Dutchman takes stray-dog problem into own hands

After rescuing a dying puppy from the streets of Tbilisi, Dutch citizen Ivo Bakhuijzen decided to fulfill his long-time goal to open a pet shelter in the Georgian capital.
Bakhuijzen intends to build a shelter for 120 dogs and accept some cats as well.
According to his estimation, there are over 25,000 stray dogs in Tbilisi alone. He sees the only solution to be sterilization as opposed to putting the dogs to sleep as is the practice of the local government clinic. The plan is to sterilize, vaccinate, sign and send the dogs back to the streets.
“We should take care of animals not only for people’s sake, but for their normal living, because animals have rights confirmed by all the world’s organizations,” Bakhuijzen said. “We are obliged to honor them here in Georgia.” He added that older dogs will be kept in the shelter for the remainder of their lives, while puppies will be raised and put up for adoption. Adult dogs will be let out into the street as long as they are safe for people.
Bakhuijzen’s dog organization has a flexible plan. About 60,000 lari is needed for its execution, but he for now has only found 25,000 lari. He is working hard to raise more funds and welcomes donations from the public. The dog shelter is set to open in September 2009.
The Dutch project has been approved by two Georgian animal rights organizations – the Animal Rights Committee and Georgian Society for the Protection and Safety of Animals (GSPSA). However, both express concerns about releasing dogs. The chairpersons of both organizations consider the stray-dog problem to be unsolvable without the government’s goodwill.
“Definitely, these vaccinated and sterilized dogs will be killed by the governmental organization working on this issue, I am sure of it,” GSPSA Deputy Chairman Teimuraz Tsikorize said. “They have already killed several cured dogs, which were let out of [a GSPSA] shelter.”
Tsikoridze blames the local city government for having a shady business and earning income from killing stray dogs.
“The more dogs the company kills, the more money they get from the budget,” he said, referring to city hall documentation. The paperwork shows that during a 19-month period, they killed almost 27,000 dogs in the capital. The same documents show that during the same period, the First Veterinary Clinic Company, also registered as Debiuti Ltd., has vaccinated only 11 dogs for rabies and castrated 73. The clinic has received approximately 2 million lari for this work.
The First Veterinary Clinic did not respond to several phone calls by Georgia Today. However, Tbilisi Municipality representative Davit Sadaterashvili, who is in charge of stray animal issues, said he is satisfied with the clinic’s work. “We are not killing animals, we just make injections to euthanize old and sick dogs, others we vaccinate, sterilize and let out into the streets,” he said.
Animal Rights Committee of Georgia Chairwoman Tinatin Chavchanidze is concerned that killing dogs is not only the wrong way to solve the problem, but also an inhumane act that damages the country’s image. She said the OSCE was ready to fund her project to sterilize street dogs, but as long as she could not guarantee that the state services would not kill dogs, the OSCE refused to support the project.
“The number of street dogs has decreased [since spring] due to the raids that the First Veterinary Clinic organized, but they must realize that the city will face the same problem next spring as well,” Chavchanidze said, adding that the clinic catches weak, old dogs that are easy to catch and aggressive ones that can threaten the population remain in the streets.
Sterilization is the way she thinks the birthrate can be reduced, and together with vaccinations, it will provide not only the security of the population, but also the rights of dogs.
Chavchanidze said the system will prevent torturous treatment in places like the so-called “Baker Hole,” where street dogs are taken and killed.
“First, they kill them with an electric shock and then burn them with acid,” she said.
Tsikoridze said the GSPSA has documentary evidence of dogs being thrown in a hole and killed in masses. When it comes to the legal rights of killing the animals, Georgian law has only one act naming the torture and ill treatment of animals as illegal. Nothing is mentioned about killing them. Georgia also has not yet joined any international declaration regulating the issue.
Chavchanidze also raises a question of responsible ownership, meaning to impose concrete responsibilities on families who decide to have a pet.
“A main reason homeless animals exist is people who get rid of their pet’s new-born puppies, throwing them into the streets,” she said. “Laws should charge families with more obligations, including vaccinating and sterilizing their animal companions.”
Several such dogs have been sheltered by Tsikoridze, many of them of a good breed.
Sadaterashvili told Georgia Today that the city council is working on a responsible ownership law to oblige pet owners to vaccinate their pets.
Since 2002 the shelter has housed around 1,000 dogs. Now, there are about 28 dogs in the shelter. According to Tsikoridze, about half of the dogs died soon after arriving due to serious injuries and infections. The second half is killed by the state service after they are released.
Tsikoridze’s shelter is a rare asylum for pets in Tbilisi. Painter Giorgi Akhvlediani provides shelter to homeless cats at his “Cat Cafe.” He has 8 cats under his care. With the assistance of the German Embassy in Georgia, Akhvlediani feeds, vaccinates and sterilizes the cats.
“A German vet with the help of the embassy gathered donations for my cat cafe, but the money will soon end and I do not know how can I take care of them,” Akhvlediani said.
Tsikoridze also complains about a lack of money, and cannot remember a single incident when the government provided support to the GSPSA. He expressed his thanks to the individuals who support the shelter, and added that although he is eager to open branches, only municipal shelters can resolve the stray-dog problem.
In response to his statement, Sadaterashvili told Georgia Today that the government is considering opening a shelter in a Tbilisi suburb later this year.
Bakhuijzen’s shelter will open in September. He hopes that the special signs his shelter will place on treated dogs will save them from getting killed.
Anna Chichinadze
24.07.2009