HELP FROM THE HEART! FORGET A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR NEEDS, ABOUT YOU, AND TRY TO OFFER MOMENTS OF HAPPINESS TO THOSE WHO ARE LESS FORTUNATE!

Try this once: give, without waiting to receive anything, and you will see that’s a great feeling knowing that because of your actions at least one person had a better day !!!

NEW YEAR’S EVE 2007

At the end of this year we decided to make another surprise to the people that we have been visiting for more then a year now, to those who became our friends. Knowing that they were so charmed by the photos that we gave them last Christmas we thought of another surprise that they would surely love : a calendar on 2008 where the main characters are each of them including our dogs, Dolly, Mica and Kiki, who filled their heart with happiness and joy during the year that has just passed.

Besides those calendars we also brought them some small prestents for some of them, finidng out before what they would need.

The photos were taken in different periods of the year,illustrating wonderful moments spent together, events that would otherwise be lost and forgotten.Now they can just take a look on the wall and see their roommate or a friend who’s living other place in this Center.We put together the calendars on the walls from almost each room, and afterwards they opened very anxious the presents in Dolly’s company.

There was also a sad moment when everyone asked about Kiki who, unfortunately wasn’t with us anymore, because he died at the end of this year. He loved to come here, to run on his three-legs in the garden and make people’s laugh,to jump in people’s beds, to be kisses or to receive some left over from the last meal. Now remained only Dolly and Mica. He will always remain in our hearts, for his joy and the happiness that he was spreading all around!

CHRISTMAS 2006

Christmas is indeed a special day for all of us that it is meant to be spent in the family with all the people that we care about and love. Unfortunately, the majority of the people from the Center have no one to be close to them in such a day, nothing that makes them feel the holly spirit. Santa Claus means not only to make gifts to our friends, families and to the one that we love but also to bring joy and happiness to those who who live in Centers like this. Many of them don’t need material things as this are provided by the centers’ staff, but only to have someone around, someone to talk to and to share this days.

We started to manufacture all the 100 box gifts, decorated with color paper and we make photos with our dogs to each person, since November 2006; The present boxes, besides photos, were filled with sweets, fruits, some food, juice – donated by to wonderful people Mr. Carmen Lemnaru and Mr. Liviu Chitiba, – but also other small individual presents.

RO ANIMALS Association ,tried in December 2006 to offer from souls to souls an unforgotten Christmas. Together with our four-legged lovely friends,Dolly, Kiki and Mica, we prepared a nice surprise for the people from the Suseni Center.

Early in the morning of 24th of December we arrived at the Center,with a van full of three Christmas trees, floral arrangements, Christmas decoration and 100 gift box. And, with our little four-legged friends dressed with Sants’ clothes.

First,we decorated all rooms, visiting also each people, and then we started to decorate the Christmas trees in three different places. Almost every one took part at this action, more less the persons with severe disabilities.

After we finished decorating the trees we were expecting the Santa Clause’s arriving, as the Santa Clause’s elfs, in our case the dogs, were already tired of such a busy day; It was evening already and after a short time when we looked around the trees we saw the presents….waiting to be gifted.

We gathered all together around the trees and started to give the gifts to each of the people present there.They were just happy of surprised about everything including about what they found in the box.

They loved so much seeing themselves in the photos, so happy and keep the photos beside their bed showing it to any person who come to visit.

Even the staff recognized that no one ever made some such a pleasant surprise and were so charmed about the entire day.

We left the Center late evening in the Christmas Eve with a pleasant feeling that we made a change, because of us some of this people felt the happiness of Christmas day ,for the first time in the last years. When every person spends this time together with their families, we choosed to gave a hope for a better life to the people from Suseni, Gorj county.

 “SOUL TO SOUL “

animal therapy programme

We had the thought of starting this kind of problems on our minds for a long time but we knew it will not be so easy. We just wanted to improve somehow the life of people who have no hope for tomorrow, who were left down, abandoned by their families or , because of their health and mental condition, had no possibility to take care of themselves all alone. There had been made reasearches in this domain and it was demonstrated that, in many situations, an animal is more efficient than the medical treatment.

Also through this programme we want to show that animals,dogs in special, are really important in the evolution of the man’s behavoiur and condition, that animals can really change our day and have a very important role. What really counts is to open our minds, let them near us and believe in their capacity of making what we call "miracles".

First, we gathered the necessary information needed, choose our most sociable and lovely dogs and afterwards we went to find out the Centers where we could start this kind of programme. It wasn’t an easy task especially taking into account the attitude of people towards animals, especially to bring them inside centers like this. We tried to convince directors about the benefits of this kind of programmes, but they were very reticent and had no trust, taking it as a game. But,we have a very optimistic attitude, especially that we really belive in our programme, so even if we were refused, this was not a reason for walking away. Finally,we found a public Center where the director was open – minded and said that he will be very delighted to start this programme.

This pillot programme, as far as we know in Romania, was started in October 2006 at the Center for Old People and Persons with Disabilities from Suseni, Gorj county.

Every week-end the Association representatives together with one or two dogs , de-wormed, de-flead, vaccinated, are visiting this Center. There are a lot of sick persons, with disabilities, without a loving family or friends. This Center is their “home” now, they have food, clothes, but this is not enough, because their soul is sad. Though, we are trying to bring them a smile and make the Sunday more lightness.

We found in this Center animal lovers, who became friends with our dogs MIKA, DOLLY,KIKI and also with us.We spend some time with each of them and listen their story of life. They tell us about the animals that they had at home and little stories about them, but they also put us different questions about our dogs and talk to them also. They feel appreciated and so grateful !

They  pet our dogs and love to keep them into their arms. It is really emotional to see so sad faces when we enter the room, but transforming in shinny and smiling faces when they see us and our dogs.

We are trying, when we have financial possibilities, to offer them some sweets and fruits; we decorate their rooms with flowers, and make small gifts. There are persons who know that we are coming and keep some food for our dogs and feed them when we come.

Our dogs are very sociable and love to stay with the people, as if feeling how much they need to have attention and to have someone around them. The worst enemy of this people is the loneliness and the lack of affection, but our dogs , through their behaviour, bring those people a smile on their face and lighten their day.

When outside is a nice weather, we take out in the the courtyard with the wheelchair those persons who are paralised.; we are talking, playing on accordion and playing with the dogs.They laugh when our dogs make small tricks or ask us to push them faster to catch our dogs, when they run ahead.

Those people became our friends now. They ask the Center staff about us, they ask them when we will come next and what are doing our dogs. They became very close to us, they tell us often how much they love us and how much they want us around!

In 2006, we organized Christmas together with our Santa Clause’s dogs, we decorated their rooms with Christmas tree, floral arrangements and we offered them box gifts with sweets, juice, oranges, and photos with them and our dogs. We had their participation too, they helped us the way they could. They were happy for taking part in organizing Christmas day, as usually the staff is doing this, and and they still keep the gift photos beside their bed, showing it to any person who come to visit.

As you can see, there were also press articles about event."The old people from Suseni center received presents from Santa dogs."

In 2007, on New Year‘s Eve we offered them different small gifts and also we made some calendars having like principal characters our dogs and all persons from the Center, and we put it on the walls from each room.

This programme is the first and the only, as far as we know, from Gorj county but also from Romania, and after all this period we realized that everyone was satisfied even the medical personal. We just hope that another institutions too will follow this example and the directors will think about peoples’ benefit, will open their mind and will not care anymore about their old mentality.