Every year, hundreds of thousands of homeless dogs end up on the streets of Russian cities. Some of them are abandoned by irresponsible owners, others are simply born there. Only a few of them end up in specialized animal shelters, although life there can be just as trying. Insufficient support from local authorities leads to practically all attempts at building a new life for these homeless dogs and finding possible new owners falling on the shoulders of volunteers.
The Kozhukhovsky Animal Shelter in the east of Moscow is the largest in the capital. Some 2,500 dogs are kept here. On June 21, the shelter held an animal fair in the Moscow district of Novokosino. They brought dogs that are fully ready to live with new owners after working with animal psychiatrists who help adapt them to life after all the stress that they’ve been through. People could adopt pets for absolutely free, as long as they were willing to assume responsibility and take care of them.
However, there aren’t many people in Russia who are willing to adopt a shelter dog. Most of them prefer to buy purebred puppies.
Volunteers hope that these kinds of events will help draw society’s attention to problems faced by homeless animals. One volunteer asserts, “Having seen how many living creatures need our help, it’s impossible to go buy expensive purebred dogs after that.”
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