Safety of Pet Dogs in Bulgaria

We brought our cavalier over with us 10 years ago, unfortunately he died but it was old age.  I have another cavaliar now and a shitzu,

You won't have any problems if you keep them on your property.  My spaniel can be over friendly, but as she's usually wagging her tail with a stick in her mouth most people don't think she's going to bite them. 

Unfortunately there are dogs that get thrown out, people don't neuter their dogs and then the pregnant bitches get dumped.  I look after several dogs which arrived starving,  I had to find places for them and put them on chains as my friend and neighbour told me several of the neighbours were talking of putting poison down as the dogs were barking at them. 

I take them a walk early in the morning when they can't bother anyone, it's not ideal but they all seem perfectly happy, it's more than most of the village dogs get, some are on short chains and never let off at all or taken for a walk.

In the towns it' seems better, the dogs live in the apartments and get taken out, they like to dress them up too, but only pedigree dogs, I think .

We came with a Staffy and a Pitbull and they were later joined by a Staffy/Karakachan puppy.  Before we'd properly secured the property the buggers escaped constantly.  Both dogs are friendly (save small wild animals) but the sight of 2 apparently dangerous breeds struck the fear of god into the villagers.  We were approached by a senior member of the community who voiced the concerns of the community adding that if the dogs kept escaping they would have to call the police.  It was all very friendly.  We took immediate action and enclosed the entire plot, much to the relief of our neighbours.  Not long afterwards a skelatal bitch, her last years pup and 3 new puppies arrived at our gate.  We couldn't help ourselves and we fed them.  We fed them all until they'd reached a healthy stage. I found homes for 2 of the pups and was working to find homes for the others.  Sadly we came home to find the last pup had been poisoned and the 2 bitches disappeared never to return.  A neighbour later told me that all the old ladies in our road were frightened to walk past our house because the strays had become protective of us and barked at them.  The old ladies weren't able to go to the shops or visit their friends.  We were mortified and have since stopped feeding strays.  We have however rehomed 6 strays successfully.  Another neighbour also pointed out that some people in the village were barely able to feed themselves and the Bulgarians found it strange that we should buy food to feed stray dogs.  All in all it has been an adjustment.  But our dogs have never been happier.  We have an acre of land.  If I take the dogs out I never go out at 7am or 7pm because the shepherds are bringing their herds home through the village.

Yes Corter,,

That is exactly what happens, I would be terrified too  if I saw a pit bull out on its own, especially here where most of the dogs aren't socialised.

I've been told off by one of my neighbours for feeding the dogs, but when you love dogs and they turn up outside your house, because you have dogs and they know this, it takes a hard heart indeed not to feed them when the poor starving creature looks at you with its big sad brown eyes.

I now have 3 dogs apart from my own to feed, walk , frontline etc., they have all been spayed and vaccinated, also there are the 2 latest puppies which, unfortunately, were so well hidden by the time We found them they were terrified of people, and impossible to re-home.

With.the help of 2 other friends managed to catch them after giving sleeping tablets in sausage , but still they were running and it took three of us to corner and catch them.  We took them to be neutered and at least they won't be having any unwanted puppies now.

Im praying no more pregnant bitches turn up as I don't have anywhere else to put them and I have promised my neighbour I won't feed any more.  I can understand his problem as they have 2 small grandchildren to look after in the school holidays and obviously worried about loose dogs.

I know some people say feeding strays is adding to the problem, But would be hard to watch some poor animal starving to death, easy to say when they're not in that situation it's not my fault I don't bring them here.

I feel happy when I think of all the puppies re-homed,  now living nice lives , that makes it worth while, but of course no- one wants the poor mothers. 

This is one of the things I find hard in Bulgaria, also seeing people teaching there children how to rummage in the bins, you never get used to such things but it's what happens here.  It's a poor country, the pensioners have to work long and hard growing produce so they have enough to live on as the pension they get is so small, many of them keep chickens and rabbits for food and quite a lot have bee hives, so they can sell the honey, it's a hard life here for many.

@The Doghouse Hi, I share your concerns. I'm living in rural France, but the cost of living is very high here and my house needs a lot of work. As a result, I was considering a move to Bulgaria. I know there are stray dogs there, because I've adopted 6 dogs from Romania, which is equally bad. In addition to the ones I had before, I now have 10 dogs and 4 cats. I was hoping to find something slightly away from a village, with access to open land, so I could walk the dogs. That's beginning to look less likely. My budget is limited and because I live alone, I don't want to be miles from anywhere. Its a dilemma, because I could never put my animals at risk, anymore than I could turn away a starving dog. I could very easily make enemies, which doesn't bode well for a peaceful life.

Hi grumpyoldbird, love the name!

As a fellow dog lover I agree with everything the previous ladies have wrote.

When we first came here I knew I would have to harden my heart a little due to the strays but also how dogs that are owned here by both Roma & Bulgarians are treated. I believe the general thought in the villages is that if you have an animal it must have a purpose…the dog protects the hens, the hens provide eggs & meat, the cats keep mice under control etc. Seeing the majority of dogs on a short chain all their lives does break my heart but it's the way things are.

I would strongly suggest buy a house where you can walk out into the countryside easily. As Corter said, take them out early. I'm usually out by 8am as the shepherds tends to walk past ours around 9-9.30 & I don't want to be messing with their dogs!

I have an apartment in yambol,my wife and I visit 4 times a year love bulgaria but the cruelty to street dogs and cats is appalling I am proud to feed these poor creatures and if the locals dont like it tough I treat poor bulgarians with the same respect forget this uk american trend of buying designer dogs, give a home to a wonderfull street dog what is their mentality however I am sure that many bulgarians are kind so forgive my comments

John uk citizen

People in cities are nice to dogs. In the village it is different. Wait 10 years.

Ladies

Can anyone recommend a good Gynaecologist in Varna/Shumen (or anywhere in between).?

Desperate over 50!!!!

@Snowball6 have in Plovidiv?