When Sasha Pesic rescued a litter of abandoned puppies in 2008, he had no concept in little over a decade he would have rescued about 1,200 canines and still be caring for over 750 of them.
Sasha Pesic became known to the planet in 2015, when a video of him acrobatically dropping right down to the foot of a bridge to rescue a stranded puppy went viral on social media, getting over 63 million views on Facebook alone. Nobody outside of Serbia, or more precisely outside his home city of Nis, knew who he was, or that he had many dogs in his care. Ever since rescuing a couple of abandoned puppies quite a decade ago, Pesic has dedicated his life to taking in abandoned dogs and searching after them. He has taken around 1,200 canines off the streets of Nis, over 400 of which are adopted by people everywhere the planet, but he still has over 750 of them in his care, and he needs all the help he can get.
Photo: Sasha Pesic/Facebook
Only the food for 750 dogs costs Sasha around 10,000 euros ($11,150) a month, to not mention other thousands in veterinary care, paid workers and then the maintenance of his temporary shelter. He gets by on donations, most of them from people outside of Serbia, because his countrymen apparently aren’t exactly tripping over one another to assist. In fact, many are making things even harder by abandoning dogs near his shelter, knowing he lacks the guts to allow them to starve. “People usually come to go away behind unwanted dogs, they rarely come to pet one among the dogs at the shelter, Pesic told Niske Vesti. They leave on the brink of the asylum, during the night, so to not be seen. Dogs live beings and that I think they ought to be treated better, but that’s the way it's here.” “I have asked for help repeatedly and it's always needed, but simply our people aren't hearing about what I do,” Pesic added.
Photo: Sasha Pesic/Facebook
Luckily, the animal lover has found support outside of Serbia. Many like-minded people from all over the world donate to him every month and also help him find an eternal home for his beloved dog. Through a campaign on Patreon, Sasha is trying to secure enough monthly donations to support his especial shelter, and though he’s not yet met his goal, he's on the proper track. Sasha founded his canine shelter in an old equestrian club, on city land, but rather than getting help from the local authorities in Nis, all he got were eviction threats. Luckily, a petition signed by thousands of people got authorities to backtrack, and though the matter isn't permanently solved, Pesic is gratified that his dogs still have a home. The shelter is overcrowded, as Sasha himself admits, except for now, he doesn't have a far better alternative.
Photo: Sasha Pesic/Facebook
A lot of people have problems taking care of one dog, so taking care of 750 of them seems almost unfathomable. Even so, Sasha Pesic said that he knows the names of all his dogs and does not like the need to take care of them and free them from the trauma of being abandoned and living on the road.
“They recover quickly, they have only to tend a touch love, food and care and shortly they become tame and cheerful again,” Pesic says. “I wish that they had better conditions, better food, better boxes, that we could build a much bigger shelter that might meet all standards and eventually be legal.”
Sasha Pesic remains an extended way from realizing his dream, but after a decade-long struggle he has the admiration of thousands around the world, and most significantly the gratitude and love of the canines he has rescued during that point. To learn more about Sasha Pesic and his dogs, or to donate to his cause, inspect Sasha’s Shelter.
Sasha Pesic is simply one among the various amazing dog rescuers we’ve featured over the years. For more such incredible stories, examine “The Dog Father” in India, Mexico’s “Dog Man,“ or the Chinese “Guardian of Dogs.“