The city shelter, with an annual budget of 180,000 KM, and volunteers offering to rehome several dozen dogs monthly into safe, verified homes with feedback.
Sounds like the beginning of a very nice story, doesn’t it?
Unfortunately, at the shelter in Banja Luka, this story has a tragic continuation.
On February 28, 2024, the NGO WagWag sent news to the city administration that should be great for every abandoned dog in Banja Luka. The news was that a volunteer had established cooperation with foreign organizations that agreed to rehome several dozen animals from the city shelter every month.
The very next day, WagWag was invited to a meeting at the city administration to discuss the details of the cooperation. The city only needed to provide veterinary care and tests for certain types of infectious diseases, and the volunteers, once granted access to the shelter, were to prepare photographs of the animals for adoption and assist in finding them homes.
The city took a few days to finalize the details of the offer with their legal department, but initially approved it and allowed a few volunteers into the shelter to photograph the first 10 animals.
What was supposed to be the beginning of a happier time for Banja Luka’s abandoned animals ended with volunteers at the clinical center anxiously awaiting the results of a brucellosis test.
Despite the fact that on the first day volunteers found animals infected with giardia and various skin diseases, the approach to the project by the organization and volunteers continued optimistically, still initiating faster treatment of animals and more detailed monitoring of their health.
After the initial agreement that volunteers could access the shelter, after the first entry on March 6, 2024, volunteers were no longer allowed into the shelter despite requests.
Unofficial information suggests that the Vet Center clinic was at no point during that period ready to open its doors to visitors, despite this directly violating Article 20:
(1) The working hours of the facilities referred to in Article 1 of this regulation, which relate to work with clients, must be at least four hours on working days, and during 24 hours a day, an on-call service must be provided for receiving animals in emergencies.
Regulations on the establishment and conditions that animal shelters must meet, Official Gazette of BiH, number 27/10
The slow response of the city administration and the Vet Center clinic resulted in 20 animals missing the opportunity to go to new homes during that period.
Determined to take at least a small step forward, the volunteers patiently wait to re-enter the shelter and confirm that the previously photographed dogs are now treated for visible diseases and, for safety, tested for other infectious diseases.
On March 20, 2024, the volunteers received completely unexpected news – ONE OF THE DOGS IN THE SHELTER TESTED POSITIVE FOR BRUCELLOSIS.
Unfortunately, for this wonderful soul, legally there was no other option but euthanasia. Another life lost behind the closed doors of the Manjača shelter, run by the Vet Center under a contract with the city of Banja Luka.
This scenario sadly shocked no one, given that the shelter’s management has been shameful for years. What is shocking is that even today, six days later, the city has not officially notified the volunteers who visited the shelter on March 6 that they are potentially infected and should undergo preventive testing for brucellosis.
After years and years of neglecting the health and lives of animals, the Vet Center, in collaboration with the city administration, has begun to endanger the lives and health of volunteers. The notice the volunteers received about preventive testing was informal and verbal and did not allow them to get a referral from their family doctor for tests, which would mean they would have to bear the costs of testing themselves.
The public institution, which is also responsible for the outbreak, did not even dignify the citizens with an official notice and help with covering the costs. The same citizens who, a month ago, selflessly offered their effort, time, and work to help solve the problem that those who are paid to do so have not resolved for years.
