pools, a fountain for the dogs' entertainment, 2 special showers for washing the dogs, 2 special trampolines for the dogs' play.
- The back area has a sand pit and a dog run.