At the start of July 2023 we spent 2 weeks volunteering at Helen's house of hope, a dog shelter in north west Bulgaria. Our previous years Europe trip had included several weeks in Romania and we had been struck by the number of stray dogs roaming the streets. There was very little we could do for any of them other than giving a few handfuls of dog food (or if we had none tuna would very generously 'donate' some of his catfood). So before this trip we had decided to volunteer somewhere and spent some time researching options. Bulgaria has just as much of a problem with stray animals as Romania and it was definitely a country we wanted to spend some time in so Helen's place seemed like an ideal choice.

Esme sticking her nose in

On both trips we were surprised by how friendly and happy a lot of the stray dogs were. Very often when we parked up somewhere new the local 'pack' would come trotting over to investigate us and find out what sort of food was on offer. We never had a single animal growl or snap at us, in fact the only problems we had were when they got too friendly! One particularly scruffy dog we met near horse waterfall in Romania, who we named Matt because of his matted hair, was fond of the odd friendly nip when he got overexcited. This made us wonder whether dog shelters relocating these dogs to homes abroad was really the best solution. After all if the animal is happy where it is what's the harm in leaving it there? I mean other than the fact that they're not neutered or vaccinated so they will inevitably multiply and spread disease?! But if those things can be dealt with and the animal returned to its 'home' wouldn't that be better than subjecting it to a potentially traumatic journey across Europe to a home that could well turn out to be unsuitable?

Lara sitting politely

Because of this we originally wanted to find somewhere that ran a vaccination and neutering programme rather than relocation, but we couldn't really find anywhere suitable. Also it's just not that simple. Many of the dogs Helen looks after for example have come from very difficult situations, they were not happy little street dogs enjoying their freedom before being captured and caged, they were puppies put in a sack and thrown in a hedge, they were dogs owned by people who locked them in dark rooms for days at a time with no food, they were beaten, abused and neglected, they were going to be killed because locals were scared of them. 

Once these dogs had been rescued, vaccinated, neutered, wormed and properly fed then what? They didn't come from a happy little street pack, should they be released anyway to fend for themselves? After putting all that time, effort and money into rehabilitation allowing it to roam the streets and risk serious injury or death seems almost negligent. On the other hand keeping the dogs until a permanent home can be found greatly reduces the number of animals that can be helped purely because of limitations of space (and also any local regulations that may have been issued to restrict the number of dogs at a shelter). I don't know the right answer but doing something is certainly better than doing nothing and helping out even for just 2 weeks at Helen's house of hope was certainly a rewarding experience.

Chuck being friendly as usual

Buck also being friendly!

We met a lot of dogs! Every volunteer ends up with a few favourites and I was no different - Chuck, Cleo, Sheba, Pancha, Captain and Buck in case you were wondering. Pancha is a Karakachan, a very heavy long haired Bulgarian mountain dog whose favourite trick is to lie down when you’re trying to walk her and refuse to move until you give her a treat. Cleo was another very chilled big dog who seems to run in slow motion. Sheba was a bit grumpy and been known to bite people on occasion but we got on very well. Chuck, Buck and Captain were all very friendly and extremely mental. Great fun to walk and give a bit of extra attention to in between the volunteer jobs even if it did come at the cost of a few ruined clothes..

Buster giving me the eye

The volunteers day consists of 2-3 hours in the early morning feeding and walking all the dogs, and the same again in the afternoon. Other than that you can spend your time how you wish, we spent quite a bit of extra time with the dogs, getting a few photos for the website and trying a few simple training techniques to improve some of their behaviour. While we were there we found time to get Tuna down to the vet in an attempt to resolve his scratching obsession (a partial success) and also got the motorhome suspension fixed and ready to continue its ongoing battle with the Bulgarian roads. Helen also took the volunteers to a couple of BBQs with the local expat community, a colourful bunch! When the first person you’re introduced to is a 6’4 transvestite you know it’s going to be an interesting evening but perhaps its best to leave all that for the inevitable reality tv series.