About 300 metres from the centre one can hear the dogs barking. As one gets closer, the sounds of many more barking dogs rend the air of the rather serene environment. With a few more steps you get to the centre where animals are given as much, if not more attention than human beings.
Established in 1923,the Crailo Animal Care centre in Hilversum is one of the more than 100 centres in Netherlands.
Great shelter at the centerIt’s main responsibility is to take care of domestic animals, especially stray animals in the streets. Such are given shelter and transferred to safe abodes where they would be offered better living conditions.
Animals brought into the centre are quarantined for 14 days for observation and reorientation before they are taken to the main shelter to live in harmony with other animals.
How center works
The Crailo has 10 permanent workers and 14 volunteers who work with zeal and commitment to ensure the welfare of the animals.
“None of us was forced to work in this centre, so you see everybody working hard with the kind of zeal that comes with it. For example, I was at first working in a bank but I decided to work here because of the love I have for animals,” Naomi Rosenthal, the Assistant General Manager of the centre says.
Expressing disgust about how some people treat animals she says “People are sometimes very weird about animals here, especially when the animals grow, they are abandoned”.
Naomi enjoys working at the center
Every occupation has its own hazards, likewise the animal centre. Naomi said not even everybody working there can get close to the dogs and cats, because they could be dangerous at times. Her co-workers have sustained injuries from dog bites and she has had a share of the hazards as she pointed at scars on her hands sustained from cat attacks.
Funding
“People are sometimes very weird about animals here, especially when the animals grow, they are abandoned”.The centre is financed by the city council –which is obliged to provide funds to take care of the animals for the first 14 days. It also gets funds from donations, individual sponsors and the centre sometimes solicit for funds.
Another source of income is the hotel the centre operates. People who are busy and could not take care of their animals lodge them in the hotel for as much as 13 euros per night.
“We get more animals during the summer because many people do go on holidays and would not have the time to take care of their pets.” Naomi notes.
Challenges
Getting enough finance to run the centre is a major constraint in the centre.
The centre is also trying to get approval to construct a new building to accommodate the animals but to no avail. Ironically, the authorities whose responsibility they are executing, have failed to approve the project.
“We do something they have to do but they don’t want us to do it the right way. It is very frustrating.
We have been trying to get approval for about three to four years now”, she laments.
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