As a result of a fire in a house in Ulan-Ude, more than 50 cats and dogs, which an elderly couple picked up on the street, died; The pensioners survived — the man was slightly injured, and the woman was not at home during the fire. This was reported by the Dog of Happiness fund for helping animals.
According to volunteers, 21 cats and 87 dogs lived on the property of Lyudmila Borisovna and Valery Ivanovich. The fire killed all the cats and 30 dogs. Some of them were burned alive, while others suffocated due to smoke. “One dog covered the puppies with its body and died, but saved the babies,” added the “Dog of Happiness.”
Videos released by the foundation show charred parts of the house. Several walls damaged by the fire collapsed and windows were broken. In the comments to the publication, volunteers clarified that the pensioners are now staying with their son, not far from their home. They plan to place the dogs at the Ananda shelter.
It is not yet known what caused the fire. The Dog of Happiness Foundation’s public page added: “Yes, we do not approve of keeping so many dogs in the residential sector. But this in no way justifies arson and murder!” The volunteers clarified that the police will be involved in the examination and establishment of the source of the fire.
In July 2022, Vladimir Putin signed a law that allowed regional authorities to decide how to deal with stray animals. Buryatia became the first region to allow their killing. Local volunteers several times a week send dogs from Ananda in mail and luggage cars to other regions where there are no similar laws.
The director of the shelter, Vyacheslav Sambuev, said that on the morning of January 10, employees of the veterinary department of the Republic of Buryatia killed «Ananda» 18 dogs. The animals “were either sick or exhausted,” Sambuev said. According to the founder of “Dogs of Happiness” Evgenia Shiryaeva, the killed dogs were treated, some were already recovering.
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