A dog's life

SIMONE STANBROOK-BYRNE discovers how a dog-rescue charity from Eastern Europe is giving traumatised animals a wonderful new life in Devon

- SIMONE STANBROOK-BYRNE

It’s not often that I write a feature for Devon Life and am reduced to tears during the process. I have several friends in Devon with rescued dogs from Eastern Europe, beautiful creatures, all now enjoying loving homes, but each time a new adoptee arrives from overseas I’ve wondered why my friends haven’t adopted from within the UK.

Now I know. The brutal reality of the situation in Eastern Europe, and the photos to corroborate it, is more than harrowing.

Amicii Dog Rescue is a charity that rehomes dogs from Romania. Clare Wright, from South Devon, shares her home and her very full life with Blanche, Audrey, Cleo and Flo, to name but four of her eight dogs. She tells me how her involvement with Amicii started.

“I became aware of Amicii some three years ago when my friend, Jane Bunclark, adopted an orphaned puppy from their shelter in Transylvania. I was looking to rescue a dog that really had no hope of survival. This led me to Blanche, a nine-year-old survivor of one of the Romanian death camps, who to this day will still hit the floor, trembling, if she sees a shadow she is unsure of.”

Death camps? It sounds pretty stark. Clare goes on to explain the politics which have resulted in the current situation. She doesn’t pull any punches.

“There is no equivalent of the RSPCA in Romania. Stray dogs became a problem when the Ceausescu regime forced its people to abandon their farms and villages and move to high-rise buildings in cities to work for the greater good of the communist regime. They had to abandon their dogs, and this created a huge stray issue.