On the 28th May 2020, Rudozem Street Dog Rescue were advised by their Lawyer the application to appeal the shelter buildings change of use, has been denied by the legal court in Sofia. There is no recourse to appeal. The decision has been announced in local newspapers. Rudozem Street Dog Rescue has released the following statement.
STATEMENT IN български, English, Netherlands
Български / Bulgarian
С голямо съжаление съобщаваме, че сме принудени да прекратим процедурите за получаване
на официална регистрация за приюта за кучета и котки в Елховец.
Ние закупихме сградата през 2011 година с препоръката и одобрението на властите, че сградата е подходяща за целите ни. Беше ни показана сградата, която се намираше в индустриален, а не жилищен район и ни увериха, че тя е идеална за целите ни да я ползваме като приют за кучета. Въпреки това през всичките тези години бяхме подложени на атаки срещу нас и приюта. Непрекъснатият стрес, на който бяхме подложени се отрази на здравето и семейството ни, както и това на персонала и доброволците от приюта. Наложи се да платим значителни суми за съдебни такси и адвокати, вместо тези пари да се използват за храна и грижа за животните.
Нашата единствена молба е да ни се даде малко време и спокойствие , за да успеем да намерим приемни домове за кучетата и котките, които в момента живеят в приюта. След като успеем да настаним животните в приемни домове, сградата няма да бъде ползвана повече като приют. Пред вид настоящата ситуация с пандемията от корона- вирус, това може да отнеме малко повече време от нормалното, поради ограниченията за пътуване и необходимостта от изолация. Молим властите да проявят разбиране, предвид необичайнтите и трудни времена, в които се намираме всички в момента. Умоляваме хората да не водят кучета до центъра, както и да не ги оставят вързани отвън или в кутии. Много съжаляваме, но ние не можем да им предложим приют в настоящата ситуация , както и не можем да предложим алтернативно решение. Точно поради липсата на хуманно алтернативно решение за бездомните кучета и котки в страната, ние отворихме този приют. Съветваме хората да стерилизират животните си, а не да ги оставят да се размножават безконтролно, което само допринася за нарастване броя на бездомни и нежелани малки кученца. За момента не знаем какво е бъдещето на нашата благотворителна организация RSDR. Приоритетът ни понастоящем е да намерим домове за животните, обитаващи приюта. Това обаче ще отнеме време. За някои от кучетата този приют е бил техен дом вече 9 години и повечето от тях трудно биха се доверили на нови хора, поради малтретирането , на което са били подложени преди да ги спасим. След като успеем да намерим домове за животните от приюта и се уверим, че те на са в опасност, ще вземем решение за бъдещето на RSDR като благотворителна организация. Въпреки слуховете, които някои разпространяват, искам да ви уверя, че кучетата от приюта не представляват риск от зараза за хората. Всички са ваксинирани и третирани за вътрешни и външни паразити. Повече от 2000 кучета и котки от нашия приют са намерили нови домове в други европейски страни, където са щастливи и получават грижа и любов. Това са животни, които ние спасихме от улиците на Рудозем и околностите, животни доведени при нас лично или оставени пред приюта. Доволни сме, че успяхме да помогнем на толкова много бездомни животни, но се тревожим, че със закриването на приюта, броят на малтретираните и болни животни по улиците ще се увеличи. Благодарим на всички, които ни помагаха и подкрепяха в тези трудни времена и се надяваме, че те ще продължат да полагат необходимите грижи за намиращите се все оше в приюта животни.
RSDR
RUDOZEM STREET DOG RESCUE
English
29/5/2020
It is with sadness that we announce that we will no longer be trying to get official registration for the dog/cat shelter in Elhovets.
We purchased the building in 2011 with guidance and advice from officials as to the suitability of the building to be used as a shelter. We were shown the building which is in an industrial zone, not residential and told it would be ideal as a dog shelter. Despite this there has been ongoing opposition. The constant stress has affected our health and wellbeing as a family and that of the shelter staff and RSDR volunteers. It has also meant that money has been spent on lawyers and legal fees that could have gone directly to feeding and caring for animals.
All we ask is that we are left in peace and given time to find homes for the dogs and cats that are currently at the shelter. After which the building will not be used as a shelter for dogs and cats. Given the current situation with the corona virus pandemic, this might take longer than in normal times, due to restrictions on travel and people isolating. We ask the authorities to please bear that in mind.
We ask that people do not bring dogs to the shelter or leave them outside, tied up, or in boxes. We are sorry but we cannot take them and we do not know what the alternative is. It is the lack of an alternative humane solution for unwanted dogs and cats that led to us opening a shelter in the first place. We encourage people to have their dogs sterilised rather than allowing them to breed resulting in unwanted puppies.
We do not know what the future is for RSDR. Our priority is the rehoming and welfare of the animals at the shelter. This will take time. For some dogs the shelter has been their home for nine years and some have serious trust issues after being so badly abused before we rescued them. Once the shelter animals are all safe and re-homed, we will then consider the best direction for RSDR as a charity. Contrary to what some people have said, the dogs at the shelter do not pose a risk of disease to people. They are all vaccinated and treated for internal and external parasites.
Over two thousand RSDR dogs and cats are now in happy homes in other EU countries. These are animals that we rescued from the streets of Rudozem and surrounding areas, or animals that were brought or left outside the shelter. We are glad that for them there was a happy ending but worry that without any humane shelter, the number of abused, neglected and sick animals on the streets will increase.
We thank our supporters and hope they continue to support us in these uncertain times and remember the animals at the shelter that we still have to feed and care for while they are there.
RSDR
Rudozem Street Dog Rescue
Nederlands / Dutch
29/5/2020
We moeten tot onze grote spijt aankondigen dat we stoppen met het proberen te registreren van het dierenasiel in Elhovets.
We hebben het gebouw in 2011 aangekocht in samenspraak met de gemeente en gevraagd of het als asiel gebruikt kon worden. Omdat het op een bedrijventerrein ligt, zou het ideaal zijn als dierenasiel werd ons gezegd. Ondanks dit was er continue weerstand tegen het asiel. Continue stress heeft onze gezondheid, ons gezin, alle teamleden in het asiel en de vrijwilligers van RSDR behoorlijk geraakt. Ook is er veel geld besteed aan rechtszaken en juridische zaken die rechtstreeks naar de dieren had kunnen gaan.
We hopen dat ze ons nu met rust laten en dat we tijd krijgen om voor de dieren die nog in het asiel verblijven een thuis te vinden. Daarna zal het gebouw niet meer als asiel dienen. Door de coronasituatie, het verbod op vervoer hierdoor, kan dat wellicht wat langer duren, hopelijk houden de autoriteiten daar rekening mee.
We vragen mensen geen honden meer rondom, in dozen of vastgebonden achter te laten bij het asiel. Het spijt ons maar we kunnen ze niet opnemen en hebben geen alternatief. Wij zijn een asiel begonnen door het gebrek aan een humane oplossing voor alle ongewenste honden en katten. We blijven hopen dat mensen hun dieren laten steriliseren om nog meer pups te voorkomen.
We weten niet wat de toekomst brengt voor RSDR. Momenteel ligt onze prioriteit bij het verzorgen en een thuis zoeken voor de dieren in het asiel. Dit zal tijd kosten. Sommige honden wonen hier al 9 jaar en anderen vertrouwen weinig mensen omdat ze ernstig mishandeld zijn voordat ze van straat gered zijn door ons. Zodra alle asieldieren veilig een onderkomen hebben gevonden, zullen we gaan bekijken wat we met RSDR doen als stichting. In tegenstelling tot wat sommige mensen beweren, zijn de dieren in het asiel geen gevaar voor de gezondheid. Ze zijn allemaal gevaccineerd en behandeld tegen wormen en vlooien.
Meer dan 2000 RSDR honden en katten leven nu in fijne gezinnen in andere EU landen. Dit zijn dieren die we gered hebben van straat in Rudozem en de omliggende gebieden of die bij ons asiel achter zijn gelaten. We zijn blij voor hen due gered zijn, maar maken ons ernstig zorgen dat het aantal zieke, mishandelde en verwaarloosde dieren op straat alleen maar toe zal nemen.
We zijn dankbaar voor onze supporters en hopen dat zij ons willen blijven steunen in deze onzekere tijden. We zullen immers de dieren in het asiel nog steeds moeten blijven voeren en verzorgen, zolang ze hier nog zijn.
RSDR
Rudozem Street Dog Rescue.
Newspaper Links:
ABOUT RSDR
Please watch documentary made by Canadian Erin Parks in 2012 about RSDR. The film came third in the Audience Choice Awards at the Animal Film Festival in New York in 2016. Erin has released the full 40 mins documentary at the below link:
Documentary Trailer – http://www.findingshelter.net/new-page Full Documentary Link – https://www.dropbox.com/s/ohtxic3gu448j9k/Finding%20Shelter%20AFF%20ROKU%20CHANNEL%20OCT%2018.mov?dl=0
Rudozem Street Dog Rescue 
This is terrible news, absolutely heartbreaking! I don’t understand all of this. You have been in this building and put money into it to expand it, and have gone through all the prior legal steps to operate as a shelter and now you have to close down? Please help me understand.
All the amazing work all of you have done in the past nine years is just coming to an abrupt end? What about all those dogs/cats that need to be rescued? Better yet, why don’t those 2000 success stories prove how you are needed?
I am absolutley heartbroken for you. What is their reasoning for doing this, why can’t be an animal shelter? What is wrong with those people?!?!
I wish I was in a position to help/do something to save the shelter. I can’t imagine how you are feeling. What about a petition to make it into a shelter, I’m sure thousands of people would sign it. All of you must be so devastated, along with all those animals that will not be saved from the streets.
All your love, caring and patience going down the drain, because certain people can’t see past their noses and lack empathy for animals. Shame on them!
Thank you Kelly. We appreciate that suggestions are well meaning but we have been fighting this for nine years now with legal help and advice. There comes a time when for financial reasons and for our own health and safety, we have to admit defeat. We don’t know yet what the future of RSDR will be without the shelter. We can’t make a decision at the moment. Our first priority is to home the dogs at the shelter that are adoptable. We don’t know how long that will take. Only once most of them are re-homed can we think about what our plans for the future will be.
Heartbreaking news. I cannot imagine the stress you have endured all these years. Bless you for your selfless work and for the human and animals lives you have blessed and saved. I will continue to sponsor and contribute as long as you need an hope there will be others in that country who show compassion on those creatures who cannot speak for themselves.
Disgrace Bulgaria!! You have let your country down by your own actions, You are an utter disgrace. Here, in the UK, we are all so disappointed in your conclusion to shut down RSDS. YOU ARE MONSTERS.
Why give the go-ahead to build these shelters, and then WITHDRAW once they have been built???
NO EXPLANATION FROM YOU ..what have you got against theses people?? ZENOPHOBIA is that it???? YOU SCUM
Am in tears for you, how you feel is not answerable..after all your hard work and the animals what about them?, you have rescued so many froma life of hell..
If you need a place to stay, come back to Manchester we can put you up…so angry and so sad just so sad…love you all for who you are x x x x
HI DISGUSTED TO READ THIS, SHARING ON FACEBOOK FOR YOU WITH REQUESTES FOR HELP AND SHARING WORLDWIDE TO GAIN YOU SUPPORT !!
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My gosh, it is now 25 Feb 2022 — and I just now saw this! I lost track, with a lot of trouble in my own life. I hope you are, SOMEHOW, okay! If you needed a place to stay, I hope you were able to take up the offer from Mr. Rossini above, or someone. I cannot express the sorrow I feel for you, and how much I do not comprehend how this could happen! Please be okay! Please be okay!