Toby and fellow dog-trainer Lauren with Anca (second left) and the Speranta team
Cornwall Dog Behaviourist Lends A Paw And Meets Vet Team At Romanian Shelter
12 hours ago 
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A dog behaviourist specialising in helping street dogs is supporting a Romanian shelter which is home to more than 500 strays.
Toby Craze, who runs Craze Dog Training, visited Speranta Shelter in Bucharest to see its work rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming Romanian dogs.
The 30-year-old behaviourist from Bodmin met the shelter’s 500 residents, including disabled and senior dogs. Many have been rescued from the country’s streets or its notorious kill shelters, where dogs are often euthanised in under 14 days.
Speranta – which means ‘hope’ – has a no-kill policy and instead focuses on sterilisation and education to help reduce the hundreds of thousands of stray dogs across Romania. To date it has sterilised more than 200,000 animals.
Toby said: “Speranta Shelter blew me away, it is not easy to house hundreds of dogs. The fact every animal received the same unique care is phenomenal.
“The team could tell you about every single dog – their backgrounds and history, their struggles, their strengths, their personalities and preferences, their area in the shelter. Each dog was a member of the Speranta family.
“What really stood out to me was how Speranta prioritised adopting out the dogs locally, to homes within Romania. This is something I have rarely come across, as most organisations export dogs overseas, so to see successful adoptions happening in their home country, gave me optimism and confidence for the future.”
Toby works primarily with Romanian street dogs adopted in the UK, promoting force-free training to rehabilitate traumatised and reactive dogs.
He also runs a successful Instagram account where he offers training and advice to street dog owners, along with posting about his two dogs, crossbreed George and Ukrainian rescue Nova.
Toby has always loved animals but knew he wanted to pursue a career in dog behaviour after living in Thailand, where dogs roam freely and live independently. He later worked for a rescue rehoming dogs from Romania to the UK, which led him to pursue a career in dog training and behaviour.
Toby added: “I work with many clients who struggle with their overseas rescues and naturally so, street dogs have been moulded by nature to thrive in a free-roaming environment.
“Although adopting an ex-street dog from abroad can be an incredible and rewarding process that I have seen succeed many times, we cannot deny it is often very difficult for most adopters.
“There are some amazing charities that export dogs from Romania and I work with a few, but unfortunately that is not the case across the board, and many dogs are making the huge journey across the world just to be made homeless again.
“I see Speranta paving the way for other organisations to see it is possible and it works for dogs to be rehomed in Romania.”
Instead of transporting dogs to the UK, Speranta offers a pioneering remote adoptions programme, which allows UK dog-lovers to ethically adopt from a distance. A remote adoption with Speranta means ensuring a life-long sanctuary for a dog in Romania without adding to the strain on British rescue centres.
Toby plans to continue offering support to Speranta by returning to Romania to share learnings with the charity’s behaviourists and help with the rehabilitation of some of its dogs.
Speranta lead vet and manager Anca Tomescu, says rehabilitation is one of the most important parts of the shelter’s work.
She said: “We rescue some of the worst cases, with dogs who have suffered on the streets or in Romania’s public shelters.
“Our country is currently undergoing a much-needed animal welfare reform, which can’t come quick enough. Currently dogs in shelters can be euthanised within 14 days, and this is often through barbaric methods by beating or starvation.
“Many of the dogs we rescue have endured horrendous suffering, which is why we are so proud to have an on-site behaviourist and vet clinic. It was great for Toby to see our work and hear his insights and stories about working with adopted Romanian dogs. We are glad Romanian dogs have such an incredible advocate in the UK.
“We can’t wait to welcome Toby back to Speranta to share learnings between himself and our behaviourist team, to help even more dogs at the shelter.”
Speranța Shelter was founded by Anca’s mother, Florina, in 2001 when she rescued 300 dogs from a public centre where they were set to be euthanised. All Speranta’s dogs are treated, spayed, neutered and microchipped in the shelter’s own clinic, living in a friendly environment until they find their forever families.
The charity also focuses on sterilisation, vaccination and education in the community, along with spearheading change campaigning for animal welfare reform.
For more information on Speranța Shelter, its remote adoption programme or to pledge a lifesaving donation, visit www.sperantashelter.org.
Seach Craze Dog Training on Instagram to follow Toby.
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