education

Dogs have long been celebrated as “man’s best friend,” and for good reason. These loyal, loving animals provide companionship, protection, and even health benefits to their human counterparts. However, the relationship between humans and dogs is a two-way street, and...

     Kosovo declared its own independence as a sovereign and independent state in 2008 and has been formally recognized by much of Europe, Japan, Canada, the United States, and other states across Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Kosovo is a relatively new country that...

Mark Di Vincenzo     I grew up without pets, but after marrying a dog lover and living with dogs for nearly 30 years, I thought I understood them. Then I visited Kosovo in 2023.      Seeing starving, limping street dogs—beautiful animals stripped of hope by abuse and...

Many of the dogs we rescue in Kosovo are identified through DNA testing as Eastern European Village Dogs. Adopters in the United States frequently share results from Embark and similar tests showing this classification, which often raises an important question: Is an...

My commitment to rescuing Kosovo’s street dogs began with a simple visit to my sister in Kosovo. During my visit, I was struck by something I couldn’t unsee: the heartbreaking reality of countless street dogs struggling to survive—hungry, afraid, and often abused. Every time I visited, I found myself rescuing a puppy. Puppies were easier to approach than the older dogs, who had learned through painful experience to flee from human hands. Each rescue felt meaningful, but also temporary. I kept thinking: There has to be a better way. There has to be a lasting solution. That’s when Friends of Animals International was born.