Gabriela's Souls and Paws is a small animal rescue in Eastern Romania run by Gabriela and her husband Andreas (Registered Charity CIF 45286019). Gabriela is a 46 year old Romanian lady who from an early age fed strays and comforted chained dogs. Her childhood was bleak so all her love and care was given to those in need.

Gabriela and her husband have always given shelter to stray and abandoned animals. Quickly growing out of their house in the town and moving to an old house in the Vrancea country in the countryside where she quickly became a repository for unwanted animals.

Romanian attitudes towards dogs and cats differ greatly to here in the UK. Dogs are kept as pets but mostly outside on chains or in cages and then very often abandoned to fend for themselves, then they breed and the problem only worsens. Romanian authorities across the country have attempted to erase the problem by rounding up dogs en masse and throwing them in 'kill shelters' where unless they are helped by local volunteers animals are rarely fed and are exposed to the harsh winters and cruelly hot summers in crude cages.

Gabriela has attempted to become an alternative to these kill shelters but things have quickly spiralled and become too much for her and her husband to manage physically or financially. She is shunned by her neighbours but locals still even throw dogs and cats over her fence, hoping she'll make their problem go away. Caring too much is almost a curse for Gabriela and Andreas. They currently share their home with 56 dogs plus 45 cats and birds, all rescued locally. Food and vets bills are enormous and her husband lost her job due to the pandemic and ill health. Electricity and fuel prices in Romania are amongst the highest in Europe so keeping her home warm for her and her animals during the winter just isn't possible. This winter has been one of the harshest in recent years, with temperatures staying well below -15c for weeks on end with frozen pipes and water bowls.

Fundraising for Gabriela Souls and Paws isn't to fund the building of a new shelter or even pay for essential improvements it's simply to keep the lights on, feed her existing animals and give only essential treatments and spay/neutering. Gabriela's plan is to try and reduce the number of animals she has by having the dogs adopted abroad. She has already successfully partnered with UK and German charities and over 300 dogs have past through her care onto forever homes but charities in the UK and abroad are themselves overwhelmed and scrambling for adoptions and fosterers and finance. Any animals who can be adopted is a blessing for Gabriela but cannot unfortunately be relied upon.

Any amount of money is a huge help for Gabriela and her husband as currently her position is beyond desperate. Please help us at least feed her animals, give them the bare essentials and show this amazing couple, who have given their lives to the care of animals no one wants, that people do care.

https://www.facebook.com/soulsandpaws