Susann Langkeit – adopter of Josephine and Elisse:

Some time ago a friend of mine showed me a picture of a 3-legged badly injured dog in Georgia who was up for adoption. From Georgia? – I asked. That is complicated! And then I got to know Mariam further – the young woman who rescued this dog. It was easy to like Mariam, she was very open to answering all questions about the dog. She did not exaggerate the situation she found her in, nor did she try to convince us to adopt the dog. Little by little I learnt more about the horrible situation for all animals in Georgia – dogs in particular. Thousands of them roam homeless in the streets without food, shelter or medical care. Every time Mariam is leaving her apartment, she runs into more one or more of these poor creatures in urgent need of help. Unlike most people, Mariam doesn’t look the other way. She tries everything she can to helo. She goes to vaccinate and neuter endless of them. She does all that with the money she earns from her several jobs and of course that is far from enough financially speaking. So Mariam is forced to return most dogs to the streets again. She keeps the most sick and vulnerable in foster homes – which also provides important income to these, often rural families.

I was right in saying that bringing dogs into the EU from Georgia isn’t easy. There are many regulations to follow and steps to take. But this part was the easiest for me as Mariam takes care of everything else very seriously – she follows the necessary protocols to ensure all vaccinations and paper work is done according to the ruels. The final step is to find a volunteer who travel from Georgia to your country together with the dog. Working with Mariam has always been a pleasure – unlike many other organisations she takes her work very seriously. Her heart goes into every single dog she rescues from the streets. She is a very trustworthy person who provides help to the ones who would otherwise be without.