Video

On February 15, inauguration of “Toplan” Care for Homeless Dogs Centre, created in Balakhany settlement of the capital, in the framework of the joint project by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Baku City Executive Authority on improving the work with homeless dogs, took place.

Vice-president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva attended the opening ceremony.

Reconstruction works in the centre, located on the territory of the sanitary and technical cleaning section of the Housing and Communal Services Department, Baku City Executive Authority, started in October 2018. With the total area of about 2500 square metres, the centre consists of three administrative and household buildings.

Becoming familiarized with the centre, Leyla Aliyeva viewed the conditions of keeping dogs. It was informed that special areas – open-air cages, quarantine-rehabilitation cages – have been built to keep here dogs. The territory has been improved, and illumination and ventilation systems installed. Employees of the entity will gather homeless dogs on the territory of Baku and hand over them to the centre. Here, the animals will be vaccinated, and necessary operations carried out to stop their reproductive activities. Each of the dogs will be provided with chips. After they are provided necessary aid, they will again be released into the area where they had been taken. The veterinary block of the “Toplan” Centre has been provided with state-of-the-art medical equipment and medicines to carry out examinations, sterilization, treatment of and inserting microchips into animals. Here are also rooms for surgery, preparations for surgery, examination, attending physician’s rooms, and for storage of veterinary preparations. Provided with cars to carry homeless dogs and provide emergency medical aid, the centre has the capacity to receive 30 to 50 dogs a week, and carry out all necessary procedures. A centralized registration system has been created here to register the dogs received into the centre. The date on which the animals were captured, the address, animals’ condition, medical aids provided and the number of a microchip are entered on a special database. Relevant information will also be entered on the database about the dogs released and those whose owners were found. Trainings have been arranged, with participation of foreign specialists, for the employees of the centre, veterinarians, persons engaged in the capturing of dogs, and other related personnel.

Then, the foundation of the other section of the centre “Toplan” was laid.

It was informed that a few household buildings and a special area – open-air cages and quarantine-rehabilitation cages – will be built to keep about 80 dogs.

Launched in 2018, the project aims at ensuring the safety of residents, taking care of homeless animals, as well as changing the society’s attitude towards these animals. Various enlightenment works are carried out, at the same time, in the framework of the project. Information can be obtained also via the website of the centre, and its pages on social networks.