At the end of 2023, she spent a few months in Bali, working and enjoying a more relaxed lifestyle. When she rented an Airbnb apartment there, she met Bella, a dog who was staying with the owner. Karin is a big dog lover, so she quickly noticed that the owner didn't bother with her much.
"She was alone all the time. Her owner was not home all day, she never took her for walks, she never taught her what she could and could not do, so I started cleaning up after her, as a two-month-old puppy is not used to room cleanliness yet," Karin described the whole experience. She started to take care of the puppy and over the months she became her own person and the puppy grew very close to her heart. As Karin points out on her instagram profile, Indonesia is hell for dogs, so she was aware that this puppy was not safe there.
"I started looking for a new home for her, but unfortunately I was unsuccessful - the number of dogs that need homes is unrealistically high. So I decided to bring her to Slovenia and find her a home here," she said, adding that she eventually managed to convince her partner to adopt her.
When she started the process of relocating her puppy from Indonesia to Slovenia, it was extremely complicated and time-consuming, but now she says it was much easier than it seemed at the beginning. "She had to have all the required vaccinations, a titre test and a microchip - all required by the European Union. Then we booked her flight, made all the necessary arrangements and transported her. It's really not that complicated, especially if you have help. I had help from an Australian woman who has lived in Bali for more than 15 years and has been helping animals. It took a few months and cost me €1500," Karin adds. Bella now lives with Karin, her partner Niko and another adopted puppy, Blu.
But her help didn't stop there. "After I took care of Bella, I started collecting donations for the dogs in Bali. In just a few days, I raised €10,000 with the help of my followers, connected with local people who help the dogs and donated money to buy food. In addition, we carried out 150 sterilisations. In addition, I gave suspicious workers in Bali she stole one puppy and today she is happily adopted in the Netherlands," she says of all her good works in this field. These days, Bella's best friend from Bali has arrived in Slovenia and Karin was asked to adopt her. But as she already has two dogs of her own, she found a home for her with one of her followers.
Karin not only helps dogs in Bali, but also regularly shares posts from Slovenian, Croatian and Serbian shelters looking for adopters for abandoned puppies, and is constantly raising awareness that dogs should be adopted, not bought. "I try to use my Instagram follower base to raise awareness and share what I can, and as a result, quite a few puppies have already found their new homes through me."
It also draws attention to the inappropriate practices of certain shelters and tries to get people to look at animal adoption differently. "This is my mission and I try to help as much as I can."
Klavdija Rupar Vuga, 26. 3. 2025
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