When Saranda’s mayor was out of town promoting the place as one of the newest, hottest tourist destinations, innocent street dogs were being poisoned in his own back yard.

Pay attention, Mr. Mayor. 

You probably walked by these dogs several times on your way to watch trees being planted or trash being collected.

This is Ksami, a sweetheart of a pup rescued last summer by a tourist on the road to Ksamil. She grew up at Saranda Dog Services, and, with no one to adopt her or city services to care for her, lived mostly on The Promenade. She was spayed, immunized, and healthy. She was well fed by caring members of the community and visitors alike. Most of all, she was well loved by everyone who crossed her path. 

Almost everyone.
On the evening of March 6, 2024, someone poisoned Ksami and at least two other of Saranda’s dogs. We found sweet Ksami and another dog lifeless on the street. As of this writing, a third dog is fighting for her life at a local veterinary clinic.

Enough is enough.
A recent visitor to town says it best:
I will not visit Sarandë ever again knowing these dogs were intentionally poisoned and I will definitely caution everyone I know to do the same. You can tell a lot about a person, and more yet about a society, in how they treat animals.