"Lajka" Can't Expand Because It's an Illegal Build: Gjorgjievski Is Looking for a New Site for the Dog Shelter

Skopje's city shelter for stray dogs, "Lajka," can't be expanded - because it's an illegal build. Skopje Mayor Orce Gjorgjievski admitted as much himself, answering a reporter's question.

"The existing location was built illegally in the past, and the detailed and general urban plans don't allow us to expand capacity there. We're looking for another option, and I believe that by the end of this calendar year we'll start the process of building additional capacity, possibly at another location we're currently determining," Gjorgjievski said. The money, he says, is secured. The location - isn't.

Let's stop on that for a moment. A public enterprise of the City of Skopje operates out of a facility that, in the mayor's own words, was built illegally and doesn't fit the urban plans. If the city demands that citizens build according to plan, who in the past allowed its own shelter to spring up outside of it? And why do we only find out now, when it needs expanding?

Gjorgjievski says progress has been made in dealing with stray dogs, but admits the problem isn't fully solved. In the coming days, he announced, comparative data will be published on stray dog attacks on citizens - before and after the new management took over at the City and at "Lajka."

The numbers will be welcome, if they're complete. But there are about ten weeks left until the end of the year, and there's still no final location. Does "we'll start the process" mean an excavator on site - or yet another meeting to pick a plot? Citizens who are afraid of stray dogs know which answer they need.