KFOR Soldiers assist vet clinic

Courtesy Story

Photos by Sgt. Jonathan Perdelwitz

CAMP BONDSTEEL, KOSOVO—U.S. Army Capt. Robert Kuczarski, Area Support Group-Balkans command judge advocate, showed service members supporting Kosovo Force 28 the veterinarian clinic Klinika Veterinare (Mitro Vet) in Mitrovica/Mitrovice, Kosovo, on Nov. 27, 2020. The Soldiers observed veterinarian processes and delivered supplies to the vet.

Kuczarski, of Alexandria, Virginia, asked his friends and family to help raise money to support the Mitro Vet clinic. Together they raised over 3,000 euros to help the clinic better support dogs and cats.

“We got 18 dog beds of varying sizes,” said Kuczarski. “These are raised beds. In summer, this gets them off the ground. In the winter it gets them off the cold concrete.”

In addition to beds, the money paid for other amenities to improve the animals’ quality of life. This included surgical equipment, heaters and treats to keep the dogs comfortable and healthy during their stay at Mitro Vet.

“Donations that were delivered today, especially today, are another motivation and inspiration to continue with what we are working on doing now,” said Dr. Labinot Osmani, Mitro Vet’s owner and veterinarian.

Osmani, much like Kuczarski, wishes to help the stray populations in Kosovo, whether the animals come from nearby Camp Nothing Hill or further away. He said he takes care of as many animals as possible and hopes to build a more positive image of dogs and cats.

“The contractor [for Camp Nothing Hill] is not required to take the dogs to a vet or a shelter to get spayed or neutered,” said Kuczarski. “That’s why I hunted down a shelter, Mitro Vet, up in Mitrovica/Mitrovice, that actually does this about 12 kilometers away.”

The stray population in Kosovo has very few procedures in place to keep it in check. Kuczarski said taking animals to clinics when they are captured to have them spayed or neutered is a humane way to lower stray populations, and the effort doesn’t stop there.

“They vaccinate them,” Kuczarski said. “They give them rabies shots. They deworm them, and if they’re sick, they treat them.”

The NATO-led KFOR impartially assists the institutions in Kosovo to improve the welfare of all communities. Kuczarski hopes the next rotation will carry his work forward by continuing to reach out to local vet clinics that will help give stray animals the best care possible.

“Thank you so much for everything you guys did today, and for future cooperation we will have,” said Osmani.