By Nick Butler 

The first dogs have arrived in Washington following their transportation from Sochi ©AFP/Getty ImagesMarch 27 - An initial group of 10 stray dogs rescued from the streets of Sochi have arrived in Washington DC where they will be re-homed and adopted by new owners.


Stray dogs were a key issue in the week before the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi last month, due to the large numbers of animals wandering around venues and the streets of the city.

This was despite a pledge by the Organising Committee that the problem would be addressed before the start of the Games.

Reports then surfaced that pest control company Basya Services had been employed to exterminate the dogs, with photos of supposedly dying animals being posted on the internet.

In response, aluminium oligarch Oleg Deripaska donated an initial sum of 523,000 RR (£9,200/$15,000/€11,000) to charity PovoDog to provide shelters for the animals as part of a wider rescue campaign.

There were also numerous adoption requests from United States citizens and this led to partnerships being formed with charity Humane Society International (HSI) and US animal rescue organisation Washington Animal Rescue League (WARL) to transport groups of dogs.

PovoDog has sent six female and four male dogs together with all the necessary veterinary documents, including international vet passports and vet certificates, to prove the dogs had been vaccinated against rabies and distemper and have no communicable diseases.

It is hoped more groups of dogs will be transported in the near future. 

Stray dogs were a common sight throughout Sochi 2014 Stray dogs were a common sight throughout Sochi 2014 ©Getty Images





PovoDog attracted worldwide attention during the Olympics in Sochi and more than 50 dogs have been adopted by guests of the Games and locals so far.

Recipients of puppies from the shelter included the communications director of the US bobsled and skeleton team, and a worker for the NBC television channel.

"Thanks to the worldwide media attention to the problem of stray dogs in Sochi, PovoDog has received hundreds of adoption requests, both via our Facebook page and the Foundation," commented head of Volnoe Delo Foundation Tamara Rumyantseva.

"We're happy that together with HSI and WARL we've made the first step towards re-homing the dogs from the Olympic host city abroad."

Kelly O'Meara, director of HSI Companion Animals and Engagement, added: "We are excited to make the connection for homeless Sochi dogs with loving homes in the United States, with our focus on helping street dogs in Russia and around the world.

"Our goal is to protect street dogs from cruel and unnecessary killing programmes, like the one employed by Sochi officials to "clean up" in advance of the Olympics, by working with Governments to create humane and effective dog population management programmes."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
February 2014: Shelter financed by Russian billionaire addressing stray dogs problem in Sochi