Terra and Bacco: Two brothers, two destinies transformed
Terra and Bacco were brought to Footprints of Joy by the local police in Cernavodă, who had found them wandering the streets all alone.
They were about three months old, and were totally inseparable.
Their story is far from unique. For countless puppies born in rural Romania, life begins with little hope. Like them, many are abandoned, left to fend for themselves on the streets or condemned to spend their lives chained up.
In rural areas of Romania, sterilization is still not a widespread practice, and unwanted litters are most often dealt with by being abandoned, further contributing to the stray animal population.
The problem is compounded by the lack of cooperation from public institutions. All too often, captured dogs are transferred to facilities operated by private dog-catching contractors, where many are euthanized after only a few days.
This is why sterilization is about far more than preventing unwanted births. It is a tool for systemic change, the only effective way to break the cycle that leads to new unwanted births, enriching unscrupulous operators.
In 2025, we sterilized 600 dogs at our clinic, including both stray and privately-owned animals, working directly with local communities and encouraging families to get involved in the process.
This year, as well as continuing our birth-control efforts, we have resumed discussions with the Cernavodă Town Council in yet another attempt to establish a collaborative approach that excludes the use of external dog-catching contractors.
