In the human-animal relationship, the dog does not care if its owner resides in a mansion or on the street, what is their religion or the color of their skin. Love, care, affection and respect are enough to earn a dog’s trust. But even so, many of them are thrown to the streets as garbage. We will tell the story today of a big-hearted man who has decided to change his life … and many others.

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When Sasha opened his shelter in 2008, he probably didn’t expect it to become so overcrowded

Image credits: sashashelterserbia

Image credits: sashashelterserbia

Image credits: sashashelterserbia

Image credits: sashashelterserbia

And by “overcrowded” we mean 750 dogs living there at this very moment

Image credits: sashashelterserbia

Image credits: sashashelterserbia

It all started in 2008, when Sasha Pesic was returning to his home in the Serbian city of Nis after a long day, and happened to meet four abandoned puppies along the way. The scene moved him to such an extent that even without financial conditions, he began a plan to help them. This small display of love, dedication and solidarity started something that eventually made him one of the leading defenders of animals in Serbia.

Sasha  didn’t close the door to any of the poor four-legged friends that needed his help

Image credits: sashashelterserbia

Image credits: sashashelterserbia

Along with 6 volunteers, Sasha opened a shelter to provide home and food to all four-legged furry creatures without discrimination. All this, thanks to the contributions and donations he receives from various parts of the world. And if that wasn’t enough, he knows all of their names, vaccinates them, sterilizes them and even gives them an identification microchip.

Together with other volunteers they care of the dogs and make sure they all get vaccinated and sterilized

Image credits: sashashelterserbia

Image credits: sashashelterserbia

Image credits: sashashelterserbia

Image credits: sashashelterserbia

See Sasha in action rescuing puppies in the video below

Image credits: sashashelterserbia

The shelter currently has over 750 dogs, has rescued 1,200 and about 400 of them have been adopted by people around the world. Pesic is an excellent example for your country and the world. But like any superhero … he has his enemies. And in this case, it is the landowners where the shelter is located who are requesting their departure.

Image credits: sashashelterserbia

Image credits: sashashelterserbia

Image credits: sashashelterserbia

Fortunately, a petition signed by thousands of people has led to the authorities giving up, and although the matter is not permanently settled, Pesic is grateful that his dogs still have a home. The shelter is overcrowded, as Sasha himself admits, but for now, he has no better alternative.

“The problem here is in the system and the institutions that should be taking care of this,” Sasha told Bored Panda. “They are broken and corrupted and cause even more damage rather than actually helping the situation.”

“The other problem is in the irresponsibility of the owners who don’t neuter their dogs and leave them outside when they don’t want them anymore. Reasons vary from ‘I got a baby and I can’t take care of the dog’ to ‘I don’t need it anymore.'”

“There is confusion and carelessness towards animals here that causes a lot of problems of these kinds.”

Image credits: sashashelterserbia

Image credits: sashashelterserbia

“I receive zero assistance from the government and some vets are actually charging me more than regular prices because they think I have a lot of money from donations. I’m all on my own and I cover the veterinary treatment and everything necessary out of donations and my own pocket.”

The total number of dogs that Sasha has saved is around 1200

Image credits: sashashelterserbia

Image credits: sashashelterserbia

People can visit Sasha’s Patreon page: patreon.com/sashashelter to become Patrons and help him to cover the huge fixed costs that he has each month. They go to up to $20k per month and that is the goal he is aiming for on Patreon. Sasha wants to build a sustainable income source so he can secure the future of the shelter.

For one-time payers, you can use PayPal: sasha.pesic.shelter@gmail.com

You can watch a video from Sasha’s Shelter below

“These dogs just need a little love, food and care, many come to the shelter sad and scared but in time their joy is returned,” Sasha says with pride.

Let’s hope his good work can continue until all the abandoned dogs of Nis are properly looked after!

Here’s what people had to say about the sad, yet heartwarming story

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