Veterinary nurse Karen wanted to volunteer her skills in a new country and offer her help to support animals who have no one else to turn to. Here she is to tell you about her experience in Romania.
An adventure to Romania
"I had heard good things about Save the Dogs and the work they do, so decided I wanted to get some hands-on experience and help on the ground in Romania. On arriving in Bucharest on a sunny April afternoon, I had a transfer organised from Bucharest to Cernavodă, where I was met by one of their drivers and taken to the apartment where I was staying."
"Cernavodă is a town that sits on the Danube River in the South East of Romania and was a beautiful place to be visiting."
Life in the clinic
"No two days at the clinic were the same; veterinary nursing duties involved assisting with surgeries (mainly neutering procedures), assisting in the examination and diagnostic testing of the dogs, and assisting in consultations where owned animals are brought into the clinic for treatment. The clinic and shelter facilities are modern and well-equipped, and the protocols for testing stray dogs for infectious diseases, vaccination, and the adoption programme are excellent. It felt so wonderful to be helping here and using my skills to help charities who are doing so much for local animals."
"The adoption team worked tirelessly, making proposals to partner shelters in other countries in Europe (mainly Italy, Finland, Germany, and Sweden) for dogs to travel to these partner shelters to be rehomed."
Become a volunteer like Karen
"All the staff including the vets, the adoption team, office staff, and the kennel workers are all so inspirational and hard-working, with great dedication, enthusiasm, and compassion for all the animals. Being part of the Save the Dogs team in Romania was such an amazing and heart-warming experience that I would love to return one day."
If you’ve been inspired by Karen's experience and feel ready to get hands-on with treating and caring for animals in need, take a look at our volunteer placements in Romania or browse our other programmes for vets, nurses, students, and non-vets around the world.