Foundation Board / Counsellor

Just do it...

Jog around in the mud on cow pastures and repair fences, catch and relocate chickens or renovate kennels and cat shelters - the SUST does it all...

Tons of donated material washed and disinfected, sorted and then distributed to needy animal shelters or owners at home and abroad - SUST does it all...

Training interested animal owners, instructing motivated employees, educating and informing the general public - SUST does it...

Neuterin feral and farm cats, thus limiting the population of sick and suffering animals and optimizing the living conditions of healthy ones - SUST does it...

The teams of the SUST have again given their full commitment this year. In countless hours, the diligent helpers have worked hard, trained themselves further and put their spare time at the service of a good cause. My appreciation is thus certain, and the boundless joy and gratitude of the recipient is also motivating them to do new things all the time.

This year there was no shortage of aid and fundraising activities and I would like to thank you, dear patrons, for your support: without your help, our activities would not be possible. Dear patrons, they form the foundation on which we at SUST can build so many good things. I promise you that we will continue to do our utmost for the coming year. True to the motto of not only talking about grievances and need for help, but also actively fighting against them and working energetically - just do it!

Dr. med. vet. Janina Werner Heer, Member of the Foundation Board

Pets improve our quality of life, increase our happiness and prolong our lives. Any animal lover who keeps animals himself will confirm this. In recent years, the scientific community has also shown that pets improve our psychological and physical well-being.

For most pet owners, it is therefore a matter of course to thank their own pets for these qualities by caring for them. Unfortunately, many animals have to do without this: because they were born as street dogs, live as wild stray cats or are given away as a renunciation animal, because they did not meet the expectations of the pet owner.

It is my concern to help these animals: to give them a new home or a better life on the street and to prevent further uncontrolled multiplication of dog and cat strays by castration. But we can also improve a lot by providing financial and material support for animal shelters and specialists locally in Germany and abroad. Just as well as through training and further education of volunteers, so that they can put their expertise and commitment to good use.

Therefore, as a member of the Foundation Board and voluntary helper, I support the SUST, which tackles the problems at their roots through its animal welfare work.

Thanks to you, dear patrons, SUST, which celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2015, will be able to reduce or even prevent animal suffering in the long term. Because our animals deserve it. Many thanks for your support

Dr. med. vet. Katharina Staub, Member of the Foundation Board

Together we are strong...

The Susy Utzinger Foundation for Animal Welfare is based on four pillars:

    Evaluation and optimisation of animal shelters at home and abroad
    Planning and execution of neutering campaigns
    The training and further education of specialists in Switzerland and worldwide
    Informing and raising public awareness of animal welfare issues

Every day, our employees are committed to improving the living conditions for stray animals and residents of animal shelters, rescue stations or sanctuaries. They are available to advise and assist with the implementation of projects and the planning of assignments, or they can help to implement them directly on site.

In order to prepare our helpers optimally for their assignment, training and further education is at the forefront. In numerous courses, the animal welfare activists learn how to handle animals with little socialized and traumatized animals in an optimal way and learn the most important medical basics in order to be able to carry out adequate care in an emergency. They are also trained psycho-logically and communicatively in order to cope with the often demanding situations in the best possible way.

Once again, it is our diligent helpers who carry the principles of SUST to the outside world and make them known to the general public.

However, the assignments at home and abroad as well as the numerous projects are only possible thanks to your generous donations: Your support is the basis of our work and we would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Not all of our helpers are born craftsmen or have completed a training as animal keepers or project managers. But everyone uses their energy and leisure time to reduce the suffering of animals with their individual abilities. Often it is small steps that ultimately lead to success and everyone - you as a benefactor, our helpers and I as a coach, head of operations and foundation council member - has contributed to this in their own way. Together we are strong... and we will do everything in our power to remain so in the future.

Dr. med. vet. Janina Werner Heer, Member of the Foundation Board

As you can see in the current annual report, SUST has once again achieved a great deal this year: numerous animal shelters in Switzerland have benefited from SUST's work. A whole team of volunteers travels for one day on these assignments. The helpers are already highly motivated in the morning. Neither cold, wind, rain nor the glowing sun reduces the motivation of the helpers. Depending on the situation, a turtle enclosure is erected outside, trees are cut, fences are repaired or newly erected, animal enclosures are renovated or enlarged. Consultation discussions are held with the animal shelter managers. Often there is also a veterinarian, who takes care of possible veterinary concerns. The volunteers are not only animal friends who are very hands-on, but also the theoretical training is essential. The helpers are trained and prepared for the various assignments in regular training courses.

The collection of materials was also a great success this year. The SUST collects all year round animal utensils that are no longer needed. In autumn, the collection campaign is supported by a large specialist pet shop, which collects used or new animal articles together with SUST in its shops, which animal lovers no longer need. This year, the campaign brought together an incredible 30 tons of material. The large warehouses of the SUST were filled with articles that could be distributed to animal shelters and animal rescue centres in Switzerland and abroad.

As in previous years, SUST supported the neutering of stray or abandoned cats in Switzerland and the castration of street dogs and cats abroad in 2014.

At the Dogs military in Rifferswil - a great fun course for dogs and their owners - a lot of money was collected for animal protection projects.

In Romania, the construction of an animal shelter was financed. The planning was adapted to the needs and conditions on site: now the animal rooms can be heated in the freezing cold winter season, suitable rooms are available for medical care and animal feed can now be stored dry. All this was not possible in the previous rooms of the animal shelter, which not only made the work of the animal protectionists more difficult, but also worsened the well-being of the animals.

Not to forget the many missions abroad: during at least one week, experienced SUST helpers support animal shelters abroad. The team's veterinarians take care of the treatment and neutering of the animals. But also the renovation of the facilities, advising the caregivers or discussions with the local authorities are supposed to support the animal protectionists in their difficult work. And a lot more has been achieved: direct help, laying hens action, campaigns, media appearances,... all with the goal of animal welfare work that is sustainable.

Without your help, dear patrons, SUST would not have been able to implement all the projects this year. I would like to thank you not only as a member of the Foundation Board for your support, but also on behalf of the animals. Thank you very much!

SUST... I like it!  

Welcome to the anniversary year, SUST celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. But that doesn't mean she's not old-fashioned, on the contrary. As in previous years, SUST was again active on the most diverse fronts in 2014.  

In Switzerland, various working days were organised in various animal shelters and sanctuaries, renovated, built and after a thorough clean-up operation, countless pallets of donated material were redistributed.  

Numerous projects abroad have also benefited from financial support or direct local emergency aid. In the east of Europe, SUST was particularly active last year, helping to set up and optimise several animal shelters and carrying out countless neutering campaigns in various cities.  

In addition, SUST was represented at various events with informative lectures and, in addition to its public presence, had as usual a special focus on the internal training of its helpers.  

True to our guiding principle, we will once again this year do everything in our power to continue the fight against animal suffering at home and abroad. And with your support, we will succeed. Because not only I, but you also like the SUST.  

Dr. med. vet. Janina Werner Heer

This is a guiding principle that we at SUST keep reminding ourselves of. The daily struggle for our principles is not easy and sometimes we come up against limits which cannot be overcome even with much good will. Different views on animal welfare, foreign mentality, personnel or financial constraints, lack of or inadequate infrastructure, the list of obstacles could be widened at will.

Being exposed to mud and dirt and the whims of nature and not losing motivation is sometimes difficult, but it also encourages you not to give up and carry on. Especially if you are surrounded by people and animals, who don't have to work for a few days under sometimes difficult circumstances like the teams, but spend their whole lives in this way. Why? Because our efforts mean that at least for a few of us there is a chance that their living conditions will improve.

We are all optimists and we will never achieve our ultimate goal of reducing animal suffering worldwide. But with a lot of commitment and thanks to you, we are able to provide relief on our missions in Switzerland and abroad.

We fight for this every day, with action, with words, with material and not least with the help of your donations.

Thank you for your support.

Dr. med. vet. Janina Werner Heer

Animal welfare aid is provided at many different levels. The advice and construction quality of animal shelters is just as important as the animal-friendly husbandry of zoo animals and farm animals and the medical care of sick animals as the professional transport of an accidented horse. Maladministration in animal welfare is largely caused by ignorance, financial bottlenecks and neglect or ignorance of obvious problems. Fortunately, animal cruelty caused by malicious, active hand application to animals has become rare in our country due to a sensitised population and numerous animal welfare institutions and organisations.
But a look abroad, especially at Romania, last year showed us a deeply repulsive and inhumane image. The fact that many countries, especially their big cities, have to struggle with an overpopulation of dogs and cats is a well-known fact, but how to deal with stray dogs without owners is another matter. The decree issued in Romania to be allowed to kill abandoned dogs, whether sick or healthy, pregnant or lactating, after only fortnightly admission in an animal shelter, caused real horror in large sections of the population at home and abroad. Employees of the Susy Utzinger Foundation for Animal Welfare had permission to visit a so-called "slaughterhouse". The foundation did not remain idle: the activities that had already existed for years in various regions of Romania were immediately intensified and expanded in the form of neutering campaigns, feed and material supplies as well as constructive discussions with local politicians. This emergency aid was only possible thanks to a large loyalty rally, which you, esteemed benefactors, provided us with in the form of donations. We are very grateful for your generous financial support to fight the misery of dogs in Romania. The numerous reports in our foundation newspaper "animal flash" testify to all other assignments in Germany and abroad. We continue to count on their donations, which will be used for the benefit of our animals.
The Foundation Board would like to thank Susy Utzinger and her team for their great commitment and additional courageous efforts in Romania. As President, I wish the Susy Utzinger Foundation for Animal Welfare and its competent office continued success.
Susy Utzinger Foundation for Animal Welfare
Prof. Rico Thun
President of the Foundation Board