This is Toby:
It is a building-memorial to all homeless dogs, rescued and not. Built next to an animal shelter in Kaunas, Lithuania. The shelter has just been destroyed. A pity, for that was one of the few shelters in my country that could be called a shelter and not an animal liquidation camp. Nothing much, if compared to Battersea, but the people working there did everything they could to give homeless dogs and cats food and warmth and find them new homes. Last year, the meagre pennies our gvt used to give them were taken away, and all that was left were donations. They still managed, somehow. This year, those that took the subsidy from them decided to take away everything. And they did.
Seems from now on homeless animals will have to pay their 'rescuers', or else...

Just to explain, I`m copying some posts from another site and pasting them here, with dates:

June 12, 2008 This is an appeal for help. LGGD (Lietuvos Gyvūnų Globos Draugija - Lithuanian Society for the Protection of Animals) needs it badly.
Would you send messages to the Minister of Environment of Lithuania (a.paulauskas@am.lt) asking him not to stop bankroll the LGGD and not to destroy the LGGD?
Please believe me: the situation is serious. Please help our beasties! Please help our animal rescuers!

June 13, 2008 This is how it is (and this is why I`m clamouring for help): the LGGD (LiSPA) is about to be destroyed. The Naturewatch Foundation has ceased finansing LGGD, and with reason: they have been helping the Lithuanian animal rescuers for some years, but animals in some other countries need help too. From the very start it was clearly stated that we - meaning our government, in the first place - should help our animals ourselves. Our government was very generous, they offered (this does not necessarily mean gave) the LGGD as much as 80000 LtL (about 22860 EUR) per annum... Now they have withdrawn even that. The LGGD cannot cruise round Lithuania picking up the injured animals themselves anymore, still they accept and treat the injured animals brought in by caring persons; they hope they`ll be still able to do that for about two months, and then their activity will die of (financial) hunger. The problem is not just lack of money; while every donation is greatly appreciated, the main thing is to beg the Minister of Environment of Lithuania not to destroy what has been created painfully and with much toil and moil.

June 15, 2008 The story of Kaunas` dog shelter. That used to be a horrible place. Then Karolis Masilionis became the director of it. He and a handful of helpers made a proper animal shelter out of the animal liquidation camp. It was not easy, even with the help from Naturewatch foundation. But when things shaped well (more or less), the city council decided there were some conditions and requirements to be met. They decided there should be a competition for the subsidy granted. Masilionis lost the competition. The meagre pennies now go to the winner, but I won`t tell you about the winner, because I don`t want to use that kind of language here. Now Kaunas` dog shelter depends on donations solely. They still manage, but just barely...
I`m afraid the scenario is about to repeat. Nobody is going to destroy LiSPA, they just find there are conditions and requirements to be met and the money our government gives should go to whoever wins the contest. What is curious: no contests were needed until the hardest part of work had been done and until Naturewatch watched (same as with Kaunas` dog shelter). But while Kaunas` shelter is not big and somehow manages to survive on donations, the LiSPA team rescues animals from every corner of Lithuania, and they need the government to support them, too.

July 25, 2008 I guessed right, damn it! Bull`s eye, in fact. The contest was won by the same person that had won the one in Kaunas. Seems like the wild animals saved will have to pay, from now on...

June 30, 2009 Might as well tell you more. The shelter has been destroyed. Last year, people donated rather generously, because they wanted to save the shelter. The Winner has decided he wants that money, too.


And they cannot even create a petition, for everything is done "according to the law"...
Sorry about my very long post.