Buhuşi – a pleasant surprise

Buhuşi is a small town in Eastern Romania called Moldova. Funny how we, Romanians from Southern Romania (Regăţeni) were always under the impression that these people are poor and uneducated; I, for one, felt badly about my hometown by comparing it to Buhuşi. It seems this small town was well known for the cloth factory, which was the biggest one in Europe 100 years ago. It still exists, but as many other factories in Romania, it went bankrupt. 

We had the wonderful opportunity to visit a very special place, the arboretum park in Hemeiuşi which has 178 species of plants gathered from all over the world. 

Buhuşi was a special project planned by two very loyal supporters of this small town in Eastern Romania. A very dedicated English teacher took it upon herself to inform the people of Buhuşi about the importance of spay/neuter for their animals and she did it beautifully, through a flash mob held by her students. Around 1000 people were surprised to see high school students dancing for the animals. The young generation is our hope for a brighter future and it is high time they teach us about responsibility and compassion towards all animals. 

 

For three days, people were enthusiastic to greet the R.A.R. team and they welcomed us by entrusting 156 of their animals (dogs and cats, owned and stray ones) to be spayed or neutered. A lot of the students who participated at the flash mob came to see for themselves what a spay/neuter campaign is all about and they were all eager to offer their help. 

Thanks to R.A.R.’s generous donors, the vets were able to help a very sweet dog who had her hind leg crushed by an excavator and had been suffering tremendously for almost 5 months.  She was both spayed and had her leg amputated that day, but her life improved for the better. Her protector was so grateful and impressed with the vet’s work, he promised he will keep us updated on her progress. We wish to see cute Lupita again when we go back for another spay/neuter campaign.

Buhuşi is a success story showing how an amazing group of veterinarians, loyal and generous donors and the commitment of the local community can do wonders for the animals in need. All of us were impressed with the people of Buhuşi and how well they’ve manage to work together (the local authorities, the high school Principal, the local vet, teachers and students) for the good of their town. Going back to Buhuşi is not only a must, but also our pleasure.

The R.A.R. team and Babi Sava, the English teacher who organised the whole event