Feed The Dog

by NDFAuthors

  • Apr 30, 2014

Although the campaign is generally focused on dogs, our goal is to promote generosity not only towards stray dogs, towards all the animals in need.

Every day I take my puppy, Pekingese Soukie for a walk. Soukie leads a dreamy life; my boyfriend and I are simply crazy about her so she gets our full attention. I bath Soukie regularly so she always smells nice, and there are also these tiny fancy jackets, fur coats, shoes, dresses and all kinds of dog necklaces that she wears. In her case, the phrase “dog’s life” translates to a fabulous way of living.

Walking through the Neimarski park, we usually run into a stray dog. He’s skinny and looks at us with his big, sad eyes, as if begging for some love and attention. As we approach him closer, he first sniffs Soukie and then licks my hand. I wonder what he might be thinking as he sees dozens of people with their dogs passing by. What is it like when you belong to no one? When you have nobody to take care of you… Not having a place to live, always waiting for a stranger to give you some food.

I quickly go to a nearby store to buy some nice smelling bologna. We come back to our buddy. Suddendly, he looks so happy! I’m happy too for making his life easier at least for a moment. In the same time my heart is broken in half as I see him eating 400 gr of bologna in a second. Is the food all I can give him?

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I’ve always wanted to help animals. I decided to use my knowledge of social networks and current online trends to do something for stray dogs that I like very much. I created the Facebook page FeedTheDog  and came up with the hashtag #FeedTheDog, as well as  with the idea for Instagram campaign. I said to myself “If Soukie and I can help the stray dog – everybody can do it!”. I was sure that there were others who share the same compassion for stray dogs and their needs.

For most people in Serbia, the standard of living is very low. Only a few can donate money to campaigns and charities. However, I believe that each of us can take leftovers of our breakfast, lunch or dinner, that usually end up as garbage and give them to a starving dog. Although the campaign is generally focused on dogs, our goal is to promote generosity not only towards stray dogs, towards all the animals in need.

The number of people of good will who feed hungry dogs on streets is growing. They are using social networks to mobilize other people to do the same thing. They are sending us photos and we are happy to publish them and share with our followers on the Facebook. In that way, other people can see them and understand that they too can help. “Hey, I can do that too!”. Our activists keep sending us their stories on a daily basis. Many of them make me tear up. There is no way to remain indifferent to them.

The people who help abandoned animals are true heroes of our time. Many give up half or whole of their meal when they see hungry eyes on the street. There those who always have some dog food  in the trunk of their cars or in a bag. #FeedTheDog action is a great success, and it made me believe that there are still good and noble people, everywhere.

Apart from feeding the animals, the aim of our campaign is to help stray dogs with deteriortaing health condition. For example, two months ago there was a girl who picked up a dog with a broken spine off the street and took him to the vet. She was told that the dog should be put to sleep to prevent the pain and further suffering . However, the girl refused to follow vet’s advice. She brought the dog home, named it Balu and asked #FeedTheDog for help. It took us a month to raise funds for Balu’s wheelchairs, medications and other necessities. The most fascinating thing is that Balu, in addition to Andrea’s love and affection, started to walk without wheelchairs.

The feeling that you’ve helped a helpless creature is priceless. #FeedTheDog is the campaign that makes you happy. You go to school in the morning, and it’s cloudy outside. Then you run into a little furry friend. You give it something to eat. It wags its tail – and all of a sudden there are no more clouds and it’s sunny again! Right?

Watch this  video. You will love it.

 

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Photo credits:

Featured Photo:  Author:  rollanb  /  photo on flickr
Photo 2.  Author:  DiscoMurray  /  photo on flickr
Photo 3. London Calling by  Thomas Leuthard