One Month Later...

Approximately one month ago, The Dodo published this video about the Vucjak Shelter in Serbia....

Thousands of you had never heard of Vucjak or its owner / operator Dejan Gacic. Many of you learned of his selfless compassion, dedication and sacrifice spanning the last 20 years. Most of you joined us and his many pre-existing supporters, and came to his rescue and became supporters yourselves giving him and his 1000+ dogs a much needed lifeline. For this, Dejan will be eternally grateful.

If you've signed up for a monthly donation, you can find here a guide to managing your subscription. As the one month anniversary of the Dodo video is nearing, your next monthly gift will be coming due. A message from Dejan on the subject can be found here.

With more than 1000 dogs and 200 cats calling the shelter home, Vucjak food bills alone total $30K per month (approx $1000 / day). With basic vet care, fuel for the shelter's generator and wages for a few helpers, the shelter's monthly expenses easily top $40K per month.

What many new supporters may not know however, is that just 4 months ago, the shelter had that funding secured. They had a Patreon account with over 4000 donors and $40K in monthly giving. It took several years to build that up. Unfortunately corrupt government actors in Serbia, in an attempt to take over the shelter's funding, falsely accused and framed Dejan in a case of animal abuse. He was imprisoned for 10 days and then all charges were droppedย following relentless global pressure from his supporters. During this turbulent period, the Patreon account was shut down, the monthly funding lost, and the donor lists erased never to be reached again.

For the last 2 months, we have been desperately trying to rebuild this funding.ย We are currently at the halfway mark, just shy of $20K. But winter is coming fast. Winter is brutally harsh in Serbia. Temperatures regularly are below zero and oftenย dip belowย 20ยฐC at night. They will need firewood to keep the stoves going. They will need additional homes (containers) for shelter as the population has grown quite a bit. And most importantly, they will need more food than during summer months as the dogs begin to burn more body fat to keep warm.

We know we've asked you before and you've done a lot already. Thank you. Just simply share this with any animal lover you know and spread awareness about this wonderful animal haven. If you've previously made a one-time donation, perhaps through the Vucjak Cash Card, please consider signing up for an automatic monthly gift. Just $5 a month makes a huge impact on the lives of many at the shelter.

You can find more ways to support the Vucjak Shelter here.

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