In Romanian, 'Speranta' means 'Hope', which is precisely what the staff strive to give to the 550 dogs currently accommodated at the shelter. Many of these animals have incredibly sad stories, with some of them having been severely abused, and now, are slowly recovering and trying to regain trust in people. Some of the dogs have severe injuries and trauma and will probably never fully recover. Love is paramount, followed by comprehensive medical care. Of course, all the dogs in the shelter are for adoption as soon as they are ready to go into a new caring and loving home.

Speranta provides a temporary home for former stray dogs, and FOUR PAWS supports the shelter financially to make the dogs' stay as comfortable as possible before they are rehomed. 

During winter, the animals can enjoy isolated kennels where they can rest comfortably. In 2016, FOUR PAWS installed a veterinary clinic in Speranta, where trained veterinarians can provide desperately needed medical care to the dogs. More recently, FOUR PAWS rebuilt the playground area and refurbished a part of the shelter kennels.

As space in the shelter is limited, many dogs live in socialised groups. The shelter staff makes continuous efforts in taking care of the animals and volunteers also walk the dogs.

The team in the shelter Speranta heard of a dog hit by a car in Vaslui, a small city in Eastern Romania. The person who unintentionally hit the animal took him all the way to Bucharest to bring him to Speranța - with the hope that the vet team would be able to help and save him. After thorough examinations, dog Ion was diagnosed with two broken legs. Within a few days, he underwent two very long surgeries and was given two rods and a metal plate. The recovery period will take time and patience considering the complexity and seriousness of the injuries, but we are confident that Ion will be able to walk again one day.

Given the current challenging situation with COVID-19, stray animals need our help more than ever. Recently, someone found a very badly injured dog on a wasteland near Bucharest 🇷🇴 . After multiple unresponsive requests for help, the person desperately posted a video on social media of the dog crying, shivering and crawling on the ground. When our colleagues from Animals Society came across the awful video, they immediately rushed to the place where the dog was lying. When they arrived on-site, the team noticed the dog was suffering a lot from his injuries and trauma, which they believed were caused by a car accident. Despite the horrifying state he was in, the dog still managed to show signs of happiness in his eyes and he remained hopeful. Determined to save him, the team rushed to the veterinary clinic of our partner shelter Speranta, where the dog could be fully examined by our vet team. It appeared that, besides being paraplegic, he was extremely malnourished and would need extensive care at the shelter.

The team decided to name him Bucur, meaning 'joy' in Romanian. Because he will never be able to use his hind legs again, Bucur will receive physiotherapy treatments and a specially tailored dog wheelchair to lead a normal life again, just like the other eight paraplegic dogs at the shelter. Bucur is about four to five years old and despite his terrible past, he is very gentle and loves to play. He will be cared for and protected by the shelter staff, making sure his handicap will not stop him from being a young and playful dog.