Being a massive project, its entire construction work will take several years to complete. To make sure that these capital costs will not unbalance our fragile budget and that our team can absorb the logistic challenges successfully, we divided the buildings in 4 distinct phases.

Part of the phase I, the dog shelter building is the first cage-free shelter from Romania, inspired by a similar project from the US. The dog shelter design consists of 5 indoor units that interconnect. In the first phase, we will build 3 of these 5 units. Each unit has individual outdoor spaces and access to large playing grounds. The indoor areas are safe, with generous space for groups of dogs to live together like in your living room. The dog shelter will include some purpose-built rehabilitation kennels for less friendly dogs.

The dog shelter will spread over 1400 sq m and accommodate up to 240 dogs. In 2023, local authorities notified ROLDA of their advanced plans to build a road straight through our current shelter! All 12 paddocks must be demolished, so we need to relocate these dogs urgently.

We feel totally disappointed by how the Romanian authorities reacted to our concerted efforts to help animals in our community, but we must stay positive and consider this a perfect opportunity to give these dogs the chance to move into a new home and enjoy improved conditions.