Support Friends in Need During Trial Times

Instagram campaign video

Holiday FUNDRAISER

In the spirit of the holiday season, we are starting this fundraiser to help amazing people do even more good for the homeless animals. You can still get your donations written off for the year 2024, tax deducted. All your donations are tax-deductible, and a receipt will be provided upon request. We are a 501(c)3 corporation and registered with the IRS.

The Story

Many years ago, I came to Russia for 3 days for a client and didn’t realize my passport had expired, so instead of 3 days, I spent 2 months waiting for a new passport. In that time, I found this amazing team in the city of Ryazan, and together we started a dog and cat rescue organization "Way Home" (Put' domoy) - https://club155015903.orgs.biz/ - that is alive and well to this day and has been very successful in its efforts, being the first animal shelter in town. My friends Tatiana and Maria have been working along with other selfless people tirelessly and adopted out hundreds of animals into loving homes around the world.

(recent photo sent by this boy's parents from the USA - graduate of the Way Home Shelter)

With the onset of the war, international adoptions that had helped with most of all adoptions became close to impossible, and the number of animals in the shelter doubled. International donations dried up, too. Dogs don’t care that the borders got closed; they don’t care who fights with whom; all they want is a loving home, someone to greet after a long day, and a warm couch to sleep on. So the girls had to find ways to survive. Heavily overwhelmed and chronically tired, they kept going at ultimate capacity, through tears and chronic fatigue.

To add insult to injury, the team with all the animals needed to vacate the old shelter’s lot, so they were desperate - but there was a silver lining! For years, Tatiana was saving money to be able to afford a new lot, the forever home - and now it’s theirs! The animals cannot be kicked out any longer. Now they could build better, safer, warmer, more solid housing for more dogs! Dogs that would otherwise freeze to death in the streets in tough Russian winters, injured and lonely.

Through the insane efforts of the shelter leadership and their tireless husbands who took time off their weekends (they all have full-time jobs), new construction began. See for yourselves how beautiful it is!

But construction comes with a high price tag, and they owe a lot of money for materials. Tatiana took out a personal credit line to build this dog dream, and

we are asking you to help cover the debt, and the ongoing maintenance costs, sterilization of new animals, and medical expenses.

The amount borrowed from the bank: $25,000

The construction materials debt: $10,000

Monthly operational expenses (food, medical care, sterilizations, supplies): $1,000

They rely heavily on donations. Apart from spending our own money and random acts of kindness from local people, there is no other source of the shelter’s existence. Dog-related businesses and adoption festivals help a bit, but material donations and adoptions are not regular.

It’s easier to collect money for a specific animal in need, but operational costs and mortgage are something very few people see, so I pledge to help with this gargantuan expense and encourage you, friends, to help.

These people are astonishing. I cannot believe the luck I had to meet them once and become their friend. I trust them with my life; their track record is spotless for many years, and I personally have been donating yearly. I’m confident that the money donated will be used exactly as stated.

Please help these wonderful people build and maintain this dream shelter! They truly deserve it. Make your yearly tax-deductible contribution; all the donations are 100% tax-deductible with our US-based non-profit organization.

Also, check out the animals in the link above and photos below! If you would like to adopt anyone, also any animal featured in the Instagram video, let us know and we will explain the process. Thank you in advance!