06/28/11 Do not Adopt Animals if You are Going to Leave Them!
Animal Friends continues with the campaign "Family to the Seaside, Dog to the Street?"
- Mirna and Mario Valentic invite citizens not to abandon their companion animals
Every summer upon going on vacation, the number of abandoned animals roaming the streets exposed to car accidents, hunger, thirst and violence increases. Citizens that kick out their non-human family members just so they could enjoy their summer undisturbed, show by this inhumane act not only irresponsibility, but also a lack of empathy and compassion towards the animals that had trusted them. Besides that, they pass their responsibility towards their animals onto more compassionate citizens and overcrowded animal shelters.
That is why Animal Friends, together with the City Office for Agriculture and Forestry, continues with the campaign "Family to the Seaside, Dog to the Street?" in order to raise public awareness about the problem of abandoning animals and promote adoption of abandoned animals rather than buying animals from breeders.
After Croatian celebs Marko Tolja, Franka Batelic, Gala Svilan, Andjela Ramljak, Tatjana Juric, Nikolina Pisek and Maja Vucic, the faces of this year's campaign are the popular couple Mirna and Mario Valentic who, together with the proteges from the Shelter for abandoned animals in Dumovec, the dog Bodo and the cat Zabica, invite citizens not to abandon animals. On billboards in Zagreb, Rijeka, Split, Sisak, Velika Gorica, Osijek, Karlovac, Porec, Zadar and other cities they tell citizens not to adopt or take in animals if they are going to abandon and leave them.
During the shooting, Mirna Maras Valentic, a popular TV-host, commented: "We have neither a dog nor a cat because we are aware that we wouldn't be able to take proper care of the animals due to our busy schedules. That is why we immediately accepted to take part in this campaign when the Animal Friends contacted us - because we believe that education and prevention are the best ways of adressing the problem of abandoning animals." Her husband, actor and personal trainer Mario Valentic added: "It is better not to adopt an animal if you are not ready to take on the lifelong responsibility of having her. I have trouble understanding how people kick animals to the streets because of their comfort. Animals are sensitive creatures who need a lot of attention and time."
Bodo and Zabica come from the Shelter for abandoned animals in Dumovec and are just two of the many animals who were once a part of somebody's family, only to be abandoned. Now they are waiting in their cages for a person who will decide to adopt them insted of buying an animal. The good news is that Bodo found a home shortly after participating in the campaign.
The tourists that visit Croatia return to their homes shocked by the huge numbers of abandoned animals that often become a danger for humans, as well as by the lack of shelters for abandoned animals required by the Animal Protection Act. That is why this campaign stresses out the importance of microchipping for all dogs, which will make it easier to find caretakers of abandoned dogs and enable the enactment of the Animal Protection Act, by which the abandoning of animals is punished by a 15,000 kn fine.
The photos for the campaign "Family to the Seaside, Dog to the Street?" were taken by Dorijan Klun, the make-up artist is Nives Spajic, Maja Zaklan is responsible for the billboard design and Pepe Jeans dressed the Valentic couple. This campaign was supported by the National Foundation for the Civil Society Development, City Office for Agriculture and Forestry of the City of Zagreb, Iskon, Zale, Europlakat, Vectordesign, and Moj Posao.
More information about the campaign and the problem of abandoned animals, as well as the list of dog hotels and dog-friendly accomodations can be found at www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr.
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