Adoption, no abandonment
Your personal attitude toward your four-legged friends depends on where you put the comma that defines the meaning of the phrase. Our comma is certainly after the word adoption. This story is about how and who rescues stray animals in Uzbekistan.
Surely each of you at least once found yourself in a situation where a stray animal needed help. What were your actions? What did you do to help our little friends?
As sad as it is to realize, most of us choose the easiest way - to pass by. Out of sight, out of mind. Some try to feed their pets near the windows, porch, gardens, not being able to take them in, because another four-legged friend already lives at home....... And only a small fraction of people who have a big heart rush to the rescue. Not only do they pick up, feed, water and treat animals, but they also give them shelter and actively search for a new owner... they find one, or if cats and dogs cannot be adopted, the animals stay with them.
Until a few years ago, not much was heard about such people. Left alone with their problems, or rather with their rescued animals, they were embarrassed to ask for help and survived as best they could. They had help from like-minded people. Joining together, they rented private homes, country houses, or abandoned areas to give shelter to the animals, and take care of them.
They say that whatever you call the ship, that's how it sails. Iroda Matkarimova, owner of the country's only official shelter for stray animals, chose that name without hesitation. Each and every animal that fell into her kind hands should live and be happy, she decided. And so appeared the shelter "Hayot", which today is inhabited by about eight hundred dogs, and there are also cats.
For a year and a half now, the shelter has been based in the village of Zafarobod, Kibray district of Tashkent region. Volunteers know this road well, as they visit the pets every Saturday.
Passing the post "Mayskiy" and then the old brickyard, you enter another world. A world where found, rescued, and abandoned dogs and cats live, which by the will of fate ended up in the "Hayot" shelter. Here people who care feed them, treat, give them love and play with them.
I met Iroda at the bazaar in Parkent. Every Saturday, she and volunteers go to the shelter's pets from this very place and bring them gifts and treats. This beautiful young woman is instantly captivating with her charm and zest for life. At the same time, you can feel that behind a charming smile and melodious voice hides a strong personality able to move mountains.
- “I have my own company related to metal and building materials, so I only come to the shelter on Saturdays", - Iroda says. – “But our driver picks up animals every day and takes them to the veterinary clinics, which we have a contract with. There, our pets are treated, neutered, and spayed. I have loved animals since I was a child, and always had dogs. Now I have three cats, and besides, I feed stray cats outside and put houses for them. My parents taught me the main thing: you should not hurt those who cannot protect themselves. So, I always tried to pick stray animals up, rescue and treat them. But actively engaged in this help I am for 8-9 years. For some of them I found new owners, for others - temporary housing facilities. In 2015, the town council of the Kibray district allocated land for the shelter to the non-governmental non-profit Organization «Stray Animal Rescue Society», where I am one of the founders. It would seem to be for a good cause, but document preparation took us four years! The usual practice: one certificate is overdue, then another.
When the paperwork was finally resolved a year and a half ago, Iroda received the right to set up a shelter for homeless animals on the property. A large sum of money was borrowed to begin construction. Temporary and later permanent aviaries appeared on the empty land and all the dogs were moved there.
- “The aim of our shelter is to limit and lower the number of stray animals in Uzbekistan through spaying and neutering” - said Iroda. “In addition, we vaccinate all our animals against rabies and distemper, and give them names and passports. It is a pleasure to take such animals from the shelter: dogs and cats are clean, vaccinated, spayed or neutered, and get along with people. Since we are located at the Kibray district, we have a contract with the animal control services of Kibray and Chirchik towns to take the caught stray animals in the shelter. Animals from them are often deeply depleted, dehydrated, infected with worm infestation, not all of them survive afterward”.
The main volunteer of Hayot shelter receives also frequent calls from residents of the capital. People ask to pick up dogs whose owners have died or left for permanent residence in another country. Iroda is a woman with a big heart and cannot pass by someone else's misfortune. But can't the callers themselves adopt the unfortunate animal or at least bring it to the shelter?
At this moment the shelter is already full. The number of dogs is enormous, and there are not enough enclosures for all. Currently, there are forty-four aviaries and constructions are continuing. Many dogs do not have a roof over their heads. But there are doghouses along the perimeter of the territory where they can find a cover in bad weather.
We drive up by car. The shelter residents run out to meet us with excited barking. After handing us our gloves so we can pet the dogs, Iroda immediately heads over to the dog named Rem. Turns out he gets very jealous if "mom" doesn't come to him first. This male dog has a complicated fate. He bit his owner and was handed over to the animal control service. After a 10-day quarantine, the previous owners were not going to take him away, on the contrary, they asked to put the poor dog to sleep. But Iroda rescued him. Looking into her eyes, he began to lick her hand and cheeks, apparently realizing that his fate was decided by this exact woman with a strong character. To this day, Rem does not allow anyone but her to come to him. As a lord, he sits in a solitary enclosure. Food is thrown to him with a shovel through a fencing net. Iroda affectionately calls him "Sonny" and personally brings him bread, which he loves.
And such stories are many. Here's another one: Beethoven came to the shelter as a puppy. After some time people adopted the little guy. However, Iroda saw him in her dreams. Together with volunteers, she went to the address to check on him and saw that the dog was sitting on a half-meter rope in the rain and could not get to the place where the cover was. Recognizing his real owner, he began whimpering. Five minutes later, Beethoven was already sitting on Iroda's lap. The dog went back to the Hayot shelter.
“We also have many stories with happy endings"- says Iroda proudly. “In a year we found a new home and owners for about five hundred dogs. There are volunteers who take home several puppies at once, take care of them, and then find them new owners. Ten of our dogs now serve in the Department of Internal Affairs. Thirteen of our dogs were adopted and sent to Moscow, we regularly receive video and photo reports from their new owners. Two dogs live in Estonia now. There are also our dogs in the Moscow shelter. There was a case when a dog was brought to us after being hit by a car. Tashkent specialists could not help him, so we decided to send him to the Russian capital to doctor Eremin. I cried for a long time and then decided to contact our volunteer Yulia Kitayeva, who also runs a dog shelter in Moscow. After treatment, the dog stayed with her and is now looking for owners.
The help is coming from volunteers and people who send money through payment systems. This money is used to pay for treatment in vet clinics and to buy chicken legs and heads. Before we used to buy 500-700 kilograms every three days, but lately we need four tons of chicken paws and heads for the same period.
The dogs eat the chicken treats with pleasure. In order to avoid fights over food in the enclosure, Iroda teaches volunteers to distribute it properly among the animals. To do this, the food should be left in several places at once, so that every animal has time to grab a piece.
Water is also needed. A six-ton cistern is changed every two days. In 2018, to make the road to the shelter, Iroda used her own money to buy fifteen cars of crushed stone. Last year, 4.5 million soums were spent for this purpose, which were transferred to the card by kind-hearted citizens.
- “Our shelter needs help all the time. Only together we can be strong," - Iroda said. “I would like to see government agencies and private companies join in. Charity is inherent to our people. Every morning I wake up wondering what will we feed our pets today, and how can we make the enclosures and kennels warm”.
“Here it is appropriate to tell about one joint project, uniting two shelters - for homeless animals and for homeless people, which is located on the Panelniy district” - she continues. “At first we used to bring ten to fifteen people every day to the shelter to clean the territory and play with the animals, make contact with them. But then we asked them to live with us. Now every week we keep five people, pay their salaries, provide them with lodging, food, and even clothes. It turns out these people have the same fate as the dogs. At first, they were not very talkative and open. Slowly they thawed out, learned to smile, and began to feel for the animals, and the dogs also loved them. I am very grateful to Lieutenant Colonel Zhafar Amanov, director of the shelter for homeless people”.
- “We really need helpers” - joins the conversation the chief supervisor of the shelter Victoria Sabikova. “There are a lot of animals. Each of them needs at least some attention. Apart from cages, we have a quarantine area, puppies section, where we have recently purchased heaters. Now there are about three hundred little puppies there. And of course, there is a maternity ward. We feed the smallest ones with a syringe and a pacifier. And of course, we also need to prepare food for the animals and clean their enclosures.
Not so long ago Iroda had an appointment with the regional mayor, who support all the initiatives and plans of the shelter. And these plans are spectacular: according to the project, the construction of a real rescue oasis for animals will be performed on three hectares.
There will be a huge two-story building for dogs. Separately, the "Cat House" will be located on the territory. Apart from that, the construction of a large veterinary clinic with two operating rooms is in the project. In a specially organized guest room kids with cerebral palsy will be socialized and in contact with trained dogs. There will also be a place for a mini-factory with equipment for processing the animals' food.
These are, of course, grand plans. But why don't they come true? Starting from scratch, the shelter's chief organizer and chief volunteer, Iroda Matkarimova, was not afraid to take on this burden of charity. Now she and her team are responsible for those whom they have tamed. You should agree that this is a great responsibility! So let's share it with them and help the shelter. Let's give the animals who were abandoned by humans a second chance to find their home and be loved.
The shelter is small, the problems are big
The fate of abandoned dogs and cats is unenviable. Wandering the yards in search of food and former or new owners, sooner or later they end up in animals rescue agencies. And then everything depends on how lucky they are. If they are ransomed by volunteers, they have a chance at a new life.
Sisters Karina and Alisa Tikhomirova are volunteers with three years of experience. At first, they just helped those who keep a lot of dogs. Then they took one dog home. Then they picked up a second one, bought the third one back from an animals control agencies, and the fourth one was left them by people....... And so it began. When ten dogs started living there, the girls realized they needed to rent a house. So they did.
Today they each have their own mini shelter. Alisa lives with her mother on the property and takes care of forty-three dogs. Karina rents a private home where more than twenty dogs have found shelter. Unfortunately, it is a temporary shelter as the house is up for sale.
- “All our dogs are good, they love guests” - says Karina. “But it is very difficult to find new owners for them. People want purebreds. Even if someone decides to take a dog, he presents a whole list of what the dog should be - kind, get along with children, love strangers, cats, neutered, spayed, vaccinated. Of the eight dogs adopted last year, half were returned. Reasons: peed at home, chewed on the couch, vomited after eating. As you can see, people don't fully understand the responsibility for an animal. It's not a toy you can play with and then throw away”.
The sisters run a Facebook group called "Dobroe serdce" (“Kind heart”), post pictures of their pets, and write posts in the hope of finding them owners. Some volunteers help them with finances, medicines, clothes and food. And that's normal! One dog, Knopochka, who lives with Karina, even has a financial sponsor.
- “All that I earn, I spend on the dogs” - says Karina. – “And the house I rent just because of them, it's expensive, of course. So it can be offensive when they start to slander me in social networks. I try not to pay attention. But sometimes it is so hard both morally and financially. I give up and want to cry. I think I'll just find a new home for each of the dogs and finish this charity work. But then dogs come up, lick you, give you a paw, it becomes easier at once. I understand that everything is not so bad, it is necessary to live further”.
Recently the sisters came across a post on Telegram about a dog sitting on a chain in the basement. The woman who was feeding her informed girls. That dog, Linda, was rescued by Karina and has been living with her since.
- “I wish that people would be kinder, more responsible, and merciful to animals. After all, they also have a soul, a heart, they feel pain, suffering, and just want to be happy” - continues Karina. – “Why to buy expensive dogs? It's better to take a friend from a shelter. It will never abandon and betray, will always be grateful and loving”.
“And if you're indifferent to animals, at least don't hurt or kill them” - added Alisa. “Unfortunately, my mother and I will have to sell our house. We are unlucky with our neighbour. He not only poisons and shoots our dogs, but also sets his pitbull on them, who bitten two of our dogs to death. Our appeal to the Animal protection departments, the City Prosecutor's Office and the Department of Internal Affairs of the Kibray region has not yet yielded results”.
Here is another example of humane treatment of our lesser brothers. The Mushukkent project of the Department of Internal Affairs is being implemented in the capital. The Interior Ministry and the Investigative Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs supported the project and have already built several cat houses. It is said that the cat hostels will appear at all 78 GOMs. Stray cats will not only be fed, but also will receive vaccinations and get passports.
Though, each of us can make a similar cat house. If only we had a desire...
Original Text in Russian prepared by Irina Mirnaya, Tashkent, 06.01.2020