New Year’s Eve, volunteers in kennels: “Together with many animals abandoned at the ‘free all’ post lockdown”

Never has there been so much adopted during the lockdown, never has he abandoned so much to ‘free all’. 2021 was a year of strong emotions and equally profound pain for the kennels in Italy. Assaulted by those looking for a companion and a justification to leave the house during the pandemic emergency and again invaded by repentant, tired, unsuitable masters, now entitled to go out alone. The New Year will be for thousands of dogs behind bars a night together with volunteers and associations that fill as they can the void left by often heartless masters. “We are and will be here also on this feast day, as in all other days of the year – tells Adnkronos Valentina, a volunteer of the ‘Code Felici’ refuge in northern Rome – Ours is an activity that knows no breaks, above all when many will persist in greeting the new year with barrels. Here many of the dogs we see are terrified by thunderstorms, let alone with fires. The blanket of the kennels is always too short, where you navigate between the expenses of veterinarians, food and medicines. “Although the situation is difficult, we are very strict on adoptions – continues Valentina – There is no Amazon for dogs: the key word is awareness, both in adopting and also when deciding to give away an extremely superficial dog”. The most varied and sad excuses put forward: “There are those who leave the dog, of any breed and age, because they have moved home, because their child is allergic or who has lost a parent and does not want to keep the dog left alone – he says. the volunteer – Covid has further aggravated the situation, especially the crisis that followed. More than one came saying that he had lost his job and therefore his home, that since he could no longer look after himself he had great difficulties with the dog. it is there that our heart breaks: the elderly and not only cry for days, they stop eating. In some cases we volunteers took them home, so as not to make them feel the emotional emptiness, but it is an aimless race what we do, chased by gestures of often insensitive and cynical people. The wish I do for the new year is that there is more solidarity towards our four-legged friends, small donations are enough, long distance adoptions. : adopted with the brain , not with the heart. Because the emotional drive is only good if supported by a perennial, serious and concrete commitment “. (By Silvia Mancinelli)