Dog Problems

As a child, Varna would have been a dream come true for me. My mother can attest that prior to my tenth birthday when I was given my first dog, a little Shih Tzu named Oreo, I wanted a dog more than anything and so I would go out looking for dogs. If I found a stray, I would take it door to door trying to find its home, hoping that if I couldn't find its family, my parents would have to let me keep it. This never worked.

Varna is overrun with stray cats and dogs. I am not exaggerating when I say they are everywhere, all of the time. Some cruise streets in small packs, others are loners. Most are pretty friendly and will gladly accept some pats on the head or even better, leftovers. During the day, dogs trot around town or take afternoon siestas in the middle of sidewalks. In the evenings they all seem to curl up in grassy areas or by store fronts. It's fun to see them out and about during the day, but it's sad to see them with no family to go home to at night.

One of my lifetime goals is to form an animal rescue. I volunteered at the Humane Society during college and the Arizona Animal Welfare League in Phoenix. When not volunteering I try to do my tiny little part to help homeless animals. I found a kitten at our cabin this summer and spent much of my week vacation learning that my hometown lacks a decent rescue center than can accommodate a realistic amount of strays and relies primarily on very few foster families. Fortunately my brother and sister-in-law fell in love with baby George and took him home.

Varna is the ideal place for someone wanting to start an animal rescue center, not that this is either the time nor place for me to do so, unfortunately. Most of these strays are somewhat taken care of at least, since they are spayed or neutered then tagged as such, but then they are released back onto the streets since their aren't sufficient facilities to keep them while searching for homes.

They all look pretty well-fed, so I'm sure I'm not the only one giving them occasional treats. And unlike in Paris where there is dog poop everywhere, there is almost none here, so someone may also be cleaning up after them. I wish I could do more to help these pups, but for now I think I'll spend some of my free time giving them treats and some much needed affection. I may even figure out how to use the public water fountains to give them baths!