Animals in Bosnia

Ack!  We’ve had more problems this weekend with our heat and hot water.  Fortunately, Alisa was able to get an emergency plumber to come to our apartment this afternoon, and, finally, we have heat, hot water, and a leak-free bathroom. (We’ve never had all three at the same time, haha.)  I think that my day-to-day life will be much more comfortable now!

In other news, little kitty was a houseguest for the past two nights, but I reluctantly decided to give it one more meal and then put it outside today.  It’s not litter box trained, and I’ve just been throwing it into a box every time it wanders off to go to the bathroom.  However, we are going to leave for Italy later this week, and there is no way the kitten can stay in the apartment without supervision.  I’m hoping that it’s gotten enough energy to survive outside now.  I saw it out hunting bugs in the courtyard, which is a good sign.  If it comes back to visit, I can feed it at least.

            Since I’ve decided to start writing about more serious problems in Bosnia, rather than look the other way, I will add a bit about what I know/think about the stray animals.  There are so many stray animals here, and no humane society to take them to.  Edo, the principal bassoonist of the orchestra, was trying to explain to my roommate how the stray animal population has recently become a large problem here. As I understand it, the Bosnian government made it illegal to put stray animals to sleep, and there aren’t any resources to set up animal shelters.  I am hearing this third hand, so I might be misinformed about this.

            Regardless, I think that besides being tragic and inhumane, the sizable stray dog and cat population must be a huge public health risk.  I haven’t heard of anyone getting hurt or sick by an animal, but I’m sure it’s inevitable unless something is done. My hope would be that the Bosnian government or an outside aid organization takes charge, and starts by at least spaying and neutering stray animals.  If anyone knows about any sort of Bosnian/European/international humane society, I’d love to support it, or at least post a link to its site on my blog.