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New Residents at the Sochi Dog Shelter

Over the past few weeks we welcomed a few new dogs to the shelter! 
Check out their stories and follow along because soon they'll be ready to go home. 

 

Mr. Joe

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Mr. Joe liked to hang out by an apartment complex. Longing for a home of his own he would always come running when people were walking their dogs or kids we're playing on the playground. Nobody knew where he came from so it's likely he was abandoned by his owners. Sochi Dogs volunteer Misha brought him to the shelter.  Mr. Joe will be available for adoption in October. He has a slight limp and a very loving personality! 

Roxie

Roxie is just 5 months old. She was brought to our vet by someone who found her laying down on the side of the road after being hit by a car. She was treated by our vet and made a complete recovery! Roxie is a very smart and friendly girl! She will be ready for adoption in September. 

Mona

Mona was found by Masha's friend back in June. She fostered her and taught her to walk on a leash and go outside. Mona loves car-rides especially if they mean making new friends! She at the shelter and ready for adoption. 

Neman

Neman was found living on the street and is slowing settling in and meeting dogs at the shelter. Once Neman is acclimated, we'll be looking for the perfect home. 

 

 

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Anna Umansky

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Rescue Update: Puppy Love

Rescued from outside a construction site on May 14, when they were just 2 months old this little of six has grown into beautiful puppies all with unique personalities! Below is a short video of how they were found late at night. Scroll down to see their transformation at the shelter. 

 
 

Two weeks later at the shelter: Everything is still very new so the gang is sticking close together. 

Two months later: Life is good! Everyone loves treats and attention and they can't wait for visitors. 

Three months later: Wishes come true! Two Sochi Dogs adopters, Emily and Ann visit the shelter to volunteer and they get showered with puppy kisses! 

Today: The crew is almost ready to go home! Check out their individual pages and put in your applications.
Meet the playful Jellybean, social butterfly Allan, cuddle-bug Rex, silly Pluto, sweetheart Zigi, and the quiet gentleman Nikolai. 

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Sochi Expedition 2017: The Rescue

Tanya Umansky, one of Sochi Dogs’ co-founders travelled to the shelter this spring. Over the next few weeks, she’ll be sharing her experience on the blog.

The Rescue

As I’m writing this, Sochi Dogs has adopted 218 dogs. Some of them stayed at the shelter just for just a couple of months and other lived there for 1- 3 years before they found forever homes. I remember all of these dogs by name and how they got to the shelter.  I created web pages with their photos and stories, often gave them names, and met many of them at JFK airport, but I never had a chance to rescue a dog myself. So I was very excited to have this opportunity during my visit to Sochi. 

Just a day before I came to Sochi Masha got a tip that the city beach will be cleaned from dogs before the season starts on June 1st and she knew of two dogs living on that beach, a mother and daughter pair. They survived on food scarps from a nearby store and cafe. 

Time was running out and next evening Masha and I drove to the beach.  We parked quite far and started looking for dogs.

 
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We walked around search but there were no dogs and almost no people. We started to worry that we will not see them today.  And suddenly success - they appeared out of nowhere. They came to us but they did not want to go with us. It took some convincing but we were able to catch them and carry them to the car. 

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They looked a bit stressed when we arrived to the shelter.  We put them separately in a closed kennel and gave them lots of food and water.

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Now Sandy and Julie are safe, fed and loved at the shelter. But the last big step is ahead - we need to find them a family.  These girls are friendly, social and very attached to each other. Ideally, we would want them to be adopted together.  

 
 
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Sochi Expedition 2017: The Shelter

Tanya Umansky, one of Sochi Dogs’ co-founders travelled to the shelter this spring. Over the next few weeks, she’ll be sharing her experience on the blog.

The Shelter

On a slope of a mountain, behind an 8-foot high fence, at the end of a long road, sits the Sochi Dogs Shelter. This place has been a safe haven for almost 300 dogs already.  I had the opportunity to spend time at this amazing place, but before I tell you what I did, I want to give you a sense of how everything works.

The dogs get to the shelter hungry, scared, dirty, infected with parasites and sometimes injured. First, they get a bath. There is a small bathroom with a little tub in the corner.  After that, they stay in a special quarantine area until they are ready and it's safe for them to join the other dogs.

The bathroom is also used as a living space for a few “special” dogs, who do not stay in the kennels and for as many dogs as possible in the winter time when it's cold out. It’s hard to tell what gives someone the privilege to be a special dog, but Vlada and Masha decide!

Most of the dogs stay in kennels, 2 to 5 dogs together.  The kennels are very simple, there are dog houses on a concrete floor. Due to Sochi’s temperate climate, they are not heated. Everyday (weather permitting), dogs go out in groups to have free play and time to run around on the grass field.  

Masha cleans the kennels, a few times a day!  I try to help, believe me, it's not an easy job. I can’t imagine how difficult it is in winter.

Now onto food, the most important part of shelter life according to any dog you ask! There is a “dog kitchen” with two gas stoves, two gas tanks, and a freezer.   Masha makes 6 to 8 high pots of stew every day. It takes about 3 hours to cook.  The stew is made from oats with beef or chicken, sunflower oil and carrots.  The pots are huge! They are very heavy to lift.  Masha lifts them and pours them into buckets to distribute around the shelter.

With so much work, the day at the shelter starts early, around 7 AM.  First, we visit the puppy area where Vlad is the permanent supervisor.  The special dog team wants to go with us,  but we ask them to stay outside.

 
 

After we check in on everyone, the cooking starts. Cooking and cleaning take almost two-thirds of the day. In the afternoon it's time for training, brushing, shopping, taking a dog to the vet or very rare short break.

Sometimes potential adopters ask us, what toys the dog would like, or what kind of food does it prefer or what kind of bed would be better for her/him.  Or some people even say, “they look so happy maybe they do not want to leave the shelter.” Believe me, they will like and appreciate any food you give them, they will be very happy sleeping on dog bed (or your bed would be even better) and they will love just hanging out with you. They are wonderfully smart and they want to have a family to love more than anything else.
Please consider adopting a rescue dog from our shelter or any other shelter.