LIFE - The Lucy Irvine Foundation, Europe – aims, by becoming an international team effort, to consolidate, continue and expand, Lucy Irvine’s already ongoing projects to help animals and their owners, in poor areas of Bulgaria.

Love-inspired practical Initiatives, making a better Future for animals, through Education.

LIFE - The Lucy Irvine Foundation, Europe - aims, by becoming an international team effort, to consolidate, continue and expand, Lucy Irvine’s already ongoing projects to help animals and their owners, in poor areas of Bulgaria.

As well caring for rescued horses and dogs on her homepatch and horse haven, Lucy has reached out to others in need, in local villages and Roma ghettos. This work has brought her into close, often daily, contact, with members of both Bulgarian and Roma communities, their horses, cats and dogs. Over 8 years of increasing involvement, she has gained an understanding of how animals are perceived and treated by these communities, and identified areas of the most pressing need, which require addressing, to make their lives less grim.

There are always encouraging exceptions, but for the most part, custom, tradition and (arguably) poverty and the influence of the communist era, have made Eastern European standards of animal care strikingly low, compared to that in neighbouring countries. Bulgaria, the poorest country in the EU, is no exception. Evidence of common brutalities meted out to dogs and horses can be seen in LIFE’s photo galleries. Thankfully, many of the animals pictured before their rescue, have since had their lives transformed through Lucy and her friends’ efforts. With a larger dedicated team, LIFE can do much more.

In Bulgarian villages, it is common to see puppies chained as future guards to inadequate shelters from an early age, never leaving that rarely cleaned spot until they die - often after just a few years, of neglect and a diet of bread only. It is more common for dogs to run free in Roma areas, but disease and abuse are rife, and the catalogue of suffering among puppies, heart-wrenching.

Horses are primarily regarded as transport for fetching firewood and scrap iron, among the Roma. They are kept in hazardous, shanty-style stalls, adjacent to their owners’ own, often inadequate, dwellings. Little thought is given to a horse’s particular physical and social needs. It is not uncommon to see 18 month old colts and fillies harnessed, covered in sores, and worked to the bone, their delicate frames ruined, eyes full of pain.

Lucy’s policy, now LIFE’s, has been to come at the suffering of horses and dogs in Roma ghettos, and to a lesser extent in Bulgarian villages, from several angles:
Rescue, for the most desperate cases, is undertaken where possible, with sick or mistreated animals moved out of the environment in which they have suffered, and into care. This is not always easy. Owners may not co-operate. Sometimes a letter from a lawyer must push matters forward. Lucy has used also such letters to highlight clauses in Bulgarian and European law to individuals, which exist to protect animals, but are often ignored. LIFE hopes to work more, in the future, with Bulgarian authorities to make these laws, and the fines liable for ignoring them, better known to the people, and more actively enforced.

Intervention and support are key tools in LIFE’s multiple strategies to improve conditions in which dogs and horses are kept. Where possible, sponsors are found, to fund food and shelter for animals in need. Sponsorship is popular with owners, and allows LIFE more access to individual homes in Bulgarian villages and Roma ghettos than would otherwise be the case. When a member of LIFE’s team visits, for instance, to deliver dog food, or salve for a horse’s harness sores, conditions of care can be checked, and problems addressed as needed.

Education about the needs of animals happens spontaneously, at every encounter with owners and their dogs or horses, be it on the road, when Lucy is out in her own horse and cart, or when a home visit is made. LIFE also works with local schools, in which presentations about animal care – and laws relating to treatment of animals – are made, with the approval of local police and the Mayors of villages concerned. One of LIFE’s key missions is to expand this aspect of its work.

Spay/neuter campaigns for dogs and cats, are pursued year round with local Bulgarian vets, via a limited municipality free scheme, and twice yearly at Spayathons, with renowned Romanian team, Animal Spay Neuter International. Vaccination campaigns are also vital to LIFE’s drive to prevent suffering.

Experience has taught Lucy that, in the poor areas were LIFE works, it is important to take into account, when helping animals, struggles their owners often face, too. For instance, if we take a dog to the vet for sterilization or treatment for disease, and we know the owner or their child is ill, we will try to stretch funds to help them with the medicine they need. Or, if we are treating a horse for minor injuries, and the owner asks for antiseptic for his mother’s bedsores (for example) we will try to supply what’s needed. In this way,
we find our intervention in animal care is not resented, and people welcome us, and tell us again if their horse or dog needs help. In cases of extreme poverty or need – for instance where people have lost their flimsy home to high winds, as has happened – we find funds for care packages.