28 March 2014

Volnoe Delo Oleg Deripaska Foundation is delighted to announce that the first 10 dogs from Sochi dog shelter, PovoDOG arrived in Washington D.C. on Thursday where they will be rehomed and adopted by their new owners.

The move is a part of PovoDOG’s rescue campaign and comes amid numerous adoption requests from U.S. citizens, the most active in their desire to adopt abandoned dogs from Sochi.

Together with Washington DC based Humane Society International (HSI) and one of the U.S. top animal rescue organizations, Washington Animal Rescue League (WARL), PovoDOG has sent 10 dogs, and is planning to send more in the near future to the United States.

The first 10 dogs arrived at Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C. on Thursday at 13:25 local time following an overnight stay in Moscow before boarding a direct flight to the United States. The 6 female and 4 male dogs were provided with all the necessary veterinary documents including international vet passports and vet certificates, proving that the dogs had been vaccinated against rabies and distemper and have no communicable diseases.

The head of Volnoe Delo Foundation Tamara Rumyantseva said, “Thanks to the worldwide media attention to the problem of stray dogs in Sochi, PovoDOG has received hundreds of adoption requests, both via our Facebook page and Volnoe Delo Oleg Deripaska Foundation. We’re happy that together with HSI and WARL we’ve made the first step towards rehoming the dogs from Olympic host city abroad.”

Kelly O’Meara, director of HSI Companion Animals and Engagement, stated, “We are excited to make the connection for homeless Sochi dogs with loving homes in the United States, with our focus on helping street dogs in Russia and around the world. Our goal is to protect street dogs from cruel and unnecessary killing programs – like the one employed by Sochi officials to “clean up” in advance of the Olympics - by working with governments to create humane and effective dog population management programs.”

“We are honored to assist HSI and PovoDOG in finding homes for these 10 dogs from Sochi,” said Bob Ramin, WARL CEO. “The Washington Animal Rescue League has been finding homes for animals for 100 years and we have a long history of leading the way in animal sheltering. We’re looking forward to meeting these dogs for the first time and introducing them to the Washington, D.C. region.”

PovoDOG attracted worldwide attention during the Olympics in Sochi. There have been over 200 requests to take PovoDOG pooches since early February. Over 50 dogs have been adopted by guests of the Games and locals so far. Communication Director of the U.S. bobsled and skeleton team, Amanda Bird and NBC runner Gabrielle Levesque adopted puppies from the shelter in February.

The shelter is supported by Oleg Deripaska, a businessman and Olympic investor who runs Russian largest diversified industrial group Basic Element, one of the strategic investors in the 22^nd Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

Notes to Editors

PovoDOG has so far rescued over 200 dogs from Sochi and rehoused 50 of them.

Photos of the 10 dogs that have arrived in the U.S. can be found on the following link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/povodog/sets/72157642892017624/

More information can be found on PovoDOG’s Facebook page and on the shelter’s official web site www.povodog.com