Who we are
Animali Persi e Ritrovati: we help those who have lost each other to find their human or animal half again
Animali Persi e Ritrovati is a non-profit association registered with the Associations of Social Promotions of the Province of Modena. The Founding Members of the Association represent a community of different cultures, languages, and religions.
How everything began...
After a painful and anguishing personal experience, I noticed the lack of information out there on knowing exactly what to do and the people and Associations to contact when my cat disappeared. Hanging sad fliers on rain pipes did not seem to be reaching enough people and many websites dedicated to lost and found pets were difficult to track or had very scarce visibility. Not to mention the total lack of psychological support (I would have been happy to receive just one kind word or to have somebody to share my desperation) and the daily battle against silly clichés and the even sillier nonsense-talk such as "somebody has surely eaten your cat"... all legends to be discredited!
Together with some friends, we decided to change all this. We wanted to create something to help, to offer comfort, to share anxiety, to give useful advice about what to do, to inform people of where to go to receive qualified help, and offer a space to share their joy when a story ends well. And there are really many, many beautiful stories to encourage those who are still waiting, are despairing every day more and more.
The welfare service of the Province of Modena liked the idea of the website and very soon I was encouraged to found an association, of course a non-profit one, whose mission consists not only in offering a website on the internet (this is something many are able to do!) but, most of all, to offer support to those in need. We exist to spread awareness, share experience, and to teach people how to help themselves and how to have their rights respected.
The degree of civility is to be measured also in comparison to the respect a society demonstrates towards nature and therefore also towards the animals with whom it shares the same spaces of life. Among various projects we contact the municipalities of the whole Italian territory, in order to have dedicated places where everybody who has lost or found a pet may post her/his flier. All this to create a tool, a real institution in order to maximize these appeals and in order to grant whomever has lost a family member with fur or feathers... a big, additional opportunity to find each other again.
On the other hand, these reference points will only be useful if they become part of common knowledge. Our Association can only work if people know about it! We ask you to please spread the word about our organization so that it may become a success in reuniting people and animals.
My personal thanks goes to the friends, today the Founding Members of the Association, and to all the users who daily show their support. Without them all this would have remained only a "dream".
My deepest gratitude goes to my partner who has entirely financed this project and to Ronin, my beloved cat, which mysteriously disappeared the evening of December 29th, 2003. Without them, this website, the Animali Persi e Ritrovati Association, and the chance to help animals and humans in need would have never become a reality.
Raffaela Millonig
The strength and the richness of souls live in those who profess the good and are able to understand and accept the value of positive differences, working together for a better world.