September 1-30: Stray Animal Rescue Updates from Georgia
September has been a month filled with both heartbreaking and heartwarming stories from the streets of Georgia. Unfortunately, stray animals in Georgia continue to face extreme cruelty, including hit-and-run accidents, poisoning, shootings, and beatings. But amidst the darkness, we’re happy to report that there are many compassionate people who choose to adopt these strays and give them loving homes. This month, we’ve been fortunate to help several animals find new families around the world.
Adoption Success Stories
We’re thrilled to announce that Misty has found her forever home in Paris, Rudy has been adopted in England, Jara is excelling at swimming in Munich, and Gulli is enjoying a happy life in Sweden. These success stories are a testament to the resilience of these animals and the kindness of their adopters. You can read more about their journeys below.
At the end of this month’s update, we’re also excited to share postcards from some of our former strays now thriving in new homes: Oscar in the Netherlands, Jara in Germany, and Georgia in Poland. It’s heartening to see these animals flourishing in their new environments, far from the streets of Georgia.
Help Us Find Homes for 60+ Foster Dogs
While we celebrate these adoptions, we still have more than 60 beautiful dogs in foster care, patiently waiting for a permanent home. If you’re looking to adopt a loving, grateful, and playful dog, please consider giving one of these strays a forever home. Get in touch via zerostraysgeorgia@gmail.com or explore our available dogs for adoption on our adoption page.
The Cost of Foster Care in Georgia
Our foster dogs are cared for in rural family homes, where we cover costs such as food, medical care, and foster fees. Each year, we spend approximately 12,000 GEL to ensure these dogs have everything they need. Mariam Shekiladze, our founder, does the majority of this work, including coordinating with foster families, clinics, and adoption partners, while managing the ongoing medical needs of the animals.
As local volunteer and designer Rusudan Djakeli explains, Mariam is the backbone of the organization:
“Mariam is in touch with 6 foster families, around 4 clinics, 10+ partners, and numerous families waiting to adopt. She handles daily medical issues, paperwork, and airport trips. She rarely gets weekends off and is always on the phone. The stress and trauma she deals with is overwhelming. It’s a difficult situation, and we just hope we can survive the next few months without burning out.”
How You Can Help
We are a small but dedicated team, and every donation makes a huge difference in the lives of these strays. Whether you can adopt, donate, or volunteer, your support helps us provide essential care for the animals in our program. 100% of all funds raised go directly toward the care of the strays: foster care, sterilization, medical treatments, and adoption processes.
If you’re unable to adopt but still want to help, even a small financial contribution or long-term volunteering can make a massive impact. We never use funds for salaries or personal expenses—every penny is spent on the animals.
September Stray Photos
For a visual update, check out all the photos from our September rescue efforts here.
Will you be my forever family?
We have over sixty strays across our four village foster homes. These are the most beautiful, fully-treated strays waiting for someone to give them their very own forever home. Our foster dogs are socalised, treated for viruses and infections – including rabies vaccination, and can’t wait for someone to share their love and funny personalities with. We are many who have taken the lovely decision to adopt a stray from Georgia and are more than happy to answer any questions you might have, or what to expect! You can also find some of our stories here https://www.zerostraysgeorgia.org/success-stories/ and can reach out to us via email at zerostraysgeorgia@gmail.com to get in touch with a volunteer from your own country, or someone who adopted a dog of a certain breed or with certain traumas. Former stray Jara, an adolescent blind girl, brilliantly illustrates how lovely life in a forever family can be. In this video she appears, together with owner Martina Graf, in a TV-clip from a dog swim event in the Munich area.
Hope's miracle recovery
Hope was one of the hardest rescue cases we have dealt with. Without fur, soaking, starving and ill.. But it has now been 1.5 months and she is recovering amazingly well and is now a beautiful, lively young lady with gorgeous shiny fur.
Dumped and left to die in the trash - Toy's miracle rescue
When a car hit this dog and fractured his leg, his owner just dumped him by the dumpster like a broken toy. The so-called owner even refused to refer the dog to a shelter… Luckily, our volunteer Salome found him and ensured we could secure further treatment. As how could we ever refuse to help such vulnerable cases, even if we’re thousands of Lari in debt to clinics and shops? The simple answer is, we can’t! We’re completely heartbroken to witness such cruelty from Georgian dog owners. With time, we hope to raise awareness to prevent animals from facing the same fate as Toy.
In the meantime, this poor fellow needs leg surgery in Tbilisi. Our vet estimates that it’ll cost at least GEL1,000. We’re already juggling 5 medical cases. We can only do it with help from others. We’re hoping for a miracle.
Sterilisations en masse
As usual, we’ve carried out a lot of sterilisations in September. Many of the animals sterilised are family pets whose owners have not got the knowledge or financial resources to arrange for a sterilisation themselves. Zero Strays Georgia work hard to raise awareness among pet owners and locals on why sterilisation is important and how to get help to sterilise a pet or local strays. Sterilisations are also included as a part of local adoptions, where locals who adopt strays (puppies in particular) get our assistance to make sure their new furry friend is sterilised.
Mariam shares the following examples of this month’s sterilisation work:
- Cat from Darcheli. We did leg amputation + neutering. Cat had an owner and he was asking for help. He visited the vet clinic 5 days before the info came to us. He couldn’t afford surgery financially.
- Neutered cats and dogs at Emzar Chachua vet clinic.
Volunteers: Giorgi Absandze, Luiza Pipia, Manana Kemularia, Nona Natchkebia, Maja Khurtsilava, Manana Kardava. Some dogs are rescued as puppies by local Zugdidi volunteers, then re homed with the promise of free neutering supported by us. So, most dogs above have owners. - Neutered dogs, at George Tchurgulia vet clinic. Both have homes. They were adopted from the street with the promise of free neutering.
- Neutered dogs at Emzar Tchatchua. Most dogs are from homes. Neutered dogs at George Tchurgulia. Most of them are from homes, adopted from the street.
- This cat and dog were adopted from the street by a very kindhearted woman, but she is struggling financially. Both were sterilised with our help.
- Cat neutered at Emzar Chachua. Cat has a family.
- Neutered stray, at Emzar Chachua. Volunteer: Shorena Khobelia. She takes care of many street dogs.
- Neutered pregnant cat from a very poor family who has all dogs and cats from the street. It’s the 3rd cat we have neutered for the family so far. All of them were pregnant already.
- Pregnant dog urgently neutered. 9 puppies saved from hell. Vet Emzar Chachua, volunteers: Mariam Jean, Luiza Pipia
- Neutered cat. Neutered pregnant dog. Volunteer Nata, vet Emzar Chachua
Misty moved to France
One really sweet foster girl has finally found her new home – with a Georgian/French couple in Reims, France.
Life with Misty, who is now renamed Giselle, is lovely but with interesting challenges. Coming from a street life background means dogs like Misty need a lot of support and encouragement to reduce their anxiety. Things the rest of us take for granted, like walking across a park with family, can be a scary experience for a stray who is new to family life. However, love, patience and encouragement resolves most things and Misty is slowly but surely starting to gain confidence. Forever mum Maria also recommends to consult dog behaviour experts who really helps in terms adapting to daily life. Five months ago, the couple adopted Gimli (now Francois) who has settled in beautifully by now and who is a great help and support for Misty in navigating family life in France.
As education and awareness raising is key, Misty’s new family are doing everything they can to share information about the stray situation in Georgia, what life with a stray dog is like and how people can help initiatives like Zero Strays Georgia.
Animal cruelty on the streets of Georiga
Strays are often victims of terrible accidents and violent acts by humans. Kids who aim at strays with soft air guns, adults beating strays with sticks or hitting them with cars, leaving injured strays to suffer greatly for long periods of time – often until death. One such case this month was this poor stray who suffered from an open wound for days.
Local volunteers Maia Ekhvaia and Tea Mania went on a mission to locate and help the dog who received extensive support at vet Emzar Chachua’s clinic: castration, rabies vaccine and thoroughly cleaning the wound. The stray is now fostered by Tea Mania throughout his recovery period. We’re also giving him Nexguard to fight parasite treatments as well as giving him a complex vaccine to protect him from the many common canine diseases in Georgia. Once cured, this stray will be released back to the street as we are unable to pay for foster or find foster places for all strays in need.
Most foster fees are paid from our own salaries, hence the financial limitations. And this is also why we need support in scaling up the number of foster homes as well as finding homes to strays currently in foster. Our amazing foster dogs currently looking for a loving and safe environment can be found here https://www.zerostraysgeorgia.org/up-for-adoption/
Medical donations from Czech Republic
A much needed donation from Czech Republic was delivered to us in September. The idea came from our Czech volunteers, Jitka, Katarina and David, who met vet Emzar Chachua in Zugdidi and wanted to support his work. Jitka shares ‘I want to support him in help to strays and make perhaps reduce the cost of medical stuff for Zero. The stuff are from small vet clinic in Prague, part of stuff are from lady which also help to Czech org. “Hearth for Romanian dogs z.s.”, part of them are from me and part are from Dr. Rufferová whom Mariam met. The second part of stuff we bring in November.’ . We’re thrilled to announce that Jitka, Katarina and David are joining us in November to not only deliver much needed medical supplies, but also help us sterilise strays and visit our foster homes.
Victims of animal cruelty receiving treatment
Sadly there are many examples of strays hit by cars and left to die, or poisoned in an attempt to make them suffer. We do our very best to support them despite limited resources. If you find a stray in need, please contact us and include date, location and description of injury/issue. The chances that we are able to help the stray are a lot bigger if you are able to do a financial contribution towards the treatment. You can easily donate via the website, or make a cash payment if you happen to be in the same location.
The dog from Nokalakevi was a victim of a hit and run accident and brought to a Kutaisi clinic by volunteer Marina Lemonjava, and then to a clinic in Zugdidi who gave us a discount on the surgery treatment, which helped us ensure the dog got surgery.
Strays are often injured – either by humans, cars or other animals. As we have limited funds, we cannot always do as much as we would like to, however, always try our best to help. The best thing is if you, as someone who finds an injured stray, contributes to the treatment expenses and post-surgery care. Local volunteer Nino Adamia brought in this stray from the village of Kombinati. The stray had a minor surgery and the wound was properly cleaned and disinfected before the he was returned to the street.
From abandoned to locally adopted
This poor stray was abandoned by her owner in a village close to Zugdidi. Our volunteers Maia Bulia and Nata took the dog for sterilisation at the vet Emzar Chachua. For financial reasons we were sadly unable to offer foster help, but the best news is that this stray is no longer a stray! She got adopted by a local lady, Manana Daraselia, who also decided to adopt a second dog from the street, whom we helped sterilise as well.
Dogs and cats are often abandoned in Georgia for financial reasons when owners cannot afford to keep their pet and leave their animals to fend for themselves on the street. Other reasons include the owners not knowing about sterilisation (how to get it done and why it is helpful), which is why raising awareness about sterilisation is such an important part of our work.
Fighting cancer in the streets
Strays suffer from a wide range of diseases, cancer being one of them. This month we did chemo treatments for these two strays suffering from Sarcoma, a type of cancer. Vet George Tchurgulia treated them with support from volunteers Nata and Nana Narmania. One of them is already improving, the other one remains poorly but this treatment was the first of a total of five treatments. The vet clinics treat such cancer cases with the chemotherapy medicine Vinkrinstin.
One of the hardest cancer cases this month relates to a very senior female dog in Zugdidi. Mariam Shekiladze says that this poor stray has lived in the Zugdidi Bazaar area for over nine years and it was recently that Mariam and local volunteer, Luiza Pipia, discovered that the stray was suffering from cancer. Two sessions of chemotherapy followed by surgery by vet Emza Chachua were carried out and so far the results are promising. The stray is eating well and recovering in the Bazaar area with daily assistance from Luiza Pipia. Our volunteers do an amazing job trying to support strays in need, and we wouldn’t be able to do what we do without them. Do you want to become a volunteer or support a volunteer? Check out the opportunities on our website under ‘how to support’ https://www.zerostraysgeorgia.org/
Another happy local adoption story
We’re trying hard to facilitate not only overseas adoptions but local adoptions as well. One such happy story is of a German Shepherd who was abandoned in the Zugdidi city centre, and had numerous puppies before our local volunteer Salome Partsvania managed to take her to sterilisation at vet George Tchurgulia. Shortly after sterilisation, the German Shepherd was adopted by George’s vet assistant Nana Basilaia, which we are of course thrilled about!
Senior shooting victim Spencer found his new home in Germany
Spencer was an older stray setter facing starvation and disease when found. He also had a terrible injury after being shot by locals, and the bullet was removed long after he was first injured. Zero Strays Georgia often collaborate when Setter Help Europe to rehome stray setters specifically. Spencer found his forever home in Germany. His family, Aleksandra Siwon in Albbruck says that they were actively looking to give a senior stray a loving forever home without placing huge expectations on the dog. Spencer was the lucky one! His family shares ‘at the beginning he slept a lot but he was very adaptable in spite of his age. We have two more family dogs, both Irish setters, who were very friendly to him. Adopting a dog is fantastic for both you and the dog. I often cry with joy at how Spencer keeps developing. I’m very proud of him’. Spencer’s new family also reflects on the situation Georgian strays are facing ‘the situation is difficult. People in Germany can support with adoptions and donations. Spencer is become very popular on Facebook and thanks to him, the story of strays in Georgia becomes more known’.
Setter Help Europe’s original link can be found here https://www.facebook.com/share/p/raVVCACwuTAhFYXj/
Beaten up parvo virus victim Gulli finds her new home in Sweden
Sofia was in Western Georgia to work when she came across the horrors stray animals were facing locally, two of them in particular, a sick little black puppy now called Gulli and an abandoned park stray – Lia. Both were suffering from parvo virus, an endemic virus that kills lots of strays in Georgia every year. Sofia says that without Mariam Shekiladze’s support, both Gulli and Lia would have died.
She decided to try to get both of them back to Sweden, despite the difficult and complex process involved when bringing a dog into Europe. Rules and regulations were successfully navigated and Gulli and Lia made it to Sweden. However, adapting to dog life in Sweden was not entirely straightforward either. Gulli was terrified of people after having experienced severe violence and beatings on the streets in Georgia. However, she keeps on re-gaining her confidence and beginning to trust people again. “The only challenge left for Gulli is the family cat”, says Sofia. “Lia on the other hand was very sociable from the start and adapting to family life was a piece of cake for her”.
Apart from the usual ways of supporting the work with strays in Georgia, Sofia has an interesting suggestion of a vet exchange between countries: “Local vets gave conflicting advice on vaccinations against rabies and complex vaccinations such as parvo virus. There is also no record on which strays have received what, if any, vaccinations. I would therefore highly encourage vets and animal behavioral specialists to volunteer in Georgia to support the local vets, but also get an opportunity to learn more about e.g. emergency vet care.”
She also adds that one of the most challenging issues she witnessed in Georgia was people’s perception of animals, which is one of the reasons for much animal cruelty, “raising awareness about animals as sensitive, emotional beings who must be treated with care should be another focus area for Zero Strays Georgia and other organisations in the country”
Rudy's new life in Cheshire, UK
Adopter Chelsea Dunn shares the most heart warming story of how they came to learn about strays in Georgia, what happened to their lovely stray Ferni as she was about to travel and how Rudy came along to brighten their lives instead: “We went on a snowboarding holiday in gudauri and were shocked by how many strays there were as soon as we got to Georgia, I fell in love with Ferni and was wondering how I could adopt her when a waitress in our hotel told me about zero strays, I decided to adopt Ferni because she was the only pup left out of her siblings and I fell in love with her personality. As soon as I knew it was possible to bring her over to the UK I wanted to do it.
Obviously things didn’t go to plan and then when we learnt that Rudy was going to have to be rehomed after he didn’t fit in to his first home in the uk, we had to take him because we loved him the minute we met him. Rudy is settling in brilliantly, he’s more confident every day and is getting along really well with our other dog, they love to play and Rudy is slowly learning some doggy social skills😂
He’s still not sure about our cats but I know he will get there in some time, he’s a good boy. He has been out to cafes, pubs and lots of shops and he’s so relaxed. When we take him out in public he makes so many people smile and we are stopped so much by people wanting to give him love and ask about him, he embraces everybody with love and tail wags. He will lie down wherever he is, whenever he gets the chance. He loves cuddles and kisses when he is sleepy and when he’s not sleeping in the house he is causing chaos as any 7month old puppy does. And just now as I’m writing this he told us for the first time that he needed to go pee by scratching the back door and crying 🥹 a proud moment for us!
He’s truly and joy and we loved him from the minute we collected him from off the plane in Amsterdam, he was so happy and he brings so much love to our lives. I had never imagined my life with Rudy in it but now I couldn’t imagine a life without him, he’s a delight”
Postcards from former strays
Adopter Frauke Bornemann shares “Last week he saw the Ocean for the first time…the beach in the Netherlands. And he loves it so much🥰🥰”
From Jara in Germany and ‘mum’ Martina Graaf shows us how amazing playing in the water can be – even if you are blind!
From Georgia in Poland
Adopter Joanna Matik shares “A year has passed since Georgia’s dog was de-balmed and taken to a temporary home. She was very malnutrished, skinny and pregnant, she would no longer be in the world, but she made it. Now she lives like a princess in her new home.”
International volunteers working in Zugdidi share their perspectives
Peder, originally from Sweden, is currently working in Zugdidi and spends a lot of his spare time feeding, neutering and supporting strays across town: “I always keep a backpack full of dry food when out and about as the hardship the strays experience is too horrible to ignore. I also do a regular feeding and health check round in Zugdidi – especially trying to support the dogs who are the lowest rank in their pack”.
The situation in towns and villages is a lot worse than in Tbilisi. Peder has witnessed a lot of puppies being abandoned “people need to understand the responsibility that comes with owning a dog. I’ve seen a lot of cases where family dogs give birth and their puppies are abandoned in a cardboard box in the steet – unable to survive on their own. It is hideous”
Sterilisation is vital to try to help strays and to reduce the number of strays in the street, Peder brought several female dogs for sterilisation “I recently brought two pregnant strays to the local vet Goga for sterilisation. It is cruel to sterilise them while pregnant, but the hellish life that awaits puppies born on the streets is always worth avoiding”.
Caring for the most vulnerable strays
Blind stray Sammi is in foster care and making amazing progress. Mariam Shekiladze shares “a few months ago, you could not even touch him as it made him too scared and stressed. He is really becoming more confident which is great to see. To not cause further stress for him, I opted for a home day spa instead of taking him to the groomer”.
