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8 mai 2026
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Infos
Description
We run the biggest large-yard dog sanctuary in Western Bulgaria (by area = 27,000 m2) with about 140 dogs.
Apart from temporary yards for puppies or socialisation, our yards range in size from 240 m2 to 1,500 m2 and visitors to our facility are usually amazed by how friendly, socialised and emotionally/physically healthy our dogs are.
While we work hard on finding their forever homes through adoption, our dogs live in large yards (see our pics), get excellent medical care from our vet and on-site vet ambulatory plus high quality food and constant socialisation with people through walks with staff, volunteerism and company teambuildings here.
In short, our sanctuary was built as a living prototype for how all animal shelters should be, all over the world in the future - this is the main philosophical objective of our foundation and sanctuary.
Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre
Bénévolat
Jardinage
Bricolage et construction
S’occuper des animaux
Entretien général
Centres d’intérêt
Animaux de compagnie
Bénévolat
Photographie
Jardinage
Soin des plantes
Nature
Animaux
Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre
Bulgaria has beautiful nature, sunny weather, spectacular mountains, large lakes plus a rich history of ancient cultures.
Since end of 1989 the country has been into the transition from socialism to EU membership with gradual modernisation.
All that can be witnessed throughout the city (guided tours available) and in the museums in Sofia.
Bulgaria is now part of the Schengen area
- so some visa restrictions can apply for travellers from outside the Schengen area and or/ the EU.
The capital city of Sofia has good transport links to the rest of the country.
The n ame is pronounced SOfia not SoFIA.
You would live in a very good part of Sofia, then commute and witness the daily lives of its citizens;
see the outskirts of the city and beyond.
You would work alongside our employed Bulgarian staff most of whom speak English.
You' be able to learn some Bulgarian expressions,
We can teach you read Bulgarian if you are up for it
- it is pretty straight forward
once you understand the alphabet.
- You' d be able to witness some celebrations and traditions.
- You'd be invited to drinks with the founders of the shelter
which proved to be very enjoyable for both sides.
- Not possible to come with your own dog for the volunteering experience.
Goshko, the fotered dog in the workaway accommodation, LOVES PEOPLE but not good with other dogs.
We do not allow dogs to enter the shelter unless they stay 30 day quarantine.
No where to place your dog for the working hours.
Also no point of it joining to your day in the shelter if it needs to stay away from you.
Travelling with a dog in Bulgaria or the Balkans as a whole is good with your own car.
In public transport - it will vary from transport, company politics or the driver and passangers themsleves.
In short- you WILL encounter restrictions and I strongly do not reccommend it.
Aide
In keeping with our core goal of providing the best possible care for our rescue dogs,
MAIN DUTIES of the workawayers are:
- dog feeding and watering ; yard cleaning (poo picking); dog walking, dog socialisation, grooming ( brushing) the dogs; helping with washing machine duties, keeping the staff and office container clean as well as ''Roaming areas'' clean ( sweeping, tiding up). In summer - gardening ( weed cleaning, watering young trees ).
If possible, some basic building/maintenance (not mandatory).
- In return, a massive oversupply of joyful dog love is guaranteed.
- It is not suitable for people with low energy and who can not work hard.
IMPORTANT:
- The number of days on / days off shown in the profile needs to be discussed.
- We require minimum stay of 1 month.
Training/ getting to know the work takes 3-4 weeks.
Thus workawayers staying beyond that time are especially welcome.
Langues parlées
Bulgarian: Courant
Anglais: Courant
Hébergement
ACCOMMODATION:
A modern 2-bedroom, 3-bathroom apartment with a big kitchen / living room area.
It is in a gated complex in Sofia city.
Accommodates max of 6 people ( 3 in each bedroom).
Sofia is also very safe - crime is very low.
The founders of our sanctuary live directly across the street, 20 meters away, from the workawayers' apartment
and they are always available to help you.
ALLOWANCE:
WE PROVIDE food + travel weekly ALLOWANCE.
We DO NOT provide the food.
Workawayers cook for themselves or buy their food with the allowance.
Autres infos...
- COMMUTE (travel):
The accommodation is in one of the best areas of Sofia.
The shelter is outside the city- there is commute involved.
About 1hr 30 min one way.
It involves a tram, a train and some walking.
It is mentioned in the feedback and you can get more details during the call.
- WE RECOMMEND that you have some TRAVEL INSURANCE or EU HEALTH CARD.
- Bulgaria is both in the EU and the Schengen Area.
Make sure that you check if you need a visa for Bulgaria.
For most countries you do not need a visa if you stay in Bulgaria for up to 90 days in every 180 days.
Please note that:
you can stay in the Schengen Area countries for the TOTAL of 90 days in every 180 days.
Thus your stay in Bulgaria counts against those 90 days.
- ETIAS
Please check the latest for ETIAS info
if you are coming from ouitside the EU!
The rules of travel to most European countries are changing.
It is to come into force that people from over 60 visa-exempt countries
are required to have a travel authorisation to enter 30 European countries for a short stay.
A fee will apply.
For more info:
FUN FACTS about Bulgaria and Bulgarians:
- The Bulgarian Kingdom was established in 681. We have had Byzantium domination of about 100 years, Ottoman domination for 500 years; Communism for 45 years; Democracy for about 35 years.
- Bulgarians nod for ''No'' and shake head for ''Yes''.
- Bulgarians have created the Cyrillic alphabet which was spread across the Slavic people.
It is used today in Russia, N Macedonia, Serbia, Ukraine and Belarus.
- Yoghurt comes from Bulgaria. It is the first known probiotic.
The bacteria due to which you can make yoghurt ( Lactobacillus bulgaricus) is found primarily in the air in Bulgaria.
Outside this area it gradually degenerates.
Only yoghurt produced in Bulgaria or with that bacteria is real yoghurt.
All other products can not be called ''yoghurt''.
- Bulgaria is the world's largest producer of organic rose oil ( from Rosa Damascena) and lavender oil . The Rose valley is in the Kazanlak area. Roses are harvested in May/June. It is a vital ingredient for parfumes.
- The hottest mineral spring in Europe (103 C) is in Sapareva Banya,70 kilometers south of Sofia.
You'll go throught this little town if you go to the 7 Rila Lakes.
The gazer used to be seen in the center of the town.
Nowadays it is incapsulated. The spa water is used in the local hotels and SPA centers.
- During the WW2, despite being officially on the Nazi side, Bulgarian Jews were NOT sent to camps due to the uprisal of the Bulgarian citizens who refused to let the trains leave.Thus about 50 000 Jews were saved.
- John Atanasov, of a Bulgarian farther, invented the first electronic digital computer in the 1930s.
He managed to register his patent just hours before a Hungarian mathematician applied for the same.
Thus Bulgarians say that they have something to do with inventing the computer :)
- In the comedy movie ''The Terminal '', Tom Hanks plays Viktor Navorski, a traveller from the Eastern European country of Krakozhia. During most of the movie he speaks Bulgarian.
Because Tom Hanks' wife Rita Willson (Margaritta İbrahimova) is half Bulgarian. Her father Alan Wilson ( Halil Ibrahimoff was a pomak) and was a Bulgarian emigrant in the US.
He helped his son in law, Tom Hanks, with the Bulgarian language for this role.
Such is the brilliance of Tom Hanks that we, the audience, accept his dialect without question.
AND MORE facts and info:
- Sofia has an underground metro system that covers most of the city.
Transport service as a whole is cheap and very good.
- Our workawayer accommodation is very close to a large shopping mall, supermarket, tram stop.
Many buses are available in the area.
- Vitosha mountain (2,000 m high) is right next to the city, very pretty and offers spectacular walks, views over the city; night skiing in winter and a fairly unique lifestyle.
You can reach it by bus.
- There are organized tours to The 7 Rila lakes which some of our workawayers had taken and would reccommend.
- Belogradchik Rocks is a very unique place in NW Bulgaria. Worlawayres that had been there had hired a car for the day trip.
- Plovdiv is the second largest city in Bulgaria. 1h 30 min by regular bus service.
Staying overnight is recommended.
- Veliko Tarnovo is the old Bulgarian capital, situated on the hills over The Yantra river.
It has a big fortress from the time of the 2nd Bulgarian kingdom, the time before the Ottomans conquered the Balkans
which lasted for 500 years.
After the liberation of the Ottomans, Sofia was appointed as the capital which was 145 years ago as per 2024.
Informations complémentaires
Accès Internet
Accès Internet limité
Nous avons des animaux
Nous sommes fumeurs
Familles bienvenues
Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?
Plus de 2
Mes animaux
Discutez avec des workawayers qui ont séjourné chez cet hôte
Feedback (27)
Polite; cheerful; easy to communicate; easy to understand what you ask her to do; monitors you and learns herself; willing to do extra things not just to limit herself to the assigned tasks for the day and then stay on the mobile.
Kinsey truly cared for the work and for the dogs.
She was a loved… read more
The first day at the shelter is overwhelming at first. Numerous dogs start barking at you because they don't know you. And every day after that, you fall more and more in love with each individual dog, so that in the… read more
Photos
Discutez avec des workawayers qui ont séjourné chez cet hôte
Feedback
Ce sont des évaluations supplémentaires en option lorsque les membres laissent un feedback. La note moyenne pour chaque option est affichée.
Exactitude du profil:
(4.9)
Échange culturel:
(5.0)
Communication:
(4.8)
Polite; cheerful; easy to communicate; easy to understand what you ask her to do; monitors you and learns herself; willing to do extra things not just to limit herself to the assigned tasks for the day and then stay on the mobile.
Kinsey truly cared for the work and for the dogs.
She was a loved… read more
The first day at the shelter is overwhelming at first. Numerous dogs start barking at you because they don't know you. And every day after that, you fall more and more in love with each individual dog, so that in the… read more
It was my first workaway, so I was a bit scared to go, but it's definitely worth the risk !
I came for 4 weeks, so it was quite short, but I really enjoyed my stay !
First of all, Yuliya and Terry, the hosts, are truly welcoming. It's like being at home. <3
As described, you'll live in a flat with other people from all… read more
It would be very helpful for potential candidates.
I can only highly recommend him.
Ytsen is one of the best worlawayers help that we have had.
Very quickly we felt that we can trust him completely with the tasks for the day.
There is no task big for him.
He is always ready to help.
Learns quickly,… read more
As a volunteer you spend four days at the shelter from 08:30 to 16:30, with three days off. Sometimes your days off might all be in a row, sometimes it's more split up over the week. The commute is quite long, which means you leave the volunteer… read more
I was originally going to stay for a month or 6 weeks but I ended up staying 3 months. If it hadn't been for the rules regarding the Schengen area countries I would still be there now.
The… read more
YOU'LL MISS BIG TIME if you don't get him.
I was hesitant myself to approve him to join us
as we had a situation with a guy in his 50s
who could not get along even for 24 hrs with the other workawayers
who are usually in the early 20s.
I was concerned about the age gap.
I also… read more
I completely understand change of circumstances but I would have appreciated to be informed as soon as their circumstances changed.
Other than… read more
The dogs are the abselute sweetest and… read more
She approached me and booked her stay a year before the actual workaway time.
Simone was following our social media and was in love with some dogs even before she arrived to the shelter.
Both she and us were sad she could not stay longer and we believe she'll be back in the… read more
On my first day I flew in from Amsterdam and Yuliya send me very good instructions on how to get to a certain meeting point, where she was going to pick me up… read more
The team is amazing… read more
He is the the kind of personalities that our project attracts.
I was right.
Mateo quickly felt at home with the rest of the workawayer' group.
He is smart, learns quickly and is patient.
He was part of a wonderful group where a few members were… read more
He is kind of person that you'd like to be around.
And you would feel lucky to be part of your team.
We were lucky to have him for 3 months. From day one it felt as if he had been with us forever.
Alois fitted so well both with the daily routine and with the WAs group.
He is intelligent, quite person,… read more
Curious about the countries and cultures that she visits.
There is a lot to learn from Roxanne about stray dogs and practices especially in South America. Her devotion to the cause is admirable.
We wish more people around the Globe are like her. She is especially passionate about ''castrate… read more
I could see how her confidense in doing the job grew overtime.
She was not shy to ask when not sure about procedures.
She always made sure to follow them which was very important to us.
She truly loved the dogs, the experience and being part of the team.
Fantastic team… read more
It did not… read more
She came for 4 weeks but stayed 9.
She fitted so well with both team members and workawyers.
Adored the dogs.
Easy-going, down to earth, no task is too much for her - brilliant help!
I can only highly recommend her and
we can not wait for her to come back!
Seriously!
Team members, workawayers, Terry and I.
Sarina stayed with us for 10 weeks.
She was quite and difficult to read in the beginning.
Once she was settled we discovered that radiant, rational, responsible old soul.
A young lady who cared about her duties, truly loved the dogs
and was an essential part of a dream… read more
Unfortunately it is not long enough to get to know a person.
Terry and I did not have the pleasure to have her at the drinks that we organize with workawayers.
Amanda is quite, polite, with very good English and I have heard about a hiccup between her and… read more
Yes, there is a lot to do in a dog shelter and workawayers have beed an important help to us for a year now.
Yes, there is commute involved.
We were blessed that Carmen chose to join us and help our cause.
She… read more
From the beginning on, everyone was so nice, helpful and welcoming.
The people in the shelter are lovely. They invest so much time and love in the dogs, each single one of them is very well looked after. That was… read more
Linc arrived at the… read more
This is no ordinary dog shelter - the huge yards here mean you can really see the dogs being themselves in their comfort zone. The crew… read more
We… read more
