Vuković visits Podgorica's asylum for abandoned dogs: Attitude towards pets is a very important issue that very much reflects the state of the social community
12/12/2020Today, the Mayor of Podgorica, Ivan Vuković, PhD, and his associates, visited the Podgorica’s shelter for dogs, a very important organizational unit of the company Čistoća ("Cleanliness"), but also a place that is recognized in Montenegro and beyond as a good example of functioning.
"Two years ago, we realized a significant investment of approximately EUR 220,000 and thus expanded the spatial capacities and modernized the asylum, so that it is currently by far the most modern not only in Montenegro, but also beyond. This job requires continuous engagement not only of us in the city administration, but also of people from the NGO sector and the wider community ", Vuković emphasized and thanked the representatives of NGOs "Spas "and "Ruka šapi " who also attended the tour of the shelter for abandoned pets. He added that these are enthusiasts and people worthy of admiration who take care of dogs and give everyone an example of what that relationship should look like.
"Today we agreed to organize a working meeting by the end of this year to discuss the modalities of improving the work of asylum, and in principle we agreed to organize dog adoption campaigns at least once every three months, which the Capital will strongly support", Vuković said emphasizing that next year should mark the beginning of the realization of two important projects whose preparation is already underway.
"One concerns the construction of a cemetery for pets and in that direction we have already sent an initiative to the relevant ministry to include this project in DUP’s plan change, for which we have a positive reaction, so we are waiting for the process to end so that we could start with the realization of this very important project next year in order to be able to bury our pets properly. Another important project concerns the construction of at least one pet park on the territory of the Capital, and we already have an idea of where the first one could be, but I say to leave the details for the meeting that follows", the Mayor said.
Vuković reminded that the attitude of fellow citizens towards pets speaks of the civilizational development of a social community.
"I want to send a message that this issue is much more important than how it seems to people, the attitude towards pets largely reflects the state of the social community. Someone who is able to hurt a pet or leave it on the street or a stray dog, I am quite sure that he would be able to do the same to another human being. It is a benchmark of humanity, i.e. a litmus paper on the basis of which we can assess the state of mind and the level of civilization development of a community, so that the less work this asylum has, the more reasons we will have to be satisfied, and with the support of NGOs we can already next year to make big steps in that direction", Vuković concluded.
The director of the city company Čistoća, Andrija Čadjenović, expressed his satisfaction that the mayor, Dr. Ivan Vuković, and his associates, together with partners from the non-governmental sector, visited the school for abandoned pets in Konik today.
"Today, we informed the representatives of the city administration in detail about the functioning of the shelter for abandoned pets, that is, about the system of work and procedures that are carried out before the dogs are adopted", Čadjenović said.
He said that during this year until the beginning of December, a total of 344 dogs were brought to the shelter, of which 244 were medically treated, 233 vaccinated, and 99 adopted, and added that in the coming period they will work with NGO representatives to improve the system for abandoned dogs.