Story By: Anastasia Smirnova, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder,Agency: Central European News
Video Credit: CEN/KryskinoLogovo
This is the rat shelter that takes in and cares for these adorable rodents which have been abandoned in the freezing Russian winter.
The unusual animal shelter which specialises only in rats was founded in the city of Yekaterinburg, south-western Russia’s Sverdlovsk Oblast region.
The centre has been operating for a while now and has recently reopened its doors to the newcomers who have been abandoned in the new year.
The driving force behind the Kryskino Logovo (Rat’s Den) project, which has been in operation since 2016, is volunteer Anastasia Shchadrina.
In an exclusive interview with Central European News (CEN) she stressed that rats are often found abandoned in their cages by rubbish bins.
“Initially I was on my own and I’d look for rats which needed help, I would give them medical treatment, and find a home for them.”
She added that “domestic rats are unable survive temperatures below zero degrees Celsius and in addition to that they can’t join their wild kindred either since aren’t adapted to survive the street lifestyle.”
Since launching the shelter, more than 300 rats have reportedly found a new forever home.
When the new rodents are discovered, volunteers take photos of them and post them on the shelter’s social media page in an attempt to find them new owners.
Anastasia told CEN that after New Year’s Eve, there are four rats living in the shelter.
The kindhearted woman has also admitted that she finds it most-rewarding when “a scared, ill animal becomes a healthy and happy member of a new family”.
She also stressed that she loves to see when rats “begin to trust people, even though people had betrayed them in the past”.
Anastasia noted that rats are smart animals and their intellectual level can be compared with that of a five-year-old child.
Anastasia usually collects money for a specific case, but she often has to use her own savings to help an animal in need before getting the needed funding.
The animal shelter’s account number:
6390 0216 9087 430357 Sberbank
Account holder: Anastasia Shchadrina
The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.
