Walking dogs and helping others: Slovakia’s experience that Transcarpathia should adopt

Slovakia has had a successful animal shelter system in place for many years, where volunteers can walk dogs. This practice helps four-legged friends get the physical activity and socialization they need, and helps people maintain their mental health, spend more time outdoors, and feel an emotional connection with animals.

For those who, for various reasons, cannot afford their own pet, this is a great opportunity to be around animals, help them, and do a good deed at the same time. Volunteering at shelters in Slovakia is accessible, understandable, and open to a wide range of people.

For example, Bratislava has the Sloboda zvierat shelter, one of the largest in the country. Here, dog walking is allowed after a short briefing, and the shelter itself is actively involved in the treatment, socialization, and rehoming of animals. During the war, the organization also helped animals evacuated from Ukraine and supported refugees by temporarily keeping their pets. Another example is Útulok v Petržalke, which also actively involves volunteers in dog walking and charitable initiatives.

In addition to walking dogs, anyone can help shelters by bringing food, blankets, towels, toys, collars, or by contributing financially or with transportation.

This experience shows how effective cooperation between the community, volunteers, and shelters can be. It would be extremely important for such a practice to appear in Transcarpathia as well. Modern shelters with the possibility of volunteer dog walking would not only improve the lives of stray animals, but also become a space of mutual support for people.