Tangled mass of neglect we saved off the streets A lucky pup we found one night on a country road


I have so many stories to tell...heartbreaking images which are seared into my memory. It seems like every other day, my rescue colleagues bring yet another abandoned puppy, or a badly injured dog to my place of work (also my actual home). We have many dogs in our care, and many have been victims of sheer cruelty, or neglect, both wilful and also out of ignorance. If these poor animals could speak, and tell us their tales of woe, it would horrify us...
We have dogs with missing limbs, horrendous spinal injuries, and some are deeply traumatised. It takes many hours of patience, but eventually they come to trust us. This is why I love dogs so much. Their hearts hold no malice, they have no concept of revenge nor retribution, and they learn to love human's even after suffering such abuse and neglect..they truly are 'man's best friend'.
Poor strays living a lonely & dangerous life Strays at a garage forecourt begging for scraps


Pups found dumped in garbage

Saved from a harsh life on the streets


Happy dogs-It's feeding time!

Little 'Vlad' Check out his 'teefy fangs'!
Whenever I do feel lonely, I sit on the front porch, and watch my Romanian dog friends, happily playing in the main yard. I never watch TV here in Romania, nor do I miss UK TV to be frank, but my TV is watching the dogs...Better than any program on Sky by a mile! The days are long, and my one day off is usually spent at the Shopping Mall in Bucharest, where I can have some 'me' time, buying lots of ice cream, coffee, and just wandering around for a few hours, without the constant yapping sounds of the dogs...Even though, it is nice to get away for a few hours, even then, I strangely miss them, and their barking, and it's nice to get back to my home, where I am greeted by a cacophany of excited woofers! Best of all (see the Living in Romania page for more details), my own dog 'Bonnie' is there waiting for me, after her epic 1500 miles road journey, thanks to Claudia and the team at Eli Pet Transport, who very kindly brought her here from England. I must also thank the wonderful Jayne Adlington Nicholson, who collected my Bonnie from my Brothers home in the North East, and looked after her for the night, before taking her to the kennels in Retford, ready for the final leg of her long journey here. Thanks to everyone who made it possible for my reunion with my little 'Bon's'...
Jayne takes good care of my Bonnie and she crys as she waves her goodbye on the Eli Pet van.

Yay! 1500 miles later my Bonnie arrives


Yes-I cried like a baby! :)

Garbage dump puppies


The most frustrating part of rescuing stray dogs is that many are very coy, and although they will often come close, knowing that they will receive a meal, they stay just out of reach, and if we try to grab them, they run away into the fields. A result of past cruelty, and the methods used by the dog catchers, who show no kindness, and capture them with nets and poles with no regard for their welfare.
So off we went, me on my pedal bike, and Gabi on her rollerskates! As we approached the dump, we saw a female dog with a tiny puppy standing perilously close to the road! I jumped off my bike, and thankfully neither the Momma dog nor the puppy tried to run away...Gabi stretched out her hand, and Momma and puppy greeted her with love, knowing that they were finally safe. Gabi had previously checked the very same spot earlier in the day, looking for the original black dog, and there was no sign of anything, and so it was obvious that this poor dog and her babies had been callously dumped shortly before our arrival...
We scoured the area, and amongst the festering piles of rubbish, discarded beer bottles, and filth, were 3 more tiny babies. I picked them up, and immediately gave them water and a little food. In the scorching 36 degrees heat, they would not have survived for much longer, and the traffic never slows down. (We often see poor babies (and larger dogs) lying dead on the roads, their bodies left to rot). As I scooped the puppies into my rucksack, Gabi picked up Momma, and I pedalled as fast as I could back home with Gabi cradling Momma in her arms....
The dogs were placed in a secure room, with fresh water and food, and are now in our care. Hopefully, they will find loving new homes once rehabilitated, vaccinated, and are ready. This is what makes all the tears worthwhile, the endless sleepless nights, the work, the emotions that we endure...
Even if certain people are not animal lovers like we are, I will never be able to comprehend the mindset of people who are able to callously discard a Mother and her 4 tiny babies, in a rubbish dump of all places, without any food or water, and destined to either die a lingering death, or face a harsh life living as another Romanian stray...




'Moustache' the stray dog who lives in a field...
If only he knew that my intention is to gain his total trust, so I can bring him gently into our home, where he will never again have to contend with the dangerous traffic, or dog catchers...
However 'Moustache' is not just another poor stray..but a puppy saviour too!!











'Moustache' the stray dog - I caught him...yay!!!


The stray dog who lives in the field (see above), is now no longer a stray. Late last night as I went outside to feed him and the others, after long weeks of gaining his trust, I knelt down on all fours, approached him, and instead of running away as he so often would do, he let me stroke him.
All it took was 10 minutes of patiently sitting there stroking him, and he let me gently pick him up in my arms, whereby I brought him home. Bewildered by the sights and smells of all the other dogs, both myself and Tudor (our helper-assistant) watched on as Moustache got used to his new surroundings. This is what I love about rescue...a dog who has never been stroked, never been spoken to in kindness, shunned by society, and was most likely another dumped puppy, who unlike so many others, managed to survive despite the harshest of winters, and at a guess I would say he is now around 6 years of age. Learning to survive on scraps, drinking the foulest water, and never knowing a human's love and kindness until now...a testament to the loyalty and love of the species. A totally feral animal, who began to trust someone who cared and who provided food and water.
And never again will our lovely Moustache have to endure a harsh winter sleeping outside in the freezing snow..never again will he go hungry or thirsty, and finally, he will receive what all our dogs in our care do...
love...The relief as I finally cradled him in my arms was indescribable, and as I write these words, my tears flow like a childs, such is my joy at finally rescuing him...yay!




The Sewer Pipe Stray


Next day I returned with a big bag of food, and water. I promised Chris that I would do everything I could to capture this poor mite, and so I was prepared to do what I did with Moustache...to return daily and gain this dogs trust...
The day after, me and Tudor returned to the sewer pipe and it was raining heavily and very cold. The previous night, all I could think of was this poor dog, cowering in his hiding place, so alone, scared, cold...
As we knelt down to peer inside, there he was, deep inside the pipe. It was too tight a squeeze to climb inside, and dangerous due to pieces of broken glass and discarded rubbish lying inside. We threw him some food, and tried coaxing him out, but he was terrified. Tudor ended up at one end of the pipe with me at the other, spanning the country road. Suddenly he bolted out of his hiding place, and I panicked as he ran towards the road, as traffic sped by. I stood by the road to stop him running, and Tudor crept up behind him....
Finally safe in our arms!!
No sooner was he in our arms, he relaxed, knowing he was finally safe. We took him back to the shelter, where he was given a comfy warm blanket, and a bed to lie in. He will never have to lie alone in a stinking sewer-drainage pipe, and never go hungry or cold again. Today as me and Tudor tended to the many dogs in our care, when we went to feed and water our latest arrival, we opened the door and his little tail wagged...Brought tears to my eyes! Despite the cruelty that we see, despite the pain, it's all worth it when another dog is saved...






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Should you wish, you can also donate to Norton Animal Rescue via paypal at [email protected]
Thank you for continuing to support the work being done by ALL Romanian rescue workers, and all those involved. Knowing that we are not alone, and to know that although this World can be such a cruel place, there are many people striving to save lives, and who will always continue to do so, and it is this that gives us the strength to carry on.
Thank You All...Gary Edwards.