On April 12, 2014, the society “Otrā Māja Dzīvniekiem” founded the animal shelter “OTRĀ MĀJA” (“SECOND HOME”), which is located in the Augshdaugavas region, Demenes parish, near the village of Jaņuciems.
The shelter “OTRĀ MĀJA” was founded by a non-governmental organization – the society “Otrā māja dzīvniekiem”. This shelter does not have permanent funding from the municipality or the state and is therefore an independent organization. Everything in the shelter “OTRĀ MĀJA” is based on the hard work of volunteers and the support of people who, like us, want to change the fate of animals in Latgale county and throughout Latvia.
In the shelter “OTRĀ MĀJA” animals that have even a little hope to survive are never euthanized. We are fighting for the life of every poor fellow to the last.
Since our shelter is an independent organization, we have our own advantages. Thus, the shelter “OTRĀ MĀJA” accepts and keeps as many animals as it is able to support and provide the necessary care. Our pets receive the best care. Anyone can verify this.
But, as in everything where there are advantages, there is also a downside to such privileges. The shelter “OTRĀ MĀJA” exists only thanks to donations and support from various foundations, to which we regularly turn for help. Nobody pays us for the maintenance of animals on a regular basis. Therefore, we have to work hard every day to provide tomorrow for our animals.
It all started with a meeting of two people who had a common dream – to open an animal shelter unlike other shelters. A shelter that will never euthanize animals for no particular reason. A shelter in which they will fight for the life of every animal in trouble. In 2014, thanks to like-minded people who joined our team, an abandoned farm with a plot of land in Demenskaya volost was purchased for the needs of the shelter.
Initially, the building and territory of the shelter was in a completely unusable condition. In the old wooden house there was no water, no heating, windows with rotten frames, a gap throughout the house, a collapsed, unusable shed in the yard, an unusable well, an overgrown territory. Few believed that something could come out of all this …
But, thanks to the faith and support of caring people, this place gathered bit by bit … Many people came and installed or repaired something for free, someone brought the things necessary for the shelter – sinks, chairs, bowls, wallpaper, someone just cheered good word. Volunteers and founders of the shelter built the first enclosures with their own hands, involving their relatives and friends in volunteer work. Water was carried together in buckets from the pond.
In 2015, the entire territory and building was transformed. We managed to repair the well, bring water into the house, put the window frames in order, glue the wallpaper, paint the floors and doors. And all this with our own hands, all with the help of volunteers, sponsors and donors who believed in us.
But no matter how hard we all tried together, we understood that the building did not meet almost any standards. Therefore, in 2016 we decided to try to write a project and apply for the reconstruction of the main building of the shelter in order to create decent conditions for the animals in the shelter and provide them with qualified assistance.
And they believed in us! We believed that we sincerely wish to change the fate of animals in Latgale and Latvia. Our project was supported by the Eurofund and 2 international organizations. Representatives of these organizations visited our shelter and, assessing our work and success, made sure that we are transparent and sincere in our intentions. Also the Augshdaugavas regional thought has joined support also.
At the moment, construction work on the reconstruction of the main building of the shelter has already been completed in the shelter “OTRĀ MĀJA”. However, we continue to improve the conditions in which our animals are kept. We strive with all our might to create the best conditions for our pets and provide everyone with an individual house.
Join our team and together we will succeed much faster and better!
