My name is Alexandra Sarau,
I am an animal rescuer in Romania
May 12th, 2014 - I could have never made a better description of us than Carmen did.
I for example, have had big dreams and I have kind of abandoned them for my doggies. I have more than 50 rescued dogs at home now and 12 cats.
It is true that I do not own a home and I must pay rent, I do not have clothes anymore as I am not buying myself almost anything and I am only 33 years old. I have moved in June last year in a house in the middle of a field 20 km away of my birth city, a house where I do not have water, or a toilet, or furniture.
I have given up everything, yes... and I have sacrificed also my health. Last time I have visited my doctor, it was only because of a great pain in the back and I have discovered, almost at the limit, that I had pneumonia. But I do take my dogs to the vet almost every day.
I do not go out with my friends as there are no friends left. Everyone must see me like a frustrated lady, a weird person... Some think that I sell dogs and, yes, you will always find something for the dogs in my purse, but not lipstick or make-up stuff.
And it is true also that I see dogs everywhere in the bushes, on the streets, under the parked cars, from the bus, wherever I go I see a dog in need and most of the times I take him. I have now 12 cats and 10-15 dogs in my house all the time and the rest in the kennels from the 3 gardens here.
But I cannot say I live in a house as long as I have no toilet here and no bathroom,... And I cannot sleep more than 3-4 hours per night because I must work when the dogs are sleeping, and I must wake up early as they start to bark and disturb my neighbours.
It is not easy at all what we do and no one is paying us for this. Only a true animal lover and rescuer could do this for years and give up everything for them.
It is not easy for me to clean after 70 animals every day, to take care of them all by myself, to take them to the vet, to promote them for adoption, to raise the funds to pay their food and vet bills, the transport and so on. But thanks to my wonderful friends and supporters here I manage somehow to solve everything, even if I am always exhausted and my last holiday was in 2007.
It is not easy for me to clean after 70 animals every day, to take care of them all by myself, to take them to the vet, to promote them for adoption, to raise the funds to pay their food and vet bills, the transport and so on. But thanks to my wonderful friends and supporters here I manage somehow to solve everything, even if I am always exhausted and my last holiday was in 2007.
I am full of debts towards the State, I have an unpaid loan since 2011 and the bank has just blocked all my accounts and I always have huge vet bills as well.
Some of you might say we are crazy people to live like this, and that we do not think about us and destroy our lives, and you might be right...
But that's who we are and usually we do not care and put a price-tag on material things.
Alexandra Sarau
Some of Alexandra's rescue stories
Cleo was found with a with a huge sticker tumor
Millie was abandoned in Alexandra's yard. She was very very skinny.
Today she lives happily in the UK with her adopters.
Marley was abandoned together with his three sisters... he got beaten very badly and almost died.
He is now happily adopted in the UK.
Alexandra found Blanca when she was merely skin and bones, with mange and fur-less with two little puppies.
She is now also happily adopted in the UK.
And this is Teddy Alex.
He's Alexandra's favorite rescue dog... she found him after he got hit by a car and was severely injured.
She saved him and has "kept him for herself".
These are the 'Living Angels'. In many societies contrasts are rare... are not needed. Civilization and what we call 'normality' have already arrived. Comfort abounds. Romania is different!
Compassion and caring are rare... for orphans, for the handicapped, for the elderly and especially for the animals who have long been victimized, abused and killed by the local populations. Few are those who stand apart from the crowd and demonstrate the best in humanity - those attributes of self-sacrifice, compassion and love for fellow creatures.
These are the few... those who stand apart. Here you will meet some of 'The Living Angels of Romania'.
And in this amazing world, we recognize one simple truth: from that little bundle of animate fur which they have just taken from a busy road junction or abandoned on a garbage heap, that ALL he wants... all he craves, is the possibility to love and be loved.
If you like to get in touch with Alexandra or simply learn more about her work for the animals, you can contact her via her Facebook-profile or pay her a visit on her Facebook-Adoptions page.
DISCLAIMER
Alexandra's story is part of OFA's campaign 'The Life of an Animal Rescuer'. The posts presented here are to represent and inform of the typical life of an animal rescuer and the many challenges that these good people face, be it in Romania or elsewhere.
The posts presented here are to represent and inform of the typical life of an animal rescuer and the many challenges that these good people face, be it in Romania or elsewhere.
They are NOT intended as an endorsement of any individual rescuer, nor do we perform background checks to verify the validity of any stories or photos presented to us.
Anyone interested in offering support should please contact the rescuer directly. OFA will take no responsibility for any negative activity which may result from this contact.
In the interests of fairness and equality, we invite other rescuers to 'tell their story' and we are hoping that by publishing them on our website, it will increase their visibility outside of Facebook and hopefully attract more support for them and the many animals in their care. These should be accompanied by relevant photographs and send to us using FB-mail.
However, because OFA always seeks to present current information and events, it is therefore impossible to continue with this theme indefinitely. We will therefore continue to invite stories from rescuers up to midnight on Sunday 31st of May, 2014 after which we will concentrate on new campaigns and actions, the quality of which our readers have come to expect from OFA.
Thank you for caring!
The posts presented here are to represent and inform of the typical life of an animal rescuer and the many challenges that these good people face, be it in Romania or elsewhere.
They are NOT intended as an endorsement of any individual rescuer, nor do we perform background checks to verify the validity of any stories or photos presented to us.
Anyone interested in offering support should please contact the rescuer directly. OFA will take no responsibility for any negative activity which may result from this contact.
In the interests of fairness and equality, we invite other rescuers to 'tell their story' and we are hoping that by publishing them on our website, it will increase their visibility outside of Facebook and hopefully attract more support for them and the many animals in their care. These should be accompanied by relevant photographs and send to us using FB-mail.
However, because OFA always seeks to present current information and events, it is therefore impossible to continue with this theme indefinitely. We will therefore continue to invite stories from rescuers up to midnight on Sunday 31st of May, 2014 after which we will concentrate on new campaigns and actions, the quality of which our readers have come to expect from OFA.
Thank you for caring!