When Will the Problem with Stray Dogs in Sofia Be Resolved?

Packs of dogs are attacking people in Sofia, according to victims who have alerted BNT. There is also a problem on Vitosha Mountain. The municipal enterprise "Ekoravnovesie" says it has located one of the packs, but has only two dog-catching teams covering the whole of Sofia.

Loud barking, people being attacked, and animals being killed—this is what residents of the neighbourhoods of “Dărvenitsa,” “Musagenitsa,” “Dianabad,” “Iztok,” and “Students' City” have been experiencing for over a year now.

Lilia Kanter: “A few weeks ago, my son and his friends were out walking in the evening when they were attacked as they were crossing 'G.M. Dimitrov' Boulevard near 'Apostol Karamitev' Street. Apparently, the dogs had been sleeping in the bushes and suddenly rushed at them. He said they counted about 20 dogs, all of them large.”

Iva Ivanova: “I have had to throw buckets of water from the balcony to disperse them. A few days ago, they killed a 15-year-old stray dog that people had been looking after.”

Lora Tomakova: “I personally encountered the pack last year, with my little daughter. The dogs were lying in the area. We had bags with us – they weren't heavy or large – but the dogs suddenly rushed towards the bags. There was a police car nearby, but they did nothing.”

People say that “Ekoravnovesie” doesn’t go after the packs.

Kamelia Boykova: “We all see and hear them, but Ecoravnovesie is the only one that can't find them. We are worried because it is starting to get dark earlier, and they come out during the hours of darkness, when children are coming home from school.”

Iva Ivanova: “Ecoravnovesie should not be reporting activity by taking away neighbourhood dogs that are being looked after and are quiet and calm, and then saying: ‘Yes, we took some of the pack away.’ No, you haven't taken part of the pack away, because last night the pack was in front of our block.”

We contacted Ecoravnoesie. The acting director of the municipal enterprise, who has held the post since the end of August, said that five dogs had already been captured near Vurtopo Park in 'Students's City'. However, there are only two teams of dog catchers. The enterprise also points out that packs form as a result of people abandoning their pets.

Tanya Ivanova, acting director of the “Ekoravnovesie” municipal enterprise: “In this case, they will be kept at the shelter, neutered and vaccinated. When we see a dog on the street, we take it in, neuter it, microchip it, fit it with an ear tag and return it to the same place. This is part of the national ‘Catch, Neuter and Return’ programme. It is extremely difficult for our teams to deal with all the reports we receive about aggressive and stray dogs, as well as requests for neutering and reports of abandoned animals. We currently have two teams – that is our capacity at the moment. I hope we can change this so that we can be more effective and increase the number of teams, enabling us to better serve the public.”

And while the authorities are unable to deal with the problem, some people are resorting to extreme measures.

Lora Tomakova: “Poison was scattered because of the dogs. Kittens had died; it was scattered near a playground—bright pink—and small children could have touched it.”

In addition to the city, there are packs of stray dogs on Vitosha Mountain as well.

Petar Stoyanov, member of the Executive Board of the Bulgarian Mountaineering Union: “There’s no way these dogs ended up in the mountains by accident. Every so often, a dog shows up—well-cared-for, you can tell it’s been groomed and dewormed, and some even have collars.To me, the only explanation is that someone is bringing them in whole groups—not one by one.”

Yordan Machirski: “There are also many wild animals in the mountains—deer, hares—and if they chase one of these animals, it’s unclear where they’ll end up.”

Representatives from “Ecoravnovesie” explained that once they’ve captured the pack near “Vurtopo,” they’ll investigate the remaining reports as well.

Residents hope that, in the meantime, the situation will not result in any fatalities.