ACTIVITY REPORT 2015
ACTIVITY OF NUCA 2015 - FACTS AND FIGURES 854 animals neutered,
which: 175 dogs and 60 cats,
580 dogs neutered, microchipped and registered (of which 80% females), 274 cats neutered,
198 successful adoptions in the country and abroad,
500 dogs microchipped in Bonțida with the help of NUCA, More than 400 animals helped with veterinary treatments, 235 animals taken over in foster, of
Participation to over 15 information and education events.
Neutering and identification by registered microchipping of owned dogs represent two of the most important solutions to abandonment reduction and owners accountability improvement, both leading to a better life for the dog.
Neutering and identification
NEUTERING AND IDENTIFICATION OF PETS Throughout the year 2015 we continued to neuter owned and stray pets and we cooperated with other volunteers or persons whenever our help was required in this matter. Neutering leads to abandonment reduction by prevention of birth of tens of unwanted puppies/kittens and has a positive effect on the health and welfare of dogs and cats. All the dogs neutered throughout this year by our association were also microchipped and registered, as we have been doing since 2012! The number of cats neutered by our association in 2015 has significantly increased and we have lent cage traps and lodge cages to tens of persons who needed them to catch and neuter the cats they were taken care of in their neighborhood. Thus, over the year 2015 we have succeeded in neutering approximately 500 animals by means of the veterinary practices we work with.
The neutering campaign of 12-14 June 2015 took place in the commune of Cojocna and targeted the pet owners in the commune and the associated villages: Boj-Cătun, Boju, Cara, Huci, Iuriu de Câmpie, MoriČ™ti, Straja 280 pets neutered, microchipped and registered in only 3 days, 254 dogs and 26 cats.
Neutering and identification
Free neutering and microchipping campaign Cojocna 12-14 June 2015 The campaign in Cojocna was one of the most difficult in terms of interaction with the local community. Although neutering is mandatory for more than a year now and although we have provided this service for free, together with microchipping and anti-rabies vaccination, many people were unwilling and very few made appointments and came with their pets during the three day campaign. Nevertheless, we have succeeded to neuter, microchip and vaccinate against rabies approximately 280 pets and we have even set a record: 121 animals neutered in one day (Saturday), together with the Romania Animal
Rescue vet team. As we have done in other marathons, we have also cared for the further welfare of the dogs, we have advised people, we have donated collars, leashes, safety hooks, and we have groomed dogs and provided the minimum medical care they needed. We met animals that we have helped with subsequent medical treatments in the veterinary practices and Cluj, where the owners cannot afford the costs. Unfortunately, after this marathon too we had to take over several animals, dogs or cats, unwanted or in danger.
Campania de sterilizare din 12-15 iunie s-a desfasurat in comuna Cojocna si s-a adresat detinatorilor de animale din comuna si localitatile Boj-Cătun, Boju, Cara, Huci, Iuriu de Câmpie, Moriști, Straja 280 animale de companie sterilizate, microcipate şi înregistrate in doar 3 zile, 254 câini şi 26 pisici
Neutering and identification
Follow-up of neutering in Cojocna During the marathon we conducted in June in Cojocna, we have met several cases of female dogs that had recently given birth and could not be neutered at the time, as the puppies were too young. At approximately one month and a half after the campaign we went back to that commune to take 11 of these female dogs to be neutered. These were neutered and vaccinated, and the owned ones were microchipped, registered and received a new health record booklet. Several inhabitants who have not neutered their pets during the campaign have also asked us to neuter their dogs. In addition, several dogs were taken to Cluj to receive medical-veterinary treatments or surgeries their owners could not afford. We are aware that our work does not end once the marathon is over and we know that we will have to go back to continue.
Neutering and identification
Free ongoing neutering and microchipping campaign, Huedin 2015 The neutering and microchipping activity in Huedin continued after the last year marathon and will continue as long as there are donations to support this action. Due to the large number of requests for the neutering of dogs and cats, we have established cooperation with a veterinary clinic in the town of Huedin, where we perform ongoing and free neutering for low-income owners of dogs and cats in town or in the surrounding villages and communes. Besides neutering, the dogs are also microchipped, registered and they get a new health record booklet. The interested persons just have to call to make an appointment and to come with their pets for the surgery. Through this collaboration, throughout the year, 80 dogs were neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and registered in the veterinary practice in Huedin, together with 44 neutered cats, totaling 124 animals. We thank to all those who would like to support us by donations so that this project can continue!
Neutering and identification
Ongoing collaboration with the veterinary practices Throughout the year 2015, Nuca Animal Welfare association has cooperated with the most experienced and professional vets in Cluj-Napoca. This made it possible for us to help more than 350 dogs, cats, birds and other pets, with treatments and veterinary services that their owners or people who were taking care of them could not afford due to the precarious financial situation. In 2015 we have dealt with over 35 very difficult cases, animals that we fostered pursuant to some accidents, which required surgery and prolonged treatments, as well as recovery for several months, and for many of these animals the process is not yet completed. By the help of the veterinary practices in Cluj-Napoca, in 2015 we provided help for the neutering, registration and microchipping of approximately 500 dogs and cats.
Thanks to the donation from the Zwerfhonden Roemenie association in Holland, our organization was able to purchase and donate 500 microchips to the vet in Bonţida for dogs whose owners could not afford to pay these costs.
Neutering and identification
Microchipping in Bonțida After the neutering and microchipping marathon in Bonţida in 2014, we continued to inquire about the situation of the dogs in the commune. Unfortunately, we learned from the vet in the village that many puppies were left without microchips after the mandatory anti-rabies vaccination campaign. This is due to the poor financial situation of the owners, who are unable or unwilling to bear the costs of the microchip implant.
To support the dogs owned by people who cannot afford to comply with the regulations and to continue the effects of our campaign in 2014, this fall we have donated 500 microchips to be implanted and registered free of charge by the veterinarians in Bonţida. We thus hope that soon we can make the announcement that all or at least most of the dogs in Bonțida are microchipped and registered.
In 2015 NUCA association participated to more than 15 information and education events, with particular emphasis on humananimal interaction and pet owners’ accountability, key points for abandonment obstruction and improvement of pets welfare.
Education and information
INCREASING ACCOUNTABILITY THROUGH EDUCATION AND INFORMATION Through campaigns, projects and daily activities we do our best to accurately inform the population on the source of animal suffering and on the solutions that can bring positive and lasting changes to the future life of pets. Pet owners’ accountability is the most important and the biggest challenge for NUCA. The main activities with highest impact on the general mentality that we are trying to conduct continuously are: educating and informing the population in all manners and using all possible
channels. But if these attempts are not efficient and if there is evidence in this regard we also address notices to the competent authorities to sanction irresponsible owners. Besides participating to events, our daily schedule also includes replying to complaints that we receive by phone, by mail or by Facebook posts.
Empathy, care for animals and a healthy mentality are formed from the youngest ages. Therefore we consider that it is necessary to pay special attention to actions in schools and kindergartens. Our association has prepared modules for three age groups and we gladly go to the classes we are invited to or welcomed.
Education and information
Education campaigns in schools A “different” kind of school In the spring we had an interactive course at the Avram Iancu High School, with the 5th B class. On this occasion, we met again some of the students who participated to a similar course in 2014. To our surprise and joy, we found that students apprehended the essential aspects from last year, so that we were able to raise the level of discussions. On the practical part of the course we were helped by Nora and Alla who performed various simple commands given by students and received treats.
Secondary school in Cojocna In June we went to the school in Cojocna where we taught a course on the responsibility of having a pet. To our disappointment, the children were not open to the idea: dogs are beautiful when they are puppies, then they become “animals” that should live chained up in the yard without paying any attention to them. We talked about neutering and about microchipping, a new topic to them. We regret that only 25 km away from Cluj-Napoca, there are children who have not developed empathy for animals, but for us this is a challenge and we will go back to change this situation.
Education and information
Educational posters In 2015 we managed to draft a poster where Nuk, our mascot, explained the language of dogs for everyone to understand. The poster included also the mandatory directions to properly interact with an unknown dog that we meet on the street. The poster was printed in 500 copies and it was received with smiles and encouragement. “The language of dogs� was shown for the first time on the hallways of the Cluj County School Inspectorate, and then displayed in other schools and kindergartens, veterinary practices and many public places in the city and in the county. The campaign continues in 2016 and will remain a challenge for us, so that this poster reaches as many schools in Cluj county and, if possible, schools in other counties, too.
In 2015 Nuca association has organized or participated to various public activities and events, for the main purpose of raising the accountability of people through information and education, of increasing the pets quality of life in any way and of preventing or reducing the dog and cat abandonment.
Education and information
Information and education during the events Throughout 2015 we were present at various events, television or radio shows, among which: - Human-Animal Interaction Day, the 8th (information stand) and 9th edition, where we had an information stand and we held a presentation about the needs and care of disabled animals. - FânFest Festival, August 2015 - workshop for children on “How to make the acquaintance of a dog”. It is the forth participation of NUCA to this festival already. - Dog Alternative Festival, the 3rd edition, Vlaha, 23 August 2015 - informative stand. In this festival we won 2 awards with the dogs Nora and Doru, and we granted the Nuca award to the dog Angie, adopted after being found abandoned on the street around Christmas time. - Participation to the Home Town 2.1 - august 2015 - open discussions about responsible ownership of a dog - The NGOs forum, 21 September 2015 - information stand and informal meeting with other NGOs - Streunerfestival Berlin, October 2015 - information stand developed with the help of our colleague Elfy Adloff - Christmas Fair, Emerson, 15 December 2015, handmade products by the NUCA volunteers, products that were sold for the benefit of our animals in foster
Education and information
Children and animals - an initiative of Nuca “Children and pets” is a debated issue in our country. The birth of a child is frequently the reason for abandoning or giving away the pets. At the same time, many families purchase a pet “for the child” as a result of a hasty decision, and then cannot / no longer want to take responsibility. By this on-line campaign and by the social media group that we created, we want to encourage the change of mentality of raising children in the company of dogs or cats by
positive examples provided by parents, pediatricians, veterinarians or psychologists, but also by articles and specialized studies scientifically demonstrating what we already knew for a long time from practice. We appreciate the joining of any new member and any contribution: https://www.facebook.com/groups/19217908 78046825/
Following up on the actions from the previous years, in 2015 NUCA has conducted the campaign “Adopt a dog from the city dog pound” over a period of 3 months. As a result of this campaign, 18 dogs went to their adoption or foster homes, of which 3 were taken by our association.
Education and information
Adopt an abandoned dog from the city dog pound Each month, in the Stray Dogs Management Center in Cluj (city dog pound) more than 200 abandoned dogs are waiting; their loneliness and sadness cannot be described in words, and for these dogs adoption is the last and only chance. Although these are special dogs, few have the chance of finding a home. Hunger, cold and suffering make them less attractive than the “dogs in the windows” or the “super deals”, but appearances are deceptive: they are often more beautiful and healthier, even if they are “for free”! The number of dogs abandoned in Cluj every month and picked up by the dog shelter is large,
but unfortunately those who leave this place for a better life are very few. The NUCA campaign aims to encourage the responsible adoption of the dogs from the dog shelter and adopters who went home with a dog during this period were gifted with a beautiful kit of accessories and a package of basic training and socializing sessions. Certainly, by this campaign, dozens of people, potential adopters saw the beauty of the dogs waiting there for their last chance and we would like to thank the following photographers: Claudiu Guraliuc, Adriana Becichi and Diana Costea for their wonderful photos.
Education and information
PERFECTLY IMPERFECT - a NUCA campaign PERFECTLY IMPERFECT - a NUCA campaignLaunched in the winter of 2015 by an exhibition of photography, the “Perfectly imperfect” campaign intends to bring support, information and even to unite the community of those who have adopted a disabled animal or foster such an animal or those who want to know what it means to take care of a disabled animal and, maybe, to adopt one in the future. We want to show everyone that the cases where a disabled animal may lead a perfect life in the family are very frequent, if we are open to teach others how to give the little extra help it needs. Therefore, we created a Facebook page to gather articles, useful information and practical advice on how to take care of these pets, as well as links to pages containing the necessary accessories. On the group of the same name we want to publicize beautiful stories told by the owners of some disabled dogs or cats, share their experiences or help with advice. We know that the happy life of an animal depends on the love and care it receives and not on the number of legs, eye clarity or length of the tail.
Many thanks to Cătălin Grigoriu for the photos and to the Reactor creation and experiment team Cluj, for the support provided in completing this exhibition
Education and information
Media appearances TVR: https://www.facebook.com/tvrcluj/videos/911517882234799/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R03owl667cQ&feature=youtu.be Look TV: https://www.facebook.com/ZiuaBunaTV/videos/1719902678243968/ Deosebit de perfect: http://tinyurl.com/jy8yd38 http://www.ziardecluj.ro/deosebit-de-perfecti-viata-unui-catel-cu-handicap-e-la-fel-de-valoroasa-caoricarui-alt-animal HCL: http://tinyurl.com/hqzrxk9 s http://tinyurl.com/gpfz5sa http://www.ziardecluj.ro/clujul-nu-are-nici-dupa-un-de-sfortare-un-regulament-modern-privind-cainii Cum am castigat in instanta http://www.ziardecluj.ro/iubitorii-de-caini-au-obtinut-instanta-anularea-partiala-hcl-de-pe-vremea-luifunar Maraton Cojocna: http://gazetadecluj.ro/asociatia-nuca-duce-mai-departe-campania-de-sterilizari-gratuite-12-14-iunie-lacojocna/
Legislation and referrals
LEGISLATION In 2015 Nuca Animal Welfare Association has made several complaints regarding dog abandonment and irresponsible ownership. Following these complaints, both the Police Department in Cluj-Napoca and the Cluj DSVSA inspector in charge with animal welfare have conducted checkups and have imposed fines to guilty persons, in one situation even a criminal case was opened for abandonment. From the experience in 2015 we can say that the state authorities responsible with the control and punishment intervene when seised. To educate the population on the procedure used when deviations from the animal protection law are identified, and on how to write complaints or referrals to the competent authorities, NUCA was in 2015, too, available to those concerned with information and procedural support.
The changing of mentality through education and information is a lengthy process which must be supported by an appropriate and properly implemented legislation to maximize the results.
Legislation and referrals
A new local council regulation HCL 354/2015 On October 14th HCL no. 354 of 2015 was adopted, being concerned with the regulation of access and ownership of dogs in the municipality of Cluj-Napoca. The NUCA project, submitted since 2011, was the starting point and the guide for this new local regulation. Nuca Association representatives participated in 2014 and 2015 to all meetings organized by the Cluj-Napoca City Hall to create the new regulation. Being part of the working group, NUCA pursued closely the entire content of the new HCL and constantly intervened to obtain as
many rights for the dog owners. NUCA Animal Welfare Association was therefore the only animal protection association in Cluj and one of the few in Romania which has significantly contributed to the existence of local legislation in line with national and European legislation. We are proud to announce that the new HCL regulation also includes protection and welfare norms and, for the first time in the Romanian legislation, the definition of the term “foster�.
Pet Rescue
PET RESCUE The main goal of the NUCA association is to stop the abandonment and we act primarily on the cause of the problem. Yet, our daily work consists largely in saving abandoned pets in Cluj or its surroundings, within the logistical and financial possibilities. Unfortunately, many of the cases we took over this year were dogs and cats which suffered accidents and required long and expensive surgeries and treatments. Thus, in 2015, our association has taken more than 35 injured animals, in serious or critical condition and currently 15 of them are still in the recovery process. As it was impossible to retrieve all the animals from the dozens of complaints we received every month, our association has always provided support in the rescue process to persons who wanted to help a pet, offering free or low-cost neutering, obtaining discounts for treatments, helping with promotion, mediating adoptions, giving advice related to adoption or other medical or behavioral problems.
Pet Rescue
PET RESCUE - Happy cases More than 175 dogs and approximately 60 cats came this year in the care of our association, being taken into the foster system. At the end of 2015, we had about 160 dogs and cats in foster care. More than 180 pets have arrived to their final homes this year, being given up for adoption in the country and abroad.
Pet Rescue
PET RESCUE - Successful local adoptions We are happy every time a pet finds its “humans” and moves to its home. In 2015 we had many successful local adoptions and fewer people gave up their pets, compared to previous years.
We thank the partner associations for the good cooperation and their support: - NUCA in Deutschland - Grenzenlose Notfelle (Germany) and - Zwerfhonden Roemenie (The Netherlands)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank all those who supported us throughout the year and who helped us to conduct our activities: - NUCA fosters and volunteers - NUCA paying members, - Those who gave us 2%, - Those who donated. - Companies that have sponsored our campaigns or events with money or products. - The veterinary clinics in Cluj and the veterinarians who cooperated with us. - Media partners in various events.
Many thanks for donations and involvement to: The following associations: RAR Romania, Pluto e.V., Dakota e.V, Esperanza Hoop voor Honden, Hunde der Welt The persons in Germany who supported our activity by money, food or accessory donations for dogs and cats. Our collaborators in Cluj: Dog training Joker K9, Ray’s Pet Salon.
We would like to pay tribute to our volunteers Maria Costea and Ligia Blidariu, who left us in 2015
Asociatia NUCA Animal Welfare www.nuca.org.ro contact@nuca.org.ro www.facebook.com/asociatianuca Tax number: 29 265 286 Lei account: RO18 RNCB 0112 1384 7950 0001 Euro account: RO88 RNCB 0112 1384 7950 0002 Banca Comercială Româna (BCR) Lei account: RO77 WBAN 2511 0000 6250 0273, Euro account: RO57 WBAN 2511 0220 6250 0273, San Paolo Intessa Bank Paypal: donate@nuca.org.ro