December 13 (BTA) - Twenty-two dogs from the Ekoravnovesie Municipal Enterprise shelter have been adopted and have been sent to their new owners in Germany, Sofia Municipality said Monday.

The dogs were seen off by shelter staff and volunteers. They will travel to Germany with specialized transport and will be delivered directly to their new homes, without an intermediate shelter stop-over.

This year, over 220 dogs were sent to Germany and the Netherlands under agreements between Sofia Municiaplity and the Streunerhilfe Bulgarien e.V. and Ovide Farm associations. Approximately the same number were adopted by Bulgarian NGOs which also find homes for dogs abroad.

Bulgarians adopt mainly puppies, while Germans also chose grown dogs as pets, Ekoravnovesie says. The municipal shelter has registered a total of 1,359 adoptions from the beginning of the year until December 1.

The dogs that have just left for Germany are among the oldest residents of the shelter, having spent there some eight or nine years, the staff said.

Ekoravnovesie is the capital's enterprise established to manage the population of stray dogs in Sofia./RY/BR
/КК/