Footprints of Freedom: a whole new life has begun!

The first thing that Inca did when we opened the dog carrier in which we had brought her to Footprints of Freedom was sniff at the grass all around her for several minutes. Every now and then she would glance up at us, almost as though she was asking us to confirm what she was possibly starting to imagine in her mind’s eye. Then all of a sudden, it was as if she had understood where she was: one paw followed the other, she explored the length and breadth of the whole compound, and only after completing her thorough reconnaissance tour did she lie down in the sun, close her eyes and enjoy a long nap. And this was just for starters.

Over the past few weeks, we have finished settling the first dogs into Footprints of Freedom, the new area of our shelter in Romania that you helped us build for dogs that cannot be adopted. Now they have a large 500 square meter fenced-in space where they can live in complete freedom, far away from all the things they are so fearful of.

As we have already described, these dogs have had a very troubled past, marked either by severe maltreatment or trauma so deep that it prevents them from being able to be adopted by a family. None of them will allow us to touch them or agree to wear a harness. Many completely reject human contact and even just being close to people causes them deep discomfort. Above all, they need professional help, a calm environment and specialized attention.

From now on, they can enjoy all of these benefits living at Footprints of Freedom.

The relocation of the first new residents means that the initial part of the project, in which we designed and physically built the area, has now been officially completed, but it also marks the beginning of the second phase, which is the part dedicated to monitoring them. Footprints of Freedom was conceived from day one to accommodate the individual needs of the various houseguests and will be modified as we watch them interact.

As we previously explained, the different groups have been created based on each dog’s specific characteristics, and they will be closely observed by the educators to ensure they all respond in a positive way.