RUSSIA: Valeri Sugrobov is Moscow's ace pet detective at finding missing animals ANIMALS

Record ID: 402075

  • Title: RUSSIA: Valeri Sugrobov is Moscow's ace pet detective at finding missing animals ANIMALS
  • Date: 20th July 2001
  • Summary: WIDE OF SUGROBOV HOLDING SNAKE IN HANDS CLOSE UP OF PYTHON IN BOX SCU (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) VALERI SUGROBOV, PET DETECTIVE, SAYING: "Animals are better than people, but require more protection. People have become more and more aggressive but animals remain as harmless as they have always been and so there are less and less of them in the world. That's why we decided to pro
  • Embargoed: 4th August 2001 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: MOSCOW, RUSSIA
  • Country: Russia
  • Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA5CPHCVY92XFCFPLKKJCW7HMH6
  • Story Text: He's a friend to cats and dogs and an enemy to animal-hating meanies - former detective Valeri Sugrobov. He is a real-life Russian Ace Ventura who is keeping the streets of Moscow safe for the animal world.
    The cat Masha is in dire straits. She is crying out for help at the top of a 20-metre tree in central Moscow. Her owner looks on, worried. But help is on the way--Valeri Sugrobov, pet detective.
    Sugrobov is a former Russian investigator who has turned his skills to saving animal lives. He has devised his own detective tools, such as the cat pole, for his new trade. And when the pole doesn't work he calls upon the crack-team of animal rescuers.
    Sugrobov and his team, they call themselves the "Goodwill Movement," estimate they have saved hundreds of animals--cats, dogs, snakes, and birds over the past 10 years.
    Their budget comes from donations and their headquarters is inside Sugrobov's two-room apartment that he shares with slithering friends.
    Sugrobov says that animals inspire him and hopes that others will come to understand how much animals can teach humans. "Animals are better than people, but require more protection. People have become more and more aggressive but animals remain as harmless as they have always been and so there are less and less of them in the world. That's why we decided to protect and rescue only animals. We believe that sooner or later people will learn to love animals."
    But if people don't respect Sugrobov's four-legged friends, then he'll track them down and bring them to justice.
    "If there are some acts of violence, such as an animal being run over on the road then we track down those responsible. We follow their tyre treks or we find broken pieces of headlights along the road. I think my police work prepared me well for what I am doing now."
    And there's plenty of work for him. Scores of pets go missing each day in the Moscow megapolis and several worried owners call Sugrobov each day.
    His next assignment is to find missing dog Karo. Armed with a snapshot of the dog and a map of the neighbourhood parks, Sugrobov and his assistant shake the bushes and question the locals to find their dog. And finding him they do.
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