,,Franturi din suflet de voluntar” – aceasta este povestea lui Claudia, spusă de către unul dintre voluntarii noștrii:

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,,Anii de voluntariat mi-au aratat multe si m-au invatat multe. Nu stiu daca puterea de a ramane puternica in fata cazurilor dramatice este un avantaj, dar stiu ca asta ma face sa continui. Faptul ca inchidem ochii sau evitam sa vedem “pentru ca ne face sa suferim prea mult”, nu schimba cu nimic realitatea…ba din contra!
Nu obisnuiesc sa vorbesc despre asta; adapostul m-a invatat ca nu trebuie sa avem favoriti, ci sa ii iubim la fel pe toti pentru ca toti au suferit si au nevoie de noi in egala masura. Faptul ca acum aleg sa procedez putin altfel arata fara echivoc cat de mult m-a marcat acest caz (desi da, cu siguranta exista altele mai dramatice). 
Am cunoscut-o in timpul campaniei de sterilizari din vara, de la Capusu si in momentul in care am pus mana pe ea am inceput sa plang… Era atat de slaba, atat de fragila si neajutorata…ca un fulg… A fost atat de cuminte…a iubit un sac de mancare (cu siguranta primul pe care il vedea)…s-a lipit de gatul si de sufletul meu. 
Am insistat sa merg si eu cand va fi returnata, pentru a vedea ce se poate face – intelesesem ca e o situatie speciala din mai multe puncte de vedere. Fusese aruncata in curtea unei persoane cu disabilitati (fizice si psihice) care abia putea avea grija de sine…si incerca sa aiba grija si de ea, dar din pacate in modul cel mai nefericit cu putinta: tinand-o inchisa intr-o anexa intunecata si rece. Era clar ca nu o agresa – era chiar fericita sa il vada, sa se joace…dar la fel de clar este ca nu putea sa ramana acolo. Pt moment am lasat-o, cu mancare, cu o paturica, cu o vecina care a promis ca va vedea de ea si…promisiunea ca ma voi intoarce.
Partea aceasta – de framantare in cautarea unei solutii, de negociere, de promisiuni, de plans – a durat aproape doua luni! De aici sper ca persoanele care reproseaza asociatiilor si voluntarilor ca “nu fac nimic / suficient” sa retina macar atat: faptul ca suntem si noi oameni, cu puteri limitate, ca nu putem face imposibilul, dar luptam (uneori luni…ani la rand, nu doar pret de un telefon) sa fim cu un pas mai aproape de a-l face posibil. 
Dupa aproape doua luni m-am reintors, in incercarea de a aduce un strop de in viata fulgutei. A fost o schimbare imensa pt ea: posibilitatea de a sta in aer liber, dar si de a beneficia de o cusca permanent, de a avea mancare zilnic (cand a ajuns in adapost si-a facut nevoile – un ambalaj de plastic), apa, catei cu care sa alerge si oameni care sa o alinte.
S-a schimbat radical – blanita e alta (fina si scurta), s-a ingrasat, tine mereu urechile ciulite si merge la trap ca un calut. Ii cautam un stapan – o casa, un om care sa o iubeasca numai pe ea, cu care sa se joace si sa alerge. Iubeste mult oamenii si este foarte uor de manipulat. Cu cateii interactioneaza bine, invitandu-i la joaca, dar ii place sa se impuna in fata lor.”

 

Claudia, acum Bailey, a fost adoptată în Germania și are o viață foarte fericită.

 

 

Pieces of a volunteer's soul – this is Claudia’s story, told by one of our volunteers

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During the volunteering years I saw and learned many things. I don’t know if the capacity of staying strong when dealing with dramatic cases is an advantage, but I know that this is what makes me continue. If we close our eyes and we don’t want to see because “it makes us suffer” we can’t change the reality…we can even make it worse.
I don’t use to talk about this, at least not on line; the shelter taught me that we don’t have to have favorites, that we have to love all of them equally because they all have suffered and need us equally. The fact that now I act a little different shows clearly how much this case meant for me (although, I know, there are others more dramatic). 
I met her during the sterilization campaign we carried this summer, in Capusu, and the first moment when I touched her I started crying… She was so thin, so fragile and delicate, like a snow flake… She was so calm, she loved a bag of food (for sure the first she ever saw)…she stuck to my neck and my soul.
I insisted to go with her when she was returned, to se what it can be done – I understood that there was a special situation from many points of view. She was thrown over the fence in the yard of a man with serious physical and psychic disabilities, that hardly could take care of himself…but he tried to take care of her too, but unfortunately in a very wrong and sad way: by keeping her locked in a dark and cold room. It was clear that he wasn’t beating her – she was happy to see him, to play together, but it was also very velar that the situation couldn’t continue. For the moment I let her there, with food, a blanket, a neighbor that promised that she will go there on regular basis and…with the promise that I will return.
This part – of permanent search of a solution, of negotiation, of promises, of crying – lasted for about two months! From this I hope that the people that reproach to the animal welfare NGOs and volunteers that “they do nothing / they don’t do enough” will learn at least this: the fact that we are all humans, with limited powers, that we can’t make the impossible, but we fight (sometimes even for months…years, not only by making a phone call) to be one step closer to make it possible. 
After almost two months I got back, trying to bring some light  in the “snow flake”’s life. It was a huge change for her: the possibility to stay outside but also to have a dog house, to eat every day (the day she arrived at the shelter she eliminated a…plastic bag), water, dogs to run with and people to pamper her.
The change is huge – the fur is now short and silky, she gained weight, her years are always up and she walks like a parade horse. We are now looking for a forever home for her – a home and someone to love only her, to play and run with. She loves people very much and she is very easy to handle (to pick her up, to put her on leash). She plays with the dogs, but she also shows a lot of confidence and the need to dominate.”

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Claudia, now Bailey, was adopted in Germany and now she is living a very happy life.