Ιστορίες σκύλων που διασώσαμε

How a rescue usually begins

Usually, someone who sees an animal in trouble calls us, emails us or posts about it on social media. We ask for the exact location and, if it is safe, a photo, and then we go. The most urgent cases come first: animals that are hurt, in danger or unable to move.

Most of our videos show puppies, and that is not by chance. In the Balkan region, clinics and shelters usually turn away puppies under seven months old, and without someone to help, many of them die of disease. The four dogs below were all puppies when we found them, and each got a name that nods to a famous person.

Keanu Retrieves, found alone

We got a call about several puppies outside a remote building. People nearby had seen them in a social media post, but they did not know whether the mother was missing or the puppies had been abandoned, so we drove straight there with water, food and a blanket.

After searching the area, we found him on his own. Sadly, his two siblings did not make it. He barely touched the water, but when we offered food he started eating, which was a really good sign. On the drive, lying on a blanket beside us, he got his name, a nod to the actor Keanu Reeves and to the Golden Retriever in him.

At the vet the same day he was weighed, dewormed, checked for fleas and in his ears and eyes, and treated against external parasites. He stayed calm and brave, though the thermometer was not his favorite part. Later came his first elevator ride and a bath in the sink, where he fell asleep halfway through, and by bedtime he was nodding off standing up. Keanu has since been adopted, and you can follow his rescue story, video included.

Hairy Styles, the puppy by the railroad

This one began with a social media post about a puppy wandering near a railroad. We searched until we found him by the road, next to leftover scraps of food. He got scared and ran off, but once we caught him he was calm in our arms. After some water and a short spell hiding under the car, he rode in the front seat on a soft blanket and fell fast asleep.

At our place, the first job was a shower, because his fur held layers of dust and mud. We combed and picked out the worst by hand, and he handled it like a champ. A towel and a gentle hair dryer left him fluffy at last, which explains his name, a nod to the singer Harry Styles.

On his first walk in the park, everyone wanted to pet him. At the vet he had a complete checkup of his ears, eyes and teeth, then vaccines and treatment against parasites, and the verdict was perfectly healthy. His video also shows adoption day, when he met his new family, wagged his tail, got belly rubs and played with another dog. See how Hairy Styles was rescued.

Merrill Street, from an abandoned building

People in a distant city called us about a small puppy crying inside an abandoned warehouse. It had been raining for days, and the drive took more than three hours each way. We found her hiding between floors the rainstorm had damaged, out of our reach, so we made a tunnel, and little by little she let us bring her out.

Her coat was soaked and covered in mud, but she accepted the first gentle touch. At a quiet park she explored at her own pace and stayed at our heels whenever we moved. She only sniffed the food we offered until she was back in her transport crate, where the smaller space helped her feel calm enough to take a few tiny bites.

For her first shower we washed her slowly in warm water, because her coat held rainwater, dirt, fleas and the smell of the old building. At her first proper meal she often stopped eating when we moved away, so we stayed close and stroked her while she ate one small bite at a time. At the vet she became the little star of the clinic, and she was examined from head to paw, treated for fleas and protected against internal and external parasites.

Her name is a nod to the actress Meryl Streep. Merrill Street has since been adopted, and her rescue story shows her first day with us.

Milky Cyrus, stuck in a milk carton

Borislav, our rescuer, had been tipped off about a small white puppy and arrived late at night to find her stuck in a milk carton, where she had been searching for food. Whether she was left like that or got herself stuck, we do not know: once she was with us, she kept pushing her head into small boxes, big boxes and narrow gaps, and getting stuck. She was trembling and covered in fleas, but she let him lift her and carry her away from the trash.

The car became her first safe place, with a clean blanket. She would not drink, and rather than push her we simply stayed close. Then came food, one cautious sniff and one tiny bite at a time, until the shaking eased. The next day the vet pronounced her healthy apart from the dirt and the fleas, and once the checkup was over she started to play.

In a quiet green yard she made friends with a rescued kitten, and the two of them explored the grass. On the ride home she slept without fear for the first time while the kitten inspected the entire car, and the day ended with her first bath. Her name is a nod to the singer Miley Cyrus and to the carton she was stuck in. Milky Cyrus has since been adopted, and her rescue story has the full video.

What the four rescues had in common

Side by side, the four stories share a pattern. Someone noticed a puppy and told us, we went, and once the puppy was safe, we offered water and food before anything else. After that, the first stops were the vet and a bath, as they are after every rescue.

Clean fur on camera can mislead. Rescued puppies are dirty, full of fleas and carrying parasites even when they look clean in a video, because a camera cannot show the smell and hardly shows fleas.

The videos mostly cover the rescue and the first days, and a lot of our work happens off camera. After a rescue, each animal recovers for as long as it needs. This is what happens for every animal in our care, from the vet to life with its new family.

• A checkup, treatment, vaccinations and a microchip
• Neutering, once it is strong enough for surgery
• A pet passport before adoption
• A search for the right family: an inquiry, a talk, a meeting with the dog, a home check and adoption day
• Staying in touch after the adoption, and helping where we can

How you can help the next one

If you see an animal in trouble, write to us through our contact page with the exact location, plus a photo if it is safe to take one. Keep your distance and do not try to grab it, even when it is hurt, because a frightened animal can bite or bolt into traffic. We can only help in person in the Balkan region. For animals anywhere else, we forward the report to partner organizations and volunteers, and it is worth calling local animal control or an emergency vet at the same time.

Sharing a video is one of the simplest ways to help. The more people see an animal, the sooner it finds a family, and a video is often how adopters first meet a dog.

If you are ready for a dog of your own, keep an eye on our adoptions page. Adoptions are open within Europe, so mention the country you live in when you write. When the page is empty, the dogs with us are still recovering or have already found families.