Rudozem Street Dog Rescue (RSDR) is a non-profit foundation that rescues Street Dogs in Bulgaria and finds loving homes for them.
In August
2007, the Rowles
family - Diane and
Tony Rowles and
their 4 children, 4
dogs and 2 cats
decided to make the
move to Bulgaria to
have a more peaceful
life from the busy
lifestyle in the
UK. The Rowles
bought a family
property in the
outskirts of Rudozem
and a renovation
property an hours
drive away in the
middle of a
village.
After living in Bulgaria for a few months, the family saw the plight of the street dogs and started feeding them and patting them. They were shocked by the locals reactions and abuse towards the street dogs and saw dogs spat on, kicked or had stones thrown at them. They continued to feed the dogs on the streets when they could out of their own money.
In early 2008, their youngest son Luke, befriended a street dog named Ranger, and the dog started following him. Ranger became the families first rescue dog when a man was trying to shoot him. You can read about Rangers story on this link.
Over the next few months other street dogs went home to the Rowles family. (You can see stories about Bigdog, Tallulah, Snoopy and Foxy) on the Photo Gallery.) At the time the families only intention was keeping these dogs that the Rowles children had brought home as pets only.
However, with the continuing street dogs needing to be fed on the streets, it was getting harder and harder not do do something, so the family decided in September 2008, that they would start a foundation to help rescue more street dogs and find them loving homes.
Rudozem Street Dog Rescue (RSDR) officially become a registered foundation in March 2009, by a Bulgarian lawyer. With the registration in place, the family arranged with an adoption team in Holland to find homes for the dogs they rescue.
The municipality of Rudozem also told the Rowles family (RSDR) they would provide them with land to build a shelter. This was great news at the time, so they could build a shelter away from the town so as not to upset neighbors with the noise from the barking dogs. Unfortunately a few months later, the family was told by the Municipality that they could no longer provide land for them that year or the following year.
The family have since converted most of their own family home, so they could look after the street dogs that need rescuing the most and have these dogs put up for adoption.
They have built pens in the backyard, and some of the dogs live in the family home inside. It is very crowded and they have limited space.
There
has been a lot of wonderful offers from
people to come to Rudozem to help build
a shelter but unfortunately at this
stage there is no land to build on and
nowhere the RSDR can provide for
volunteers to stay. If the RSDR have
land purchased, then volunteers can stay
on the land in tents or stay in one of
the self-contained apartments in the
town they can rent, to help build the
shelter.