Based on a public procurement conducted by the City of Bjelovar, the Bjelovar Veterinary Station will care for the stray dogs in the Bjelovar area. The animal shelter is located in the village of Severin and currently cares for 109 dogs. In addition to dogs from the Bjelovar area, the shelter also takes care of dogs from nine municipalities. The four-year care contract is worth two million kuna, and about 240,000 kuna has been used so far, reports Vecernji List.
“I would say this is a real dog hotel. The property is really beautiful, very well decorated, and has all the important elements. Bjelovar Veterinary Station is a very serious company with 45 employees who do a great job. About 120 dogs pass through the shelter annually. We are glad that they have been adopted quite successfully, which is the main goal of this whole story. I want to thank the “Šapa” Society for the Protection of Animals and Mrs. Marija Horvat, with whom the City of Bjelovar had excellent cooperation. However, the current space is more adequate, there is a lot more space for dogs, and they have everything they need, from veterinary care, food, space for running, sleeping, and the like,” said Igor Brajdić, Deputy Mayor of Bjelovar.
The problem of abandoned dogs is one of the burning issues both in Bjelovar and in the surrounding area. According to Brajdić, the only way is to educate and inform citizens in cooperation with the Bjelovar Veterinary Station. The city’s municipal warden is regularly on the ground, he claims, and has a very extensive job, including caring for abandoned animals. He called on interested citizens to consider adopting abandoned dogs. The head of the animal shelter in Severin revealed details regarding the shelter’s operation, capacity, and operation.
“Our facility had to comply with the Ordinance on the care of abandoned animals. For this reason, we have invested considerable financial resources in arranging the shelter. The inspection confirmed one of the best shelters in Croatia, perhaps the highest quality. There are a total of 32 of them in the country. Our shelter can accommodate up to 180 dogs, and the most important thing is that we have adopted about 120 of them in a year. The shelter employs four people, one doctor, two technicians, and another employee. During the morning, the shelter is cleaned, dogs are washed and fed, followed by treatment and therapy. For the time being, we are performing surgical procedures in the outpatient clinic in Bjelovar, but we also have one room here, and we can do some smaller procedures. We also arranged a food warehouse and a large bathroom for washing and caring for dogs,” says veterinarian Ante Ćorić.
The municipal warden is obliged to inform the shelter about any stray dogs, after which someone from the shelter goes out on the field and checks if the dog is chipped. In any case, the animal is taken to the shelter, and if it has a chip, the owner is notified, who bears all the costs incurred.
“In case the dog is not chipped, we get in touch with the veterinary inspection, which can help us a lot. The municipal warden is very important, and we have excellent cooperation with them. Some local governments often do not understand that they are a specific service for citizens and have to take care of stray dogs, i.e., the problems that arise from that. At the Severin dog shelter, all dogs have been neutered. After the arrival of a new dog, it stays in the shelter for some time before castration,” explains Ćorić and adds that the adoption process is straightforward; all that is needed is goodwill, as well as love for dogs.
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