Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 1 August, a presentation of the Mehr shelter for homeless dogs was held, which is located in Pskent district of Tashkent region. Shelter, named "Mehr" by animal rights activists, is the only animal shelter in the country with a veterinary and canine service. After the completion of construction, the shelter was transferred to the management of animal rights defenders.

AKFA Group presented a modern shelter for stray dogs. Now the shelter is in the process of obtaining the status of a non-governmental non-profit organization. This will allow attracting investments from individuals and legal entities. Note that this is the first time in Uzbekistan when a private business has implemented such a social project.

“For us, volunteers and animal rights activists, caring for abandoned animals is the meaning of life. Now we are not alone in this business. Thanks to the help of the AKFA Group, we are starting work in a new shelter for stray dogs Mehr. Here we will provide assistance to animals that have suffered from human indifference. Many of them have lost faith in people and now it will take us more than one month to teach them to trust us again. Every minute we will let our wards understand that all the misfortunes for them are already behind them,” said Elena Lysenko, director of the Mehr shelter.

When developing the project, the successful experience of European animal rights activists was taken as a basis. As a reminder, the area of the shelter was 1 hectare, according to the norms, it is possible to comfortably accommodate 1000 dogs. In addition to enclosures on the territory, comfortable walking areas, administrative and medical blocks, disinfection barriers, a special block for puppies and lactating ones, as well as areas of strict isolation have been created. A veterinarian and three paramedics, a chief dog handler and two of his assistants have already started working at the shelter.

The mechanism of the shelter will allow you to look at the culture of keeping dogs in a new way. Newly arrived animals will pass through the quarantine zone and only after all the necessary procedures can they be transferred to the enclosures and work on socialization can begin.

Today, 28 pets are already staying at the shelter, of which 25 were taken from Natalya’s shelter from Urtasaray and three more dogs were admitted to the shelter during the presentation. After long discussions and searching for a solution, the management and specialists of the shelter came to the conclusion that it is necessary to start helping the pets. “The problem of homeless animals is so large-scale that it needs to be addressed here and now. The shelter already has all the capabilities to help and rescue animals, commented Elena Lysenko, director of the Mehr shelter.

“We feel a high social responsibility towards society, as well as towards our smaller brothers. Therefore, it was decided to build such a shelter to encourage everyone to pay attention to this problem. Unfortunately, the construction of one shelter will not solve the problem in the country as a whole. The main thing is to do everything together, together,” said Kamran Gulamov, General Director of AKFA Group.

Mehr refers to a type of restricted shelter. It has to do with moral choices. Restricted shelters do not euthanize healthy and non-aggressive animals, but keep them for an indefinite period of time or until natural death occurs. Animals suffering from an incurable disease, experiencing unbearable suffering, can be put to sleep in restricted shelters, if they cannot be stopped otherwise.