Polkemalla Bulgariaan | Osa 8 | Kodittomat Bulgarian koirat | (subtitles) 2

Matkamme viimeinen viikko on alkamassa. Pyöräilyt on nyt pyöräilty, ja pääsemme tutustumaan Kodittomat Bulgarian Koirat ry:n toimintaan yhdessä yhdistyksen adoptiovastaavan Minna Pääskysaaren kanssa. Ensimmäiseksi vierailemme yhdistyksen yhteistyötarhalla Leshnikovossa, jonka omistavat Suomesta Bulgariaan muuttaneet Niina ja Markku. Selvitämme, mitä kaikkea tarhan pyörittäminen vaatii, ja autamme tarhan askareissa parhaamme mukaan. Jaksossa tapaamme paljon koiria ja kuulemme, miten ne ovat tarhalle päätyneet. Vierailemme myös Harmanlin alueen tunnetun eläintenauttajan Hamiden luona sekä yhdistyksen yhteistyöklinikalla, missä pääsemme seuraamaan sterilointitoimenpidettä.

Leshnikovosta matkamme jatkuu Kavarnaan. Matkalla pysähdymme vuoristossa ruokkimaan koiria ja päätämme ottaa lauman nuorimman tytön mukaamme Kavarnaan turvaan talvelta. Kavarnassa tutustumme Aleksinin ja Natalien pyörittämään tarhaan, kuulemme tarinoita yli kolmen vuosikymmenen takaa ja saamme käsityksen siitä, mihin suuntaan tilanne Bulgariassa on menossa. Aikamme Kavarnassa kuluu koirien sosiaalistamisessa, adoptioon päätyvien koirien valitsemisessa ja kissoja pelastaen. Vierailemme myös Petterin ja Arjan kotona ja pääsemme heidän mukaansa kierrokselle ruokkimaan Kavarnan kaduilla eläviä koiria.

Unohtumaton viikko saa kruunauksensa, kun neljä koiraa lentää matkassamme Suomeen omiin loppuelämän koteihinsa.

Good morning. We have woken up in Leshnikovo to the post-cycling mood. Slightly mixed ones, because today we don’t have to pedal anymore. Last night we went to the shop and left the camera at the place where we are staying. And then the village mayor invited us for dinner, so we went there last night. It was very nice. There’s a cat meowing at us. Oh, this is the cat that comes to our place. There’s Harri’s house where we’re staying, so this cat comes to eat there. She comes pretty close there, at least. She’s coming now, too. So, we went to Dechko’s house to have dinner and spend the evening. Now we’re off to the dog shelter. We’ll meet Minna from the association there, who flew here in last night. and Niina and probably a few dogs. What do you say to that, Salla? Wonderful! Lovely to see the dogs! I love dogs! That’s right, let’s go. Three months Nine countries 3450 km Out of love for dogs Pedalling to Bulgaria Part 8/8 Oh, wow! During the week we got to learn about the work of the Homeless Bulgarian Dogs Association in Bulgaria, with the association’s activist and adoption officer Minna Pääskysaari. Hello! I’m Minna Pääskysaari and I’m the adoption officer of the association. I visit here at the dog shelter 2-4 times a year to check on our dogs. I have been working for this association since 2011. Before that I worked in Romania, for the Friends of Homeless Dogs Association. I ended up here a bit by accident. I was on holiday in Bulgaria. And I usually visit all the dog shelters when I’m abroad. So, I visited Aleksin’s shelter in Kavarna. Then it swept me away. By then the work in Romania was a bit further along and I thought that I can’t just ignore this. I have to try and help as much as I can. Homeless Bulgarian Dogs Association is a voluntary association founded in 2008 whose primary goal is to help homeless dogs and cats in Bulgaria. The association supports local dog shelters, works to improve attitudes towards animals and organises sterilisation campaigns in various Bulgarian cities. First, we visited the association’s cooperation shelter in Lesnikovo, owned by Markku and Niina, who moved to Bulgaria from Finland. Hello! I’m Niina and I’ve been working as an animal helper in the South of Bulgaria for four years now and I’ve been activist in Homeless Bulgarian Dogs for three years. At the moment just over a hundred dogs we have been able to help here We have building projects going on. You can see here that there are a few shelters that have been built and there are more on the way. Welcome to see our dog shelter, which is currently under construction. The shelter in Lesnikovo started when Niina and Markku saw a need to help dogs in the Lesnikovo and Harmanli area. An empty house was found along Niina and Marku’s home road where they started to build a shelter from scratch. Currently, there are six outdoor enclosures and three indoor areas for dogs that need more recovery and healing. The project is still in progress and more enclosures are being built and covered. Additional facilities for dogs will also be built, and a large running area for dogs. At the moment there are about 30 dogs and a dozen cats living in the shelter. There are dogs in the shelter that are in the process of being adopted and dogs that are not in adoption. We got to spend time with the dogs and see all the daily life at the shelter. Mornings start with cleaning the enclosures, after which the dogs are fed. The days also include visits to the vet, socialising and activating the dogs, and maintenance and renovation of the shelter. Running a dog shelter is hectic with countless hours of work and no days off. What is special about the association’s work is that the health of all the dogs and cats in the shelter is taken care of, regardless of whether they ever end up for adoption. Dogs are treated annually for internal and external parasites and vaccinated. All dogs in the shelter are also sterilized. Some dogs need almost round-the-clock care and supervision. Some dogs may have medications or antibiotics, which are also taken care of. Let’s give Lisa an antibiotic treatment for anaplasmosis. It’s an infectious disease caused by ticks. It can be totally without symptoms, but it can also cause general symptoms, like fatigue and fever, not eating. And it also exists in Finland. The dogs in the shelter are being tested and Lisa has been diagnosed with anaplasmosis and is now being treated for it. Let’s give Lisa an antibiotic now. In addition to annual treatment for internal and external parasites and vaccinations, all dogs in the shelter are examined by a vet. They will have a complete blood count and be tested for eight infectious diseases. Dogs going for adoption will be given echinococcus and tapeworm treatment before they arrive in Finland. In addition, the vet will check the dog’s documents for the Traces travel certificate. So how do dogs usually end up in the shelter? Here are a few stories. First, let’s go and see the so-called harbour puppies. They were born near Sofia in a factory area. There was a Finnish man on a work assignment there. The factory workers look after the puppies and feed them. The working assignment was coming to an end and they were looking for someone to look after the puppies and therefore contacted the association. All workers were about to finish their work assignments and the men were in a hurry, what to do with these puppies. Dogs could not be brought into Finland because the rabies vaccination must be given 20 days before arrival. They were leaving the following week and then they called to see if there was a way to get the puppies to safety. The men had been looking after and feeding the puppies for seven weeks. And built a doghouse for the puppies We were able to arrange a ride for the puppies to here at the shelter Two of them are going to Finland with us. Mane is going to a family whose son had been working at the port This is Lisa and her puppies. Lisa was left outside the shelter in a sack while the owner Niina had been in hospital. And then the villagers found Lisa and opened the sack. And Lisa was pregnant at the time. So the villagers let Lisa out of the sack and Lisa made puppies in the forest next door. And after Niina was out of the hospital, she brought Lisa and the puppies here to the shelter. There are three puppies. Two girls and one boy who is a bit shy. He’s dared to come a bit closer to sniff us while we’ve been here. Lisa has her own home waiting for her in Finland and she will be leaving with us to Finland. Absolutely lovable dog. Sometimes dogs are left near the shelter to be found, as was the case with these three puppies. The puppies were left in a box in front of Nina’s gate. Sometimes owners bring dogs to the shelter and sometimes people report a dog that needs help to Nina. To our delight, two dogs were named after us. Eetu was thrown out of the car and was wandering around the town centre. Salla was found on the side of the road tied to a pole. Both of them have already got their own homes in Finland. Good morning Salla! Not all dogs’ stories have such happy endings Lahja, who was probably a Yorkshire Terrier, had been found by Niina a few days before we arrived at the shelter. She was found by the side of the road, wrapped in a dirty blanket unable to move at all. No one knows how long Lahja had been there. She was in a very bad condition and the situation was serious. Lahja’s legs were not working and she suffered from serious anemia. Lahja was treated and tried to heal. The little one fought for her life and already started to recover and walk. Unfortunately Lahja’s condition collapsed and on 4 February 2024 she passed away in Nina’s arms. Good morning! Today we get to see the sterilisations. We are taking one female and one male to be sterilised, Laku and Usko. Now we are heading to the vet in Harmanli where the dogs will be sterilised. There is Usko. Harmanli Veterinary Clinic is a collaborative clinic of the Homeless Bulgarian Dogs Association It is a private clinic owned and run by veterinarian Zhivko, who kindly welcomed us and showed us around the veterinary clinic. Infection diseases only here. Nobody can come here. Only doctors can come here when we are treating, for example, parvovirus or other dangerous diseases. Laboratory. When Usko was found, his fur was all tangled up. Maybe four or five years old. That is my estimate. Yes about four or five. This is muscle injection. Sometimes dogs react. That’s all. This is the new generation anaesthetic. After five minutes they go to sleep. We got to observe the sterilisation operation. Dog sterilisations are the most effective way to reduce the number of homeless dogs in an ethical and sustainable way. In fact, it is the most significant and important way for the Homeless Bulgarian Dogs Association to improve the situation of street dogs and cats in Bulgaria. Currently, it is estimated that up to 200 000 dogs live on the streets of Bulgaria. It is estimated that one unsterilised female and all her offspring can produce an average of 67 000 puppies in six years. This is why sterilisation is the key solution to the street dog problem. The Homeless Bulgarian Dogs Association organises sterilisations in various Bulgarian cities, according to their funds. In 2022, the association paid for the sterilisation of 404 street dogs and cats or low-income people’s dogs and cats in Varna, Burgas, Veliko-Tarnovo and Leshnikovo. In addition, all dogs in shelters will be sterilised. In addition to sterilisation, education and awareness-raising is also really important. The association works in schools, communities and at various events to educate and help animal owners in Bulgaria and to spread awareness about the importance of sterilisation. In the past, people did not want to sterilise dogs and it was considered a cruel act. Nowadays, people in Bulgaria are more open to it. Good girl, Laku. Today has been a busy day. Really nice day. A day full of dogs. Salla is still at the dog shelter. And me and July are off to visit Henry, a Finn who lives here in Lesnikovo. It’s really nice to meet and have a chat with Henry. Henry helps cats here in Lesnikovo. Really nice to hear about that too. My name is Henry and I live here in Lesnikovo. I have been living here for seven years now and I take care of these orphan cats. They’ve been brought over here to me if the mother has died or otherwise been abandoned. Most of them are mine. I have adopted eleven cats. The neighbour’s cats sometimes come to visit too, like this black and white one. All my own cats are sterilised. But of course I can’t take the neighbour’s cats to be sterilised without permission. Niina has helped the situation by giving a bag of cat food to those who allow their cats to be sterilised. It has worked. Almost every cat in the area has now been sterilised. And here I feed the cats and the cats who are hungry come here. Niina has put up tubes with dry food for the cats in the area. It has helped that not all the cats in the area come here. That Finnish guy Panu, who lives up there, said he doesn’t need to look at the clock because he can always see that at eight o’clock the cats will run to Henry to have breakfast. When I turned 70 The day before, Niina had found four kittens whose mother had died. And these four black and white kittens were there So Niina picked them up and brought them to me as a 70th birthday present. Now we’re going to feed the street dogs with the local lady Hamide. And then Hamide has a kind of villa where she also has rescued dogs. Hamide does really important work for dogs here in the Harmanli area. And she’s also a good friend of Niina. Let’s go and see! Nadja was found in a very poor condition in the Harmanli area and needed immediate medical treatment. She had given birth to two puppies who had passed away. As first aid, Nadja was given a 30-day course of antibiotics and medication for mange. Nadja was also diagnosed with ehrlichia, anaplasmosis and heartworm, for which she is also receiving treatment. Nadja is currently the association’s sponsor dog. Sponsorship is very important to cover the dogs’ monthly expenses. Monthly donations cover the dogs’ veterinary and medical expenses, regular internal and external deworming and ensure that the dogs are provided with nutritious food. Now it’s time to say goodbye to the dogs here at the shelter, and move on to Kavarna. Bye Eetu! Bye bye! Oh that one dog! Those two over there we will see later. I’m sure you’ll find nice homes. Bye bye! We are on our way to Kavarna. We have quite a long drive ahead of us. It’s about a 5 hour drive from Leshnikovo. In Kavarna we’ll meet Alexin and Natalia and visit the Kavarna’s dog shelter. On the way to Kavarna we stopped in the mountains again to feed the dogs. Our attention was drawn to the smallest and very thin dog in the pack. I think she is in heat. Yeah, the bigger male dog tried to jump on her back. Winter was coming and the dog was clearly about to go into heat. This combination could have been fatal for a small and young dog. We decided to take the little one with us to Kavarna. The young girl was quickly named Viki. It is a Bulgarian name and means "winner". As soon as we arrived in Kavarna, we checked that Viki had no microchip. Good morning! We are awake here. Good girl. The next days we spent at the dog shelter in Kavarna, which is the first shelter of the Homeless Bulgarian Dogs Association. So this is where the activity started and gradually developed. The shelter is owned by Aleksin and Natalia with their family. Can you, Aleksin, tell us the story when you started this place? I started this place in 1993 or 1994. First I rented this place and after that I bought it. Because I wanted to work with horses and this was place only for horses. When you started to work with the dogs? All the time when I work, nevermind where, I have many dogs. I worked many years in the Golden Sands, all the time I had dogs. There we had only one flat and had no place for many dogs. And I started to rent buildings for horses. All the time I had dogs, I don’t remember when I started to work with dogs. This was so long ago. Now I have 23 horses, about 35 dogs and about 50 cats. How usually the dogs end up here? I take them from the streets or some peole give them to me when they have no chance to look after them. Because, in this area, there are no neighbours, they are far, so nobody hears the barking. Here are no problems with neighbours. It’s not possible in the town. So people in this area know you and they call you or? Yes. Or bring the dogs here? Yes, they bring and I go on and take the dogs. In this bigger area, it’s possible to live with many animals and they can be free. If you think about the last 10 years, about the dogs on the street, do you see any change? Is there more or less dogs on the streets? Less. Less? Okay. So it’s getting, maybe, better. Yes. Do you think it’s the sterilisation or? Sterilisation. It’s sterilisation. And you think it’s the solution of this street dog problem? Yeah. Thank you Aleksin. The activity started when Aleksin was fed up with seeing street dogs being mistreated and couldn’t leave dogs in need on the street. He decided to build fences and cages for the dogs in his yard. Currently, the shelter is home to about 35 dogs and 50 cats and horses. Some of the dogs live free on the farm and some live in small groups in the area surrounded by fences. There is also a large fenced area for the dogs to run around in. Dogs that could not survive on the streets because of an accident or illness live at the shelter. Puppies are also taken into care. Every autumn, Aleksin visits different fields because he knows that dogs are left tied up on the edges of the fields. The dog is taken in the spring when there is a need to watch the crop and is fed until the crop is harvested. After the harvest, when leaving, the dog remains tied up in its guard post. We also visited Arja and Petteri, who live in Kavarna and do important volunteer work for dogs in Bulgaria by acting as home carers, feeding street dogs and rescuing dogs from the streets who would not be able to survive there. Petteri showed us the beautiful Kavarna. And we also got to join them on their daily round of feeding the dogs. The dogs recognised the sound of the car and ran to us as soon as we arrived. Come over here. So this is a regular place where they come to feed the dogs. They recognise the car and the sound of the car. It’s a lucky day when you get the evening meal too. We have muzzles so that the dog can be anaesthetised and then taken for sterilisation. Yeah. So they won’t breed. Yep. She’s been very shy. But now she even ate out of your hand. She’s become a little braver. How long have you been coming here? Well, I don’t know, probably 2-3 years. Right. The dogs were really shy at first, but now they’re fine. There’s an apartment complex over there, and I’m sure they feed the dogs during the summer, because they don’t eat as much food then. In the winter, the dogs are without, as there’s no one living there. Right, I think that’s the problem with the dogs being next to these holiday hotels. Maybe not all tourists understand that in the winter, when everyone leaves, the dogs are no longer fed. You’ll get some deworming medicine. If you distract the little ones, I’ll give this one. Did he ate it? He ate it already. Just give them the rest from the opened package. This female dog… Now apparently someone from the hotel came to tell us that the dog has puppies around here somewhere. There they are somewhere. There they are. So little puppies. Yeah, I see… at least four of them. Eetu, can you bring your phone flashlight? There were the puppies, and Aleksin will come to pick them up a little later when they are a bit older. And he’ll also pick up the mother to be sterilised. Homeless Bulgarian Dogs Association’s adoption officer Minna visits the shelter dogs whenever possible. Adoptable dogs are those that can adapt to the life of a family dog meaning dogs that are not very fearful, are interested in people, make contact and let you touch them. Dogs that behave aggressively will not be adopted. Dogs that are not adopted live in the shelter as the association’s sponsor dogs, which means that their health and wellbeing are equally looked after. Minna also writes the descriptions of the adoption dogs and discusses with the shelter owner, checking that they have the same considerations and what kind of environment the dog might require. In addition to Minna, other activists visit the shelters regularly. The association’s activists are also responsible for organising sterilisations, various fundraising campaigns and events, collecting and delivering food donations to shelters, finding adoption homes and raising awareness. He’s such a teddy bear. There, he knows how to give a paw. Good! We had just arrived at the shelter and got out of the car when Aleksin called that we need to pick up some kittens from somewhere? From Topola. From Topola. So let’s pick them up. Yeah. Yes, some woman had found the kittens and called Aleksin. Don’t you dare to go? Okay, so there’s still one left, we couldn’t catch the runaway. But Aleksin will pick her up later. There’s five of them with us now. I will get the mother cat later to be sterilised. That’s nice. First they stay here for some days. After that we open this window and they start to come out. And one moment they start to go down. From here, they see the dogs, and if they see the dogs, they run inside again. And one moment they start to run outside. Yeah, before they get used to the dogs and other cats. We’re off to pack. We have a chip reader with us. We’ll test that July’s chip works. We’ll pack and then we’ll bring the chip reader back here and head to the airport. We’re going to the vet. Let’s get this little one vaccinated. Viki was tested for diseases and she was diagnosed with ehrlichia. It is an infectious disease caused by the brown dog tick that’s found in southern Europe. It can cause fever, weight loss, lack of appetite, fatigue and anaemia. Blood tests showed that her hemoglobin was a little low and her thrombocytes were also a little low. Viki will now start a course of antibiotics. That should get her well. After a year we will take new tests. The result may show positive for a long time, even if the disease is no longer present. Yeah, that kind of thing. Luckily, it’s treatable. That’s a good thing. We’ll see you, Viki, in a while. When you come to Finland. Viki is now off to Lesnikovo with Niina. She will heal there and then she will be sterilised. Then she’s coming to Finland. I wonder if she is prepared for the winter? Hi, Lisa! At the airport we waited for Niina and Hamide, who brought four dogs from the Lesnikovo shelter. Manu, Coco, Lisa and Salla flew with us to Finland. Manu, Coco and Lisa already had their own homes waiting for them, and Salla was in home care for a while before she got her own home. Niina and Hamide took Viki with them to recover in the Lesnikovo shelter before she was sterilised and came to Finland. Bye Viki, see you soon. See you soon, Viki. See you, bye bye! Yes, thank you for everything. Mersí, mersí. Bye bye! During the week, we were convinced by the work of Homeless Bulgarian Dogs Association and the genuine love for animals and the dream of a better situation for street dogs was evident in all activities. We saw the situation of homeless dogs up close and heard the saddest fates, felt helplessness and sadness over the situation. At the same time the experience was extremely rewarding and instructive, and we were impressed by the shelter volunteers’ love for animals and their desire to help. The situation is unsustainable and major actions are needed to solve it. As Bulgaria is part of the European Union, big changes should be made at EU level to remedy the situation and ensure that the money goes to the right place. In addition, for example, animal abuse could be punished more severely and monitoring should be improved. People’s attitudes must also be changed, as the situation will not be resolved as long as dogs are abandoned on the streets. Now we have arrived in Helsinki after three months and 3450 kilometres. The journey was amazing and in fact we made it without any major incidents. Yes. We also want to encourage everyone to do many things with dogs and to go, for example, on a trip like this with a dog. And this last week was really intense. A bit hard at times, but very rewarding. We learned a lot of new things about rescue work and dogs, and our wish is that one day there will be no more homeless puppies born on the streets and that every dog will have a home of their own. That’s right. But we are heading home now. We’ll wait for July back from the luggage hold and head home to sleep. That’s right. Bye! Bye! During the journey, we raised donations worth 3433 €. All the funds will be used to sterilizations of dogs in Bulgaria, which is the most important way to prevent new homeless puppies from being born. Thank you to all who donated!