06/24/22 Spay, do not philosophize!
Message from Tarik Filipoviæ for 20 years of campaign „Family to the seaside, a dog to the street?!”
- At the popular Cat Caffe, Tarik in the company of cats represented the visual with dogs with a clear message
Animal Friends Croatia at the popular Zagreb Cat Caffe organized a campaign presentation „Family to the sea, and a dog to the street?!” with which, already the 20th year in a row, they educate about responsible care for dogs and cats. Tarik Filipoviæ, a favorite TV personality and this year’s campaign representative, with the visuals with the irresistible dogs from the Shelter for Neglected Animals of the City of Zagreb in Dumovec, was surrounded by 14 cats adopted from the street or from an asylum in this only cat café in Croatia, from which they send a message: „We continuously educate the guests on the importance of castration, and that even prior to one litter, and about proper cat care. That is why we are happy to host Tarik Filipoviæ for the purpose of presenting a campaign with which we share the same goal – responsible behavior and stopping the abandonment of cats and dogs because of the vacations.”.
In front of the lens of photographer Domagoj Kuniæ, who himself adopted a dog saved from the earthquake, the well-known actor and a TV presenter “clicked” from the start with exceptionally good and peaceful young dogs from the Zagreb Shelter for Neglected Animals of the City of Zagreb in Dumovec, who indulged in his cuddling. With the message on visuals: „Castrate, do not philosophize! Because abandoned animals do not fall from the sky.” he points out the importance of castration for the purpose of preventing abandonment of unwanted puppies and kittens.
White Melinda is a year-old Swiss Shepherd crossbreed weighing about 20 kg and looking for an active family, while Smoki is a yellow ten-month-old Terrier crossbreed, who walks with difficulty and only wants to be carried and cuddled. „Whoever adopts these dogs, as well as any of the others waiting across shelters throughout Croatia, will obtain a wonderful family member”, Tarik pointed out, calling for the adoption of abandoned animals. He reminded us that abandoned animals are not abandoned by themselves, but that it is an irresponsible act of individuals, that often ends tragically: „It terrifies me that there are still people who, especially prior to vacations, throw the animals to the street, into the woods or even drown them. I appeal to everyone who takes care of pets to castrate them and not abandon them. It is truly difficult to find a home for only a single puppy or a kitten, let alone every year numerous times seeking a solution for new animals who come to this world.”
This is also confirmed by Dr. Med. Vet. Svjetlana Prodanoviæ, the coordinator of the Animal Friends Croatia Network for the Protection of Animals: “Dogs and cats are highly reproductive species whose number can increase tenfold in just a few years. Castration is a necessary tool for the fight against their abandonment, especially taking into consideration that the shelters are overcrowded and the cost of animal care is extremely high. In comparison to the other European countries, Croatia has a bad record when this comes to the number of performed castrations, and that is reflected by a large number of unwanted dogs and cats.”
The Law on Animal Protection prescribes the obligation to control the reproduction of pets, which is best done for dogs and cats by castration. Castration directly helps animals and can prevent certain diseases, especially in old age. Castration, or permanent sterilization, is also the only efficient way for reducing the number of abandoned and/or abused animals, also reducing the financial cost that local communities need to allocate for the care of abandoned animals.
Animal Friends Croatia state that, motivated by numerous cases of severe consequences of abandoning animals, they have launched a petition and initiative to sanction animal abandonment as a criminal offense: “We appeal to all not to abandon animals prior to leaving for vacation, but to adopt a dog or a cat if they can meet the conditions. Currently, the situation is alarming with more than 200 dogs from Dubrovnik, which need to be adopted urgently, with all their details available at www.adopt-zarkovica.eu.”
Animals Friends Croatia also thanks all who contributed by volunteering for the realization of the visual „Castrate, do not philosophize! Because abandoned animals do not fall from the sky.”; photographer Domagoj Kuniæ, make-up artist Kristina Ho¹njak; the Shelter for Abandoned Animals of the City of Zagreb in Dumovec who take care of Melinda and Smoki, and the Omnibus Studio and Cat Caffe.