Recently, on 7 March 2024, officers of the Novo mesto Police Station for Compensatory Measures inspected a vehicle with Romanian number plates at the Obrežje border crossing, where they came across an unusual scene: a woman of Romanian nationality, who was allegedly headed towards Italy with two fellow passengers, was carrying eleven puppies in the car boot. The frightened puppies were crammed into four cardboard boxes, without food and water.

The police immediately reported the find to the competent veterinary inspector at the Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Food Safety, Veterinary Sector and Plant Protection. The inspector ordered the dogs to be seized and initiated offence proceedings against the smugglers.

This week, the police called at the animal shelter of the Brežice Veterinary Hospital to see how the little cuddly pups, which had been taken to that shelter, were doing. They pups are being very well cared for there, they are quarantined, and a number of them have to be treated for internal parasites. According to the shelter, two male puppies and one female puppy have Dachshund breed characteristics, and six male puppies and two female puppies have Poodle breed characteristics. The puppies were only a few weeks old when they were seized and too weak for the demanding and long journey. The shelter staff are doing their best to make the puppies feel comfortable and safe and trying as much as they can to mitigate the negative impact of the premature removal from their mothers. They are fed with suitable milk and soft food, warmth is provided by infrared light, and attention is also paid to any signs of infant canine diseases. We are certain that they are also giving them a good amount of cuddling.

Today, the staff of the Brežice Veterinary Hospital sent us some snapshots of the little fur babies, who are looking to the future with more confidence and optimism thanks to the veterinary hospital's friendly and dedicated staff and our police officers.