Mima's Ortho Surgery

Violeta Dobreva, head of Care & Shelter for Everyone in Ruse, Bulgaria did not respond to my open letter (see previous entry below); nor did she respond to my note reminding her of the deadline of September 14, 2010 to return our $8,000 USD donations meant for Mima which is not her money to keep, manage nor receive in the first place. I gave her enough time and consideration to return our group's donations so as not to hurt the cause in Bulgaria.

On September 19, 2010, Mrs. Dobreva reappeared in one of our group threads. She ignored our demands for the return of our monies and instead, claimed that our $8,000 is still in the bank. She tried to deceive the group by posting links to sites in Bulgarian showing unorganized documentation of old bank statements and old receipts from Mima's treatment. Her last payment was on August 10th for Mima's rehabilitation. Since then, she stopped paying and Mima still requires months of rehabilitation. Our $8,000 donation is still unaccounted; throughout August 10th, she has only used monies from Bulgaria's fundraising effort to pay for Mima's bills. Note: this fundraiser is still open-- Bulgarians can still donate to her NGO for Mima!



Throughout this ChipIn campaign, Mrs. Dobreva presented herself as the legal and permanent guardian of Mima which is the reason why I sent our donations to her. She never disclosed the adoption arrangements she made in April (at the early stage of this ChipIn) for Mima to live in Germany permanently. She later reneged on this agreement, conveniently after thousands of dollars have been raised for Mima's care. She still made arrangements with me to transfer our donations to her in July at the height of the custody battle, still without informing me of her guardianship in question. She has a very slim chance of winning legal custody; and, if she does indeed file a lawsuit against the German-Bulgarian NGO, it will take months or years for the courts to decide.

The heading on this site's ChipIn has my name as the organizer. I started and managed this campaign and it is my responsibility to ensure that our monies go to where it was intended as presented to contributors. Mrs. Dobreva herself acknowledged in writing and on many occasions that she had nothing to do with funds raised from this campaign. Therefore, it is not her money to keep.

Currently, Mr. Grigor Dimitrov's NGO, The German-Bulgarian Animal Aid is now paying for Mima's care and rehabilitation (from funds to run their 4 animal shelters in Bulgaria). We can only hope that other animals' lives are not greatly affected as a result of Mrs. Dobreva's offenses.

Mrs. Dobreva's deception about Mima's guardianship throughout this campaign and accepting our donations is a case of FRAUD. Furthermore, her refusal to pay for Mima's bills, ignore our many demands and keep our $8,000 donations earmarked for Mima's treatment and rehab in Germany is a clear case of GRAND LARCENY under US, German, Bulgarian and International Laws. These criminal offenses are punishable with jail time and fines.

These charges against Mrs. Dobreva will take some time to process but be assured justice will be served. If our monies are not returned by the time the authorities begin their investigation, in addition to Mrs. Dobreva's freedom and reputation at stake, her records, along with her NGO, Care & Shelter for Everyone's financial records will be scrutinized and audited as a result of these charges. I cannot fathom anyone taking such a great risk for $8,000 USD... unless our funds are no longer available and she's unable to pay back? I hope this is not the case! We opened our hearts and wallets for a good cause, to help MIMA and the other animals; not for Mrs. Dobreva to spend as she pleases!

Updates will be posted in the group and on this site.

Nadia Donato
ChipIn Organizer

On 28/8/10, I sent an email to all contributors regarding the return of all our donations by 14/9/10 due to the major changes in our original terms. Please see this Facebook Note for details:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=427263879170

Updates on Mima:
Album 1:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=158498&id=622515628&l=f7e5e453ed

Album 2:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=205326&id=622515628&l=914afd8d1a

This ChipIn is closed. All funds were transferred to Mima's account. Thank you to everyone who donated and shared this link! Here's a link acknowledging receipt of our donations: http://grijaipodslon.ucoz.com/news/darenijata_sbrani_s_pomoshhta_na_nadja_donato_ot_shhatite_pristignakha/2010-07-17-71

MIMA'S FIRST STEPS WITH HER NEW "LEGS!!"

Here it is, the moment we've been waiting for.........
(drumroll....click play....happy tears!!!!)



August 12, 2010- Mima's first steps after only 4 months since being in Germany for treatment. Rehabilitation will continue for several months. Mima is very resilient and will surely be mobile in no time. Check out that tail!!! :*)

PETITION
The Bulgarian Parliament's final vote whether or not to make animal cruelty a crime in their country will be held in a few weeks (sometime in Sept). The last time they voted, it was 9/9. Unfortunately, the current situation for animals in Bulgaria has gotten WORSE since Mima's case. We need this new law passed and get Justice for Mima!! Please read, sign and circulate this very important petition:
http://animals.change.org/petitions/view/justice_for_mima_make_animal_cruelty_a_crime_in_bulgaria

Updated: June 29, 2010 (Scroll after video or Join our Facebook group, Justice for Mima for regular updates)

This is Mima, a sweet dog from Bulgaria. On March 26, 2010, she was found with her legs butchered apparently over an old conflict between neighbors. Each one of her limbs were hacked off not just once but for days and weeks at a time! Despite the vicious and brutal torture Mima suffered, she still is a trusting, sweet soul and a true survivor. She has since been adopted by Mrs. Violeta Dobreva (a lawyer and head of an animal NGO in Bulgaria) who will shower her with the love and care she deserves. According to doctors, Mima has a good chance of gaining mobility with the help of prostheses and a "wheelchair."

Mima at the shelter, after being found mutilated.


Currently, there are no laws against Animal Cruelty in Bulgaria. Sadly, the monster who did this to Mima will likely go unpunished. However, due to this horrific crime and outrage from Bulgarians and citizens from around the world, there are now talks of new laws being passed. We hope that if and when this happens, that they will be implemented. Please sign the petition and demand animal cruelty laws in Bulgaria to be passed and enforced!

We thank you in advance for donating and helping spread the word. We hope to get Mima's story out as a message to the world that all animals suffer and feel pain just as we do and laws must exist and be enforced to protect them. There is a proven link between animal cruelty and human violence. First a dog, next a child. After all this, Mima has not lost trust in humans. She is very loving towards her new family, even to complete strangers. We all can learn a lot about love and compassion from Mima.

See Mima now in her new home! :)


UPDATE:
On April 16th, Mima left Bulgaria for treatment and rehabilitation in Germany. While in there, Mima is under the care of this NGO: http://www.db-tierhilfe.de and will be staying here: http://www.db-tierhilfe.de/chiemgau.htm at Mrs. Eva Linkogel's house with other rescue dogs.

On April 20th, she has undergone surgery in Munchen.

On June 4th, Mima was fitted for prostheses at this clinic:
http://www.hunderolli-tierorthopaedie.de/prothetik.html

After the assessment, the decision was for Mima to get 3 prostheses, a "wheelchair" and special "sock" for one of her hind limbs where prosthesis is not possible as this limb was mutilated so high.

On June 17th, she received her new "wheelchair."

As of today, June 29th, Mima is still being fitted with different prosthetic models. Once the perfect model prostheses has been determined, they will be incorporated with the "wheelchair" and "socks" to complete her "legs."

Her next road to recovery will be rehabilitation (for 5 to 6 months). Mima shows great will and determination; we have no doubt that she will gain mobility very soon.

Until the proper model prostheses and rehab has been determined, we are not able to get info on total cost. All receipts will be published by Mrs. Dobreva (Mima's adopted Mom) through her NGO's site. Any overages from this collection (if any) at the end of Mima's treatment, will go towards helping another special needs dog/s in Bulgaria.

Please see Mima's album for pictures updated regularly: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=158498&id=622515628&l=f7e5e453ed

For those who wish to donate via bank deposit, please go to this site to deposit directly to Mima's official bank accounts.

This ChipIn is a collective effort of the International Facebook Group: Justice for Mima. The funds raised from this campaign will be transferred directly to Mima's account.

First news video footage of Mima:
http://novinitepro.bg/bulgaria/dobra-novina-osakatenata-mima-pristigna-v-noviya-si-dom.html


News video of Mima in her new home:
http://novinitepro.bg/bulgaria/dobra-novina-osakatenata-mima-pristigna-v-noviya-si-dom.html