Volunteers Smuggle Stray Dogs Out of Sochi to Save Their Lives

         

          Volunteers smuggle Sochi dogs out of town                

An animal activist carries a stray dog to his car brought out of Sochi by fellow activist at a rendezvous point 120 kilometers away from the Olympic area in the early morning hours of Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014, in Tuapse, Russia. Airapetian is one of a dozen people in the emerging movement of animal activists in Sochi alarmed by reports that the city has contracted the killing of thousands of stray dogs before and during the Olympic Games. Stray dogs are a common sight on the streets of Russian cities, but with massive construction in the area the street dog population in Sochi and the Olympic park has soared. Useful as noisy, guard dogs, workers feed them to keep them nearby and protect buildings. They soon lose their value and become strays. Tonight, a few dogs will be taken on their way to a new life in Moscow.