The first winter storms have hit Dubrovnik and the harsh reality of defending the dogs of Dubrovnik is there for all to see. Because the City of Dubrovnik is waging a campaign against the Zarkovica Animal Shelter, the 300 dogs that stay there have to be guarded day and night. Zarkovica’s dogs have no proper shelter, no running water or electricity. All they have is the love and determination of a handful of incredibly brave women.
Once before, in the middle of the night, the mayor of Dubrovnik illegally sent men, supported by armed police, to take the dogs to places they would be killed. He didn’t get away with it that time because his actions were illegal and he was forced to back down, but the dogs are in real danger so volunteers sleep at the shelter ready to defend them with their lives.
High winds and rain have lashed the shelter and our pictures show where Zarkovica founder Sandra Sambrailo sleeps at night – in an abandoned freight container – her only warmth coming from the loving dogs and how she has to carry heavy containers up a mountainside to give the dogs water. All because the richest city in Croatia won’t build a proper shelter or give Zarkovica the help it needs.
While Dubrovnik plays host to thousands of tourists who enjoy the city’s famous beauty, the richest city in Croatia is putting the lives of dogs and dog lovers at risk and keeping the money they promised for a new shelter. This is an outrage that shames the entire country. We have written to city officials and demanded an explanation. They have none.
Please help us stop this horrible injustice and support us in our determination to get a new deal for dogs in distress in Dubrovnik.
