We’ve got a birthday!

Hey there, Sochi Dog Friends,

We’ve got eigh-normous news, this month Sochi Dogs turns eight! Since the Sochi Olympics, nearly 600 dogs have been adopted across two continents, seven countries, and 21 states!

Countless more have been saved through spay/neuter initiatives. But there is still lots of work to be done and we're excited for the year ahead. The CDC dog import ban has prevented us from adopting dogs from Sochi to the US. While it’s made things very difficult, we’re looking at it as an opportunity to grow.

We’re working together with The Beagle Rescue Network in South Korea, an amazing organization rescuing animals from hoarding situations, testing labs, kill shelters, and meat markets. So far 12 dogs from the rescue have found homes in the US through Sochi Dogs. We're thrilled for them to be part of our community.

Our eclectic community around the world is what makes Sochi Dogs so special. It’s also the reason why Zoya, a recent rescue, is in her forever home. One Sochi Dog adopter in NJ shared a Facebook post about Zoya. An old college friend living in the UK spotted it. The rest is history... just a few weeks later, Zoya was on a transport across all of Europe, arranged by our friends at LAPA UK to meet her new family. We are continuing to adopt in the UK, so please share our posts and tell your friends, you never know who is looking for a k-9 friend!

This year we’re also coming back to Canada! Our most recent Canadian adoption was two years in the making. Kio was adopted right before the pandemic in 2020. His family waited patiently, our team searched for flights, one after the other they got canceled; until last month when someone contacted us to say they are flying to Calgary. Everyone was ecstatic! Kio’s family drove nearly eight hours to pick him up and now he is settled in his forever home!

Do you know of any heroes/possible flight volunteers traveling from Moscow to Toronto? Or Seoul to New York? This can be anyone. There is no cost or delays for the volunteer, just the satisfaction of knowing they are helping unite a family. Please share on social media and ask your networks if anyone is flying. Volunteers can get in touch with us at sochidogs.org/fly

Finally, as we start our ninth year, we are wondering where we will go next… there are so many dogs in need around the world and we are ready to help. If you know of individuals or shelters that are doing good work to rescue dogs, please send us their info so more deserving k-9s can find their happily-ever-afters.

Thanks for being part of this phenomenal Sochi Dog community!

Sad news to share

Some sad news to share, Masha saw this girl get hit by a car right in front of her. Thankfully Masha was able to rush her to the vet. After x-rays it was determined that she had a serious spinal injury and we had to make the difficult decision to put her down. While it's not the outcome we wanted, we are grateful that we were there to help and she is not suffering injured on the street. This girl had a difficult life but at the end she was surrounded by people who cared.

 
 

Cold Winter

The Sochi Shelter has been hit with some unusually cold weather and we need help. To keep our shelter dogs warm we’ve been feeding them extra food, and we are going through our budgeted stash much faster than expected. The pipes have frozen and all our hoses will need to be replaced. In the meantime, we’ve been giving the dogs bottled water. We’ll be able to evaluate all the damage when things warm up but for now, we are prioritizing keeping the dogs as comfortable as possible.

Zosya and Benji arrived in the UK

After a multi-day trip through all of Europe, Zosya and Benji arrived in the UK! It all started when a Sochi Dogs adopter in NJ shared a Facebook post about one of our recent rescues, that caught the attention of an old college friend living in the UK… the rest is history. Thanks to the kindness and amazing work of our friends at LAPA - Helping animals in Russia Zosya was able to travel to her new forever home outside of London and Benji being a little guy was able to squeeze in as well. Zosya, Benji, and the entire Sochi Dogs team are so grateful to everyone who made this incredible journey possible! Check Zosya’s rescue story here.