How to support dog adoption? In Romania, footballers will be playing with their pets in their arms

Romania has long been plagued by overcrowded shelters full of dogs looking for new homes. So the Romanian Football Federation has taken the problem into its own hands and signed a partnership with local authorities that will see players in the top competition playing with abandoned dogs for the rest of the season.

In the Romanian top competition, the 6th round of the league started in an unconventional way after the national break. In addition to the six-goal dominance of the home side FCSB, four-legged creatures were also seen on the pitch during the derby with Dinamo Bucharest.

The Dinamo players did not enter the pitch alone. While in the Champions League it is customary to be accompanied by children, in Romania the players will be getting used to the company of canine creatures. For a year, they will support the adoption of homeless animals.

Every dog on the pitch has a name tag around its neck along with a scarf. Fans at the stadium or in front of the TV screens can then adopt any of the dogs and offer them a home. As part of the agreement to introduce the dogs, there is a strict ban on any pyrotechnics and similar practices during the build-up.

The issue of abandoned dogs in Romania

Problems with abandoned and stray dogs began to arise during the communist period. Many people had to move into apartment buildings where dogs were not allowed. So people started to get rid of them by letting them out on the streets.

In 2013, the problem with abandoned dogs came to a head. At that time, there were around 65 000 abandoned dogs on the streets of Bucharest, which also posed a danger to the city’s inhabitants. In the first eight months, less than 10 000 people were treated for dog bites.

So the government decided to take a radical step. It published a law that allowed dogs not adopted within 14 days to be euthanized. This law has sent a wave of discontent around the world, and a protest was held in Prague in front of the Romanian embassy. The law was overturned by the court in July 2014.

Thanks to the increased awareness of the problem, better times were beginning to look better. Dogs began to be transported from Romania to other countries where they could find homes. For example, not a single dog was imported to England until 2013. By 2017, there were already 15,548.

Nevertheless, shelters are still overcrowded in Romania, so a campaign in Romania’s top football league should help.

Sources used: BBC, The Bridge