In 1997, a simple electrician from Serbia, Dejan Gačić, and his mother Svetlana, opened an animal shelter.
It all started with Dejan and his mother feeding stray dogs in their village. One day, the villagers turned to them for help.
They needed to save a wolf that was being held captive and was going to be used to bait hunting dogs. Dejan bought the wolf for a bottle and hid it in his basement. Since then, Dejan has never stopped helping animals.
Dejan and his mother had to leave their home and move to a remote area of the town of Cumic without water or electricity to create a safe haven for animals no one else would help.
After his mother’s death, Dejan continued to run the orphanage on his own. He started with a very small shelter, but over the years, the number of dogs grew significantly.
Today, the shelter is home to more than 1,000 dogs, cats, and even some wild animals, many of which were abandoned at the shelter’s doors or found sick and injured on the streets.
The dogs live in the shelter in packs within a large fenced area and gather in wooden kennels at night to stay warm.
The shelter’s mission is to rescue every animal and provide them with food, shelter, and the best medical care.
Dejan strives to surround all his wards with care and love.
Dejan continually works to improve conditions at the shelter with the help of donations: building winter homes and dog enclosures, and purchasing stoves for the winter.
More than 400 dogs from the shelter have already found loving owners.
