Some Sochi strays going to Canada
Kennel says 314 people in Russia, overseas want to adopt homeless dogs
At least four Canadians wish to adopt stray dogs from a shelter in the Olympic city, according to a spokeswoman for the kennel.
The Canadians are among 314 people in Russia and overseas who have asked to take in dogs that might otherwise be killed in a controversial cull designed to rid Sochi of more than 2,000 strays. Authorities say the dogs pose a threat to public health, while the exterminator referred to them as “biological trash” that had, in at least one case, “bitten a child.”
Strays have always thrived in Sochi because of its pleasant Mediterranean climate. But their numbers multiplied greatly when they were fed by the tens of thousands of construction workers who spent several years preparing Olympic sites. Those workers then abandoned the dogs when they returned to their homes in other parts of the country or in nearby former Soviet republics, which Russians call “the near abroad.”
The homeless dogs have been a constant feature of the XXII Olympic Winter Games. One intrepid mongrel was seen last week watching the opening ceremony a few metres from where patrons had paid more than $ 1,000 for a prime seat to the extravaganza, which attracted a global audience of billions of people. Whether the dog was “planted” to embarrass Russia — as some posts on Twitter said the Russians claimed — is unknown.
A bitch and her two almost grown- up pups frolicked for a while before basking for hours in the sunshine a few days ago only 50 metres from the finish line of the Olympic snowboard piste. Strays have been spotted at almost every Olympic venue and are a constant presence in side streets near the Black Sea coast.
“We are really surprised that this issue has attracted so much attention,” said the spokeswoman for PovoDog, which is a play on words that combines the Russian word “povodok” for leash and the English word for “man’s best friend.”
Aiding the cause, slopestyle skiing silver medallist Gus Kenworthy of the U. S. tweeted photos of himself with the puppies he said he intended to take back with him to Colorado.
The plan for other Sochi dogs bound for homes and families in the U. S. and Canada is to airlift them to Washington, said the spokeswoman, who asked that her name not be used. Aeroflot, Russia’s flag carrier, has offered to fly them across the Atlantic for free.
“I imagine those Canadians who are adopting these dogs will arrange to get them to Canada once they have landed in Washington,” said the spokeswoman.
Information about the process can be found on PovoDog’s Facebook page, which poignantly asks: “Do you want to adopt a dog.”
Some dogs have already begun the processing required for the long journey, the spokeswoman said. That process involves export papers, medical clearances and appropriate vaccines to prevent diseases such as rabies.
“These dogs are not dangerous, but they are street dogs so some of them have health issues that are being cured before they are adopted,” she said.
“People really love these dogs because they are very friendly. The Olympics have provided a great chance to find homes for them.”
The recently opened PovoDog shelter now cares for 150 dogs, as well as some stray cats. By the end of next week, when journalists have been invited to tour the facility, there will be enough kennels for 250 dogs. The shelter’s expansion project is the result of an unexpected donation by Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, who made his fortune in the 1990s by cornering the Russian aluminum market and has since taken control of much of the world’s aluminum production.
Deripaska, who Forbes Russia reckons is worth at least $ 8 billion, has spoken of how he was moved by the plight of Sochi’s homeless dogs. The oligarch, who is said to be a favourite of Russian President Vladimir Putin, spent his summers as a child on the Black Sea coast. He fondly recalled a stray his family took in, not far from where the Olympics are now taking place.
“My first dog I found in the street of my village, ( in) the tiny village ( where I grew up),” PovoDog’s benefactor told the BBC. “It was a very close friend for five years.”
It is harder to keep a dog as a pet in Russia than, for example, Canada, because Russians tend to live in crowded one- and two- room apartments. Nevertheless, it is common anywhere in the country to see dogs out for a stroll with their masters, even in the dead of winter in places much colder than Sochi.
“I would not say that foreigners love dogs more than Russians do, but the foreigners who are here now for the Olympics can see the problem for themselves,” PovoDog’s spokeswoman said. “Russians who adopt these dogs do not get so much attention. They just come and take them home. It isn’t as easy as that if the dogs are going to the U. S. or Canada.”