Founder Milena Malesevic
Rescued Sarajevo Strays
During the war in Bosnia, many people could no longer care for their pets, resulting in many dogs ending up on the streets. Since 1998, Milena Malesevic has dedicated her life to rescuing and rehoming the most vulnerable dogs on the streets of Sarajevo, working 24 hours a day to care for and feed them. Many of the dogs are rescued from kill shelters and others are simply abandoned on the streets. Milena is supported by a wonderful team of dedicated volunteers based in Bosnia, the UK and Europe, including well known animal warriors Peter Egan (actor) and Maria Slough (photographer and filmmaker) whose aim is to support Milena’s work and give the dogs she rescues a life free of misery.
Saving Suffering Strays (SSS) was officially set up in 2015 by Milena, and now more than 550 dogs have been rescued and found their forever homes. In the Christmas of 2018, OAT decided to support SSS with a grant that enabled 100 dogs to be relocated from Sarajevo to Just for Dogs rehoming centre in the UK - OAT 100 Campaign. OAT continues to provide general support for this project.
What SSS Project does
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Rescue vulnerable dogs ​from the streets of Sarajevo​
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Feed and care for relatively healthy dogs living on the streets
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Rehabilitate rescued dogs to prepare them for rehoming, including registration, vaccinations & passports
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Manage the rehoming process including transport to homes and adoption centres across mainland Europe & the UK
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How Olsen Animal Trust helps
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Contribute to core funding
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Created the OAT 100 campaign that enabled 100 dogs to come from Bosnia to the UK for rehoming
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Provided match funding for the SSS Amazon "wishlist" that provided a variety of practical needs for the project​​
Project Images - hover over for details
Bosnian street dog
Beautiful and thought provoking image of a street dog in Bosnia overlooking the city of Sarajevo. Photographed by Maria Slough, chair of the Trustees for SSS.
Milena with rescued dog
Featured here with one of the lucky rescues, is the wonderful Milena Malesevic, founder and hands on operator of SSS (Saving Sarajevo's Strays.)
Maria Slough & rescues
Maria Slough, Chair of the Trustees for SSS. Featured here with two rescues, both of whom were re-homed in the UK. On the right is Hero, a beautiful blind boy who is now a happy addition to the Olsen family, and on the left is Tango who also found his forever home in the UK. Sadly Tango fell ill only a few months after he had settled with his new family, but these were happy months filled with love and contentment.
Ozzy before
This is Ozzy before he was rescued by SSS from a kill shelter in Sarajevo. He was adopted my Maria Slough, Chair of Trustees for SSS.
Ozzy after
This is an "after" photo of Ozzy who is thriving in his new home with Maria and her family.
OAT 100 campaign
The OAT 100 appeal was a huge success. It achieved its objective and resulted in 100 rescued dogs being relocated from Sarajevo to the UK to begin their rehoming process. "Just for Dogs" in Derby agreed to take up this mission, and housed these dogs until they found they found their forever homes.
OATOKE in Sarajevo
OATOKE Dave, took a trip to Sarajevo with Maria Slough in 2019 to meet the SSS team and to witness first hand their incredible work. Featured here with an adorable rescued puppy.
Reality check
Dave during his visit to a shelter in Sarajevo that was previously known as a town kill shelter where dogs, taken from the streets by the authorities, are housed before being destroyed. SSS helped to take over this shelter and turned it into a rehabilitation and rehoming centre for street dogs. The reality of the street dog problem suddenly hit home for Dave on this visit...
Greeting
Dave meeting one of the residents...
Loading the 'Happy Bus'
As part fo his project visit, Dave decided to join the journey of one of the "Happy Buses", that relocates dogs ready for rehoming. He travelled in convoy with one particular bus carrying some of the OAT 100 dogs, all the way from Sarajevo to the UK. Featured here with Milena after loading the dogs onto the bus.
EU Forum
Thanks to Eurogroup for Animals, SSS were provided with an opportunity to present the Bosnian street dog issues to representatives of the european parliaments. Featured at the EU in Brussels in 2019, from left to right is: Founder of SSS Milena Malesevic, Chair of SSS Trustees Maria Slough, Sue Olsen, Founder of OAT and Peter Egan, actor and Patron of SSS.
SSS team
The SSS project is made of a wonderful team of dedicated volunteers, trustees, patrons and donors. Volunteers include Roger Bralow, a brilliant UK vet who gives a huge amount of his time helping the project both in Sarajevo and the UK. A large part of the team featured here at the European forum in Brussels.
For further information on the work of SSS please visit www.savingsufferingstrays.com