With a lively voice and a distinctive exuberance, Delia Pîrvu, co-founder of the adoption center Red Panda Romania, explains how the project came to be. "We laid the foundations of the center - concept, structure, organization - even before our group of volunteers obtained legal personality, before we established ourselves as an NGO. From the beginning, we knew that we didn't want to create a typical shelter but an adoption center", she says.
Simply put, the 6 co-founders wanted to build a community that would help them promote notions of adoption and service. They craved an "enjoyable place" for animals where people could spend their time interacting with them. Soon enough, a handful of volunteers joined their efforts, with Delia remarking that "Without a team, you can’t do anything."
She avoids calling Red Panda a shelter: "Traditionally, (a shelter) is a refuge in which animals stay there all their lives. That’s far from our aim, which, first and foremost, is centered around promoting adoptions."
Delia and her colleagues wanted to differentiate themselves somehow from the idea of a traditional shelter to more easily connect with the public. "In general, when people hear shelter they get scared, they think of images of hundreds of dogs crying, begging."
Red Panda is a private centre, functioning exclusively out of donations and income tax. Besides taking care of the animals at the shelter itself, the association is involved in other projects, such as "S.O.S Ukrainian Animals".
"Animals always tell us what they need, all we need to do is listen."– Delia Pîrvu
"Since the war started, (...) we built networks with volunteers who stayed in Ukraine, and we were able to send over food and medicine for pets, with humanitarian convoys straight into war zones " says Delia. Red Panda constantly communicates with the volunteers there, many of which choosing to remain in Ukraine just to help the stray animals.
"S.O.S. Ukrainian Pets" also supports families that found safety in Romania with their pets. "Some animals are old, others simply fell ill on the road due to stress; we offer free food, medical assistance and administrative procedures," says Delia.
Delia hopes that the virtual adoptions program Nectarly will allow them to reach as many Ukrainian families and help as many animals as possible, even outside their centre. “There were many times when our lack of money was hard to navigate,” she says. “It can even lead to depression and prevent you from seeing that tomorrow’s another day.”
With the consistent monthly income the association could have through Nectarly, Red Panda would like to invest in the social rehabilitation of dogs, hiring a vet part-time and rebuilding old storage spaces. “The virtual adoptions program would help us feel safer and offer the animals the best we can.”
Want to adopt an animal?
If this article convinced you, contact Red Panda Romania via their Instagram (@redpandaromania) or Facebook account (Red Panda Romania)
However, if you're not ready to get a lifelong companion, you can choose to virtually adopt an animal from our website. Simply go to the shelters page and pick an animal to support monthly.
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