Every street in Tirana has one. Most of the time they are part of the furniture — asleep by the kiosk, trotting purposefully somewhere at dusk — and then one day one of them is limping, or a puppy is sitting alone on a verge, or a dog follows you home and will not stop. This is what to do.
First, read the ear
Look for a plastic tag in one ear, or a notch cut from the ear tip. That is the sign the dog has been through a neuter-and-return programme: it has been sterilised, vaccinated against rabies, treated for parasites and put back where it was found. In Tirana that is the municipality's programme, and several rescue groups run their own along the coast.
A tagged dog is, in the plainest sense, a managed animal. It is not lost, it is not looking for a home, and it is very unlikely to carry rabies. Unless it is hurt, the kindest thing is to leave it exactly where it is, because that corner is its territory and it knows where the food and the shade are.
A dog with no tag and no collar, especially a puppy or a dog in poor condition, is a different case.
Is it an emergency?
Go to a vet now if the dog:
- has been hit by a car, or is dragging a leg, or cannot stand;
- is bleeding, or has a wound with flies at it;
- is a puppy that is cold, limp, or not responding;
- is panting hard and cannot get up in the heat — heatstroke kills within an hour;
- is having a seizure.
To move an injured dog, do not lift it by the legs or scoop it up. Slide a blanket, jacket or piece of board under it and carry it flat, with the head supported, and keep your face away from its mouth — a dog in pain bites the hand that helps, without meaning anything by it. If it snaps, loop a lead or a strap around its muzzle first. Most clinics in Tirana will see a street dog if you bring it in; be clear at the door that it is a stray and ask what the consultation costs, because nobody reimburses you and it is better to know before treatment than after.
The rabies question
Albania is not rabies-free, and any bite from an unknown dog is treated seriously. If a stray bites you and breaks the skin: wash the wound under running water with soap for a full ten minutes, then go to a hospital or health centre the same day and say "dog bite" — post-exposure vaccination is routine and it works, but only if it is started promptly. This applies even for a tagged dog, because the tag is a good sign, not a guarantee.
That said: the ordinary Tirana street dog is not aggressive. They live alongside people and have learned that people are mostly harmless. Fear bites happen when a dog is cornered, in pain, or with puppies; they do not happen to someone walking past.
Feeding: yes, but not there
Feeding a stray is a kindness with a rule attached. Do not feed at the side of a road — a dog that learns to wait by traffic gets hit. Do not feed at the door of a shop or a school where it will become a problem for someone else. Water is more important than food in summer, and a bowl in the shade is the single most useful thing you can put down.
If you feed a dog regularly, you have made it your dog in every sense but paperwork. Think about whether you mean to.
Who to call
Honestly: there is no single number that works, and this is the part that needs to be said plainly rather than dressed up.
- For a healthy, untagged adult dog that is not in danger, the answer in most of Tirana is: nobody. The municipal service catches for neuter-and-return, not for rehoming, and the shelters are full. The dog is no worse off on its corner than it was yesterday.
- For a puppy, a sick dog or a dog in danger, the people who actually respond are the rescue groups — small, volunteer-run, mostly organised on Facebook, always short of money and foster homes. Search for the Tirana animal rescue groups, post a photo, the exact location and the dog's condition, and be prepared to be the foster yourself for a few days. Offer to pay the vet bill; it is what unblocks most situations.
- For a dog with a collar, it is somebody's. Check for a tag with a number, ask a vet to scan for a microchip, and post in the local lost-and-found groups with a photo and the street.
If you keep it
Many Tirana dogs are adopted exactly this way. If that is what is happening:
- Vet first, within the week: a check-up, vaccinations, worming, and treatment for ticks and fleas. Ask for a test for leishmaniasis — common along the whole Mediterranean, treatable, and better known about early.
- Keep it apart from your other animals for two weeks, until the vet has cleared it. Parasites and kennel cough travel.
- Microchip and register it in your name, so that the next time it wanders it can be brought back to you.
- Expect a month of adjustment. A street dog has never seen stairs, a lead, a bath or a closed door. Our piece on the first week with a rescue dog covers the settling-in; almost all of it applies.
And keep the dates. The chip number, the vaccination dates, the test results: they are the dog's paperwork now, and you will be asked for them at every border and every kennel from here on. mypet care was built for exactly that — and its vaccination card is the thing to show.
